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Handouts

The TIP Model Participant Handout is available on the website. It contains an outline of information you will cover during the presentation of each module as well as a “toolkit” section for ongoing use by TFs.

Trainer Notes

The purpose of videos & activities is included in the notes section for the trainer. It is important to understand how every video or activity is designed as a learning anchor & connects to the content in some way.
If any of the embedded videos do not play, you will likely need additional software that will play various file formats. You can Google “K-Lite Codec Pack” & download it for free.
The information in the notes section is meant to give additional content knowledge & guidance for elaborating on the slides. It is not meant to be read entirely verbatim. You will need to read the notes before you present the module & paraphrase the information. This will help demonstrate that you understand the content.
You are also encouraged to use your own experiences & stories to enhance the delivery of information.

Virtual Format

Our recommendation for delivering engaging & interactive training is to use the Zoom platform with access to breakout rooms & annotation. Microsoft Teams has breakout room access but does not have a feature to annotate on predesigned slides. If you must use MS Teams, you can do some of the annotation activities using chat and/or the whiteboard feature.

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Futures Planning

A Person-Centered Planning Process for Working with Transition-Age Youth & Young Adults

Hewitt B. “Rusty Clark

Nicole Deschenes, M.Ed.

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What is one of the biggest barriers young people face in transition planning?

Use this slide for in-person format. Use next slide for virtual format.

Barriers to Transition Activity:

Ask participants to answer the question from the slide on a blank piece of paper.
Once everyone is done, have them crumble up the paper and announce that you are going to have a “snowball fight”.
Give participants a minute or so to throw their papers with the goal of each person having one “snowball” when you call time.
Ask for volunteers to read their snowball and discuss.

Purpose of the activity: To get participants’ attention as you start the module. To segue into Futures Planning by exploring some of the barriers young people in transition often face.

Note: If you are not presenting in-person, you can right click on the thumbnail of this slide and select “hide.” It will not show during your presentation.

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What is one of the biggest barriers young people face in transition planning?

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Avoid Traditional Planning Approaches When Doing FP

Focus is on the future rather than problems of the past!

Ask participants what often happens in large meetings with Y/YAs. This allows for acknowledgement & validation of the experience in the room and helps keep participants engaged.

Listen for:

It can be difficult to stay strength-based.
The meetings are often controlled by the adults in the room.
The youth voice is often lost when others are directing the meeting.
Youth often agree to what others want in order to get the meeting over with.

Purpose of discussion: To contrast traditional approaches with Futures Planning as described in the previous slide.

Supplemental Information:

Futures Planning differs from traditional planning approaches in how services are planned and delivered to individuals. Traditional service plans, such as rehabilitation plans and care plans, often base plans on the services the system or community can offer or on what other people think the individual needs. Some of these plans are developed as standardized treatment plans or developed to comply with regulations. In contrast, plans developed using Futures Planning approaches are based on positive underlying values such as choice, respect, and self-determination. Futures Planning focuses on what the young person wants and needs to achieve their vision of the future.

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What is Futures Planning?

Defining the life a youth wishes to live & describing what will assist them in moving toward that life, all from the youth’s perspective.

Put this in your own words:

Futures Planning is a youth-friendly, appealing, and developmentally-appropriate approach driven by the young person’s strengths, interests, and preferences. It is not driven by labels or descriptions that systems often attribute to people, but by the young person’s vision for the future. It is an informal, structured and dynamic process that involves collaborative teamwork.

Supplemental Information:

Futures Planning is a transition plan that encompass the young person’s goals and is:

Guided or driven by the Y/YAs voice and choice
May be developed with key players or by involving them in a way that is most workable for the Y/YA
Based on Y/YA’s strengths, interests, goals, & needs
Supports and services are tailored to the young person
Futures planning is an ongoing process

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Use the TIP Transition Domains With the Y/YA to Identify Areas of Focus

Employment & Career

Living Situation

Educational Opportunity

Community

Life

Functioning

Personal Effectiveness & Wellbeing

Subdomains:

Interpersonal Relationships

Emotional & Behavioral Wellbeing

Self-Determination

Communications

Physical Health & Wellbeing

Parenting

Subdomains:

Daily Living Skills

Leisure Activities

Community Participation

Transition Domains shown in this figure are useful in capturing young people’s attention and their focus on the future. The two domains, Community Life Functioning and Personal Effectiveness/Wellbeing, include several sub-domains that are relevant to success in each of the other domains.

Areas of focus should be driven by youth voice and choice rather than what TFs think is best.

For example, the TF wants the Y/YA to focus on obtaining employment since the Y/YA will be 18 soon and has never been employed. The Y/YA, however, does not see that as a priority and would rather focus on getting their own apartment. We can support the Y/YA by beginning the planning process of getting an apartment. During that process, it will likely become apparent to the Y/YA that income is necessary to achieve this goal. The TF can then explore the Y/YAs ideas on how to obtain an income.

Consider giving examples of how these apply to your own practice.

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Who is Part of FP? Planning Partners & Necessary Connections

Planning Partners

Selected by the young person, they are formal or informal key players the Y/YA would feel most comfortable with, and supported by, when discussing future needs or goals.

Necessary Connections

The Y/YAs need/goal determines who is a necessary connection.
These are formal or informal key players the Y/YA would need to be involved because they are necessary for the goal to move forward.
These people are necessary for the Y/YA to achieve a particular goal, however, the Y/YA is not required to plan with this person during the Futures Planning process, they just need to understand that progress on their goal will be limited until they are ready to work with this necessary connection.
TFs can use Rationales to help a Y/YA see the benefit of planning with a particular person.

Supplemental Information for Futures Planning Sessions:

Y/YA’s choice of participants should take precedence.
Futures Planning is usually conducted 1:1 with the TF and Y/YA, or with a small number of additional supports identified by the young person.
Who the Y/YA plans with may vary by topic and/or over time.

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Finding Planning Partners:�Concentric Circles

Me

Superficial/less significant

relationships=farther from center

Strongest relationships with the most trust=closer to center

Concentric Circles Activity (in-person or virtual):

This activity can help Y/YAs develop a visual of the people in their life and give insight to the type if relationship the Y/YA has with those in their circle.

Have participants complete the circle for themselves. Use scratch paper for virtual format. Use the form in Participant Handout for in-person format.

Explain:

The center circle represents you.
The inner circles are those closest to you. Those who have the strongest relationship and have the most trust with you.
Each circle outward includes people who are not as close to you. The relationships are more superficial as you move outward.
Let participants know their circles do not have to be shared. They can use initials if they want.

Once participants are done, ask them what considerations might come up when doing this activity with a Y/YA?

Listen for:

There might be very few people in the circles
All the people in the circles are service providers
They might feel guilty about who is in the center vs. who is on the outside
They might realize that no one is in the center or that everyone is on the outside

These are some of the things that we might explore with Y/YAs when doing this activity

Ask participants to consider these additional follow-up questions when doing this with their youth:

Has anyone every been moved from the outer to the inner circles? What were the circumstances?
Has anyone who was moved out, ever made it back in? What were the circumstances?
Where am I in your circle of support? What would it take for me to move one ring in?
Describe the characteristics of the people in the middle/on the outside.

Purpose of this activity: For participants to gain insight on how a Y/YA might experience the activity based on doing their own circles. Participants might have identified some of the considerations listed above and be better able to use their discretion on how and when they might use this tool with a young person.

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Finding planning partners:

Ecomap

Y/YA

TF

Sibling

Boss

Future Support

Blank

Caregiver

Friend

Solid line = Positive

Curvy = Stressed

Dashed = Tenuous

Zigzag = Developing

Arrows = Energy Flow

Red = Formal Support

Black = Informal Support

An ecogram/ecomap is a useful tool for exploring how key players might be involved in a young person’s transition. An ecogram is a graphic representation, preferably drawn by a young person, of the young person’s network of formal and informal transition support.

This can help us understand various aspects of the relationship with young people and their friends, family, and formal supports. The ecomap can be adapted if needed by using fewer symbols, colors, arrows, etc.

Optional Ecomap Activity if time allows (in-person or virtual format):

Have participants complete their own ecomap on scratch paper using the symbols on the slide.
Let them know their ecomaps do not have to be shared. They can use initials if they want.
Discuss any benefits/drawbacks participants experienced doing their own ecomap or anticipate when using this with a Y/YA.

Purpose of this activity: To introduce ecomapping as a tool for Futures Planning and to practice using it by having participants create their own.

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What if a Future Vision Seems Unrealistic/Undesirable?

NEVER tell a Y/YA that their future vision is unrealistic!!

Learn what it is about the vision appeals to the YP

Ask participants the question on the slide first. This allows for acknowledgement & validation of the experience in the room and helps keep participants engaged.

Once you get some feedback, click to show the additional items on the slide.

Emphasize avoiding judgement by allowing the young person to express their views. The TF is not necessarily agreeing that the vision is desirable or safe, but rather learning about what part of the vision appeals to them.

Additional Information:

Knowing the reinforcers of a young person’s future vision can help a TF to understand why a young person engages in negative behavior and/or in negative thinking. This information can be useful for your interventions. For example, a TF would intervene quite differently if they thought a young man’s vision of being a wealthy drug dealer is driven by his mother’s need for expensive medical care or by a belief that that is the best he can ever hope to achieve in life.

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Helping the Y/YA Develop a Future Vision

What is Visioning? Put this in your own words:

Help young people become interested, motivated, and excited about their future.

In the visioning process, TFs ask questions to assist a young person in defining the life they want to lead. For example, “If you could have your life going like you want in four months, what would it look like?” Use a time frame that will most motivate the individual. After the vision is clear and understood, the TF asks questions to assist the young person with developing the action steps to achieve the vision.

Visioning works best when TFs use what was learned in Strength Discovery. For example, “You talked about wanting to start a music career. What could you be doing in the next four months to find out what a music career would be like, and how you could pursue it? Are there some steps you can take? How can I help you?”

Visioning with a Twist Activity (in-person or virtual):

Ask participants to form pairs (use breakout rooms for virtual format).
Person #1 asks person #2 about a goal they have in the near future (not too personal).
Rather than focusing on the steps necessary to achieve the goal (this would be after visioning), person #1 first explores the details as if person #2 has already achieved the goal.
Try to integrate as many senses as possible to really put them in the moment.
You should demo this first. For example, demo what you would ask someone, let’s call them Jordan, who wants to move to a new apartment but is overwhelmed by all the work involved. See below.

Sample questions for trainer demo of Visioning with a Twist for Jordan:

So Jordan, it’s been a month now since you moved into your new apartment.

What color is your building?

How did you decorate?

What kind of view do you have?

Have you had anyone over?

Do you have any scented candles or incense?

Is your fridge all stocked up? If so, with what?

What is your favorite room? Why?

What kind of sounds do you hear from the neighborhood?

Did you end up with a pet?

Possible questions for processing the activity:

Did anyone increase their excitement about their goal? Feel more connected to it?

How was it asking/answering the questions?

Was it difficult to stay in the correct tense (as if the goal is completed)?

Are there any insights from this activity about how this might work with young people?

Purpose of activity: For participants to practice visioning in a new way and to gain insight and experience before doing this with their Y/YAs.

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Education

Name: Alex My Vision: Make enough money so I can have my own apartment.

Goals to Reach Vision	Strengths to Help Meet Goals	Next Steps	Who Takes Action?	Target Date	Status
Get a full-time job	Previous employment experience Good with people Reliable as an employee	�Do internet search on job websites Get resources from TF	Alex Alex & TF	Within 2 months	In progress

Transition Domain(s):

Employment & Living Situation

Community Life

Taking Care of Me

Living Situation

Career

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To Trainers:�The following slides are resources and activities you can introduce to participants if you have time. If you’re short on time, briefly show the slides and let them know they are in the Participant Handout Toolkit section to reference later.�

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Education

My Strengths for Futures Planning

Career

Community

Personal

Wellbeing

Living Situation

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Recipe for a Bright Future

Ingredients

Directions

Number of Servings

Time to Prepare

Include Quantities

Dash

Pinch

Tad

Smidgen

Dollop

Drop

Hint

Cups

Buckets

Include Ingredients

Supports

Emotions

Interventions

Types of Approaches

Strengths/Needs

Temporary Social Distancing

Lots of handwashing

Kindness & Patience

This is a tool for the Y/YA (and family/supports) to create their recipe for a bright future. The more elaboration on ingredients and directions, the better.

Optional activity if time allows (in-person or virtual):

Form small groups (use breakout rooms for virtual format) and have each group create a recipe for a bright future on scratch paper using the headings from the slide.
Encourage groups to be detailed when writing directions.
Have volunteers from the groups share their recipe.

Note: If you’re using breakout rooms, you can cut the following headings and paste them in the chat before you create the rooms. If in-person, have participants write their recipe on poster paper.

Ingredients and quantities

Directions

Number of servings

Time to prepare

Purpose of activity: To allow participants to interact with the content of your training (In-Vivo) so they are more familiar with the material when they use it with their Y/YAs.

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Futures Planning Exploration Resources

My Future.com

BLS.gov

FosterClub.com

Youth.gov

Skilledtrades.com

Jobs.mikeroweworks.org

Habitica.com

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WordArt.com

Get Motivated!!!

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History

Who I Am

Dreams / Plan

Strengths

Accomplishments

Preferences

Futures Planning Maps