Program Description 

“It takes a village to raise a child.” This often-quoted African proverb is especially true for children with disabilities, and the need for this supportive village or community continues as children with disabilities grow and begin the transition to adult roles within those communities.

CHIRP (Centers Hatching Initiatives for Realizing Potential) is an RSA-funded project of The University of Arkansas CURRENTS to promote collaboration between Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies around transition of young people with disabilities from school to adult roles in the community.

CHIRP staff worked with representatives of CILs and VR agencies in Texas communities to develop a common vision for transition, assess the current environment of transition in that community, and establish goals that would help the community move toward the vision. CILs and VR were then encouraged to bring in other community partners to work with them to achieve those goals. Some of the successful projects that grew out of the CHIRP groups include a summer youth employment program that has doubled in participation each year and a mobile transition unit comprising representatives of several community agencies that takes services to the schools.

CHIRP provided CILs and VR agencies with tools and a model to develop supportive communities at the local and State levels to assist and sustain young people with disabilities as they make the transition from school to living independently in the community.

These pages will provide information on how to bring together similar collaborative groups and communities of practice around transition for young people with disabilities or other issues.

While CHIRP was originally focused on builiding collaborations between Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, the tools and processes used by the CHIRP groups can benefit any groups who are willing to take risks in order to make things better.

Tools and Resources on this Wiki 

Getting Started

CHIRP at a Glance

Round 1 Training Materials

Round 2 Training Materials

Reaching My Own Greatness

What We Learned

Replication and Sustainability

For additional information, please visit UA CURRENTS' Web site at www.uacurrents.org

The contents of this wiki were developed under a grant (H132B050007) from the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration awarded to the University of Arkansas. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policy of those agencies, and endorsement by the federal government or the university should not be assumed.

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