Preparing for adulthood

Our Transitions team can you with:

• Support to access employment.
• Achieving a healthy life.
• Opportunities for further education and training.
• Details, guidance and advice on independent living (including choice and control over your life and housing options).
• Friends, relationships and involvement in local communities.
• Empowerment to help you reach your full potential.

We co-operate and engage with families, friends and the wider community to work together and achieve the best outcomes for young people, parents and carers.

The NDTI (National Development Team for Inclusion) is a national organisation that support and promote the Preparing for Adulthood service. It is a programme put together as part of the Delivering Better Outcomes Together consortium and aims to help young people gain skills in order to support their transition into adulthood.  

The NDTI Preparing for Adulthood organisation offer a range of programmes, one of which is the Preparing for Adulthood scheme.

We will be continuing to work with the Department for Education and its partners to ensure that young people with SEND achieve paid employment, independent living and housing options, good health, friendships, relationships and community inclusion as they move into adulthood. 

All young people want to have full lives with control of their support and choices about their futures. This could include wanting to stay in your family home, or moving away to a new location to continue to develop your education.

The PfA programme work in partnership with Local Authorities to implement best practice from the earliest years for better outcomes for young people with SEND.  There are three key strands of work:

1. Development and implementation of good practice through the PfA Demonstration Sites 
2. Best practice and information sharing
3. Regional support in relation to all PfA outcomes and partnership working through events and networks 

We work in partnership with local agencies, schools and colleges to help and support you in finding employment.

You can also read more on Special Educational Needs (SEND) and Health Care plans on the GOV.UK website, or further information on Preparing for Adulthood on the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

Many young people will have health needs that require specialist support so when completing the transition assessments social workers are encouraged to involve health professionals during the assessment process. This can include: GP's, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapists and clinicians. 

Health professionals may be referred from the following services:

• Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust (BCPFT) - Their vision is to improve health and wellbeing for people of all ages across the Black Country. They provide a range of specialist health services for people with learning disabilities in Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Wolverhampton.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).
• Dudley Children and Young People's Alliance (CYPA) - provides overall leadership and integrated accountability for delivery of improved outcomes for children and young people who live in Dudley, and their effective transition to adulthood.

There are a range of housing options, adaption services, support and advice available to all Dudley residents. This includes adapted and purpose built homes for disability needs and support living apartments for people with specific or complex needs. Our housing options advice is free of charge and we have a number of specialist services available such as a Youth Hub for people under the age of 25 years old.

We are dedicated to helping you to be independent. Find out more about Housing options or contact Dudley Council Plus directly for support and details on how to apply for housing services.  

• Direct payments - A direct payment is paid directly to you, your family or carers so that you can choose your own support services and care.
• Personal Health Budgets - A personal health budget is a set amount of money that is planned and agreed to support your health and wellbeing needs.
• Benefits - You could be eligible for support and funding for higher education and additional benefits, grants and schemes.

Find out more information on finance on paying for care.

If you're aged 16-25 years with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), you are entitled to access a college, training provider, supported internship or apprenticeship if you have the met criteria. Find out more about planning for further education.