Registration is now open for a free conference to help teens and young adults with Individualized Education Plans and 504 Plans transition successfully from high school to adulthood. Harford County’s 2020 Expo for Transitioning Youth is planned for Saturday, April 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Bel Air High School, 100 Heighe Street, Bel Air. Young people, families, educators, and other professionals are welcome. The expo will include workshops and more than 50 exhibitors and representatives from vendors, agencies, organizations and support groups.
The Harford County Expo for Transitioning Youth is presented every other year by the Harford County Department of Community Services’ Commission on Disabilities in partnership with Harford County Public Schools’ Department of Special Education, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, the Abilities Network, the MD Department of Education Division of Rehabilitation Services, and The IMAGE Center.
Workshops for both diploma and certificate track students will include:
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and work incentives – outlines information about how individuals with differing abilities may work and still qualify for cash benefits and medical insurance;
- College 101 – helps students and their parents navigate their college journey;
- Begin with the End in Mind – develops planning strategies to ensure a student’s transition into adulthood is successful.
- Getting Out There: Increasing Opportunities for Social Success – shows students how to expand social opportunities and personal interests to create a full and rich life.
Additional workshops will cover the Developmental Disability Administration (DDA), the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), estate planning, and mastering money after high school. A complete listing of workshops and their descriptions is available, along with registration forms, at http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/2385/Transitioning-Youth-Expo. Registration is strongly encouraged. To register by phone or request a printed participation registration brochure, contact the Department of Community Services’ Office of Disability Services at 410-638-3389.
“This conference will help individuals and their families develop a plan for the future using available community resources that they may not know exist,” Amber Shrodes, director of the Department of Community Services, said. “Regardless of their specific situation, whether it is a lack of knowledge about resources, not knowing if college is right for them, or how life will look after high school, students are often unsure how they’re going to achieve their goals. This conference addresses many of the questions that young people have as they transition to adulthood.”
The Harford County Commission on Disabilities was established in 1995 to serve as the voice of the disability community in Harford County. Members are appointed by the county executive, with the approval of the county council.
