Overview: Transition to Adult Living (Washington USD)

The Washington Unified School District, Transition to Adult Living program operates from a small rented house in the West Sacramento community. Students attend daily from 7:30 to 2:30 and learn important life skills that promote independence. The program has three main goals: to learn independent living skills, to learn employment skills and to travel as independently as possible. Three days a week, independent living skills are taught such as planning, shopping for and preparing meals, maintaining a household, living on a budget and being a contributing member of the community. Two days a week students learn employment skills through a partnership with PRIDE Industries and local businesses. All travel is conducted on public transportation. One student, who has been in the program since it began, is now employed by a local grocery chain and travels to and from work independently.

The district has made a sizable commitment to serve students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment and prepare them for the transition from school to adult living. The adult program is not inexpensive to operate but the district feels that the cost to human potential, if an exhaustive effort to prepare students for independence is not made, would far out weigh the financial cost of operating a model transition to adult living program.