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Youth Health Transition Resources, Training and Support
Youth Health Transition Resources
Below are additional resources related to youth health transition and supporting children and youth with special health care needs. Review these resources to get a better understanding of the support available to the patients you serve.
Share these resources with your patients to help them prepare for transitioning their health care.
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Got Transition :This is the National Center for Youth Transition and a virtual one-stop shop for transition resources. The site hosts a library of resources for providers, educators, researchers, youth and their families, and policymakers. Resources include:
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Current research
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The 6 Core Elements of Transition
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Tools to help providers/practices implement medical home and promote preventive health
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Toolkits to support the implementation of comprehensive transition programs.
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Smooth Moves: An online resource for adolescents and young adults. The site covers all topics related to transition and hosts a library of youth-friendly tools developed by content experts. We encourage you to share this resource with the adolescents and young adults your practice serves.
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Louisiana State Bar Association: The Louisiana State Bar Association maintains an online, teen-friendly resource called Becoming an Adult: Legal Rights in Louisiana. The site covers topics such as voting, housing, driving, alcohol, and employment rights.
Local Resources for People with Special Health Care Needs
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Louisiana Children’s Special Healthcare Services: Find information on key support services for pediatric patients with special health needs. Regional Resource Guides are available for download to provide clinics with a quick list of key community programs and state agency services. Each of the guides includes basic service information, eligibility criteria, and contact information.
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Families Helping Families: The Bureau of Family Health partners with Families Helping Families (FHF) to give families of children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN) extra support. FHF works to help children gain independence and integrate into the community through resource linkage services, peer support, education, and training. Their staff includes individuals with disabilities and family members of those with disabilities who are familiar with navigating the systems. FHF Community Resource Specialists are available to help families connect to resources and services that can help them. They have the knowledge and skills to work with families of CYSHCN. Use this list of contacts for all FHF locations in Louisiana to find the Community Resource Specialist in your region! Use this list of contacts for all FHF locations in Louisiana to find the Community Resource Specialist in your region! Community Resource Specialists can help families by providing:
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Peer and emotional support
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Tips for accessing services
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Referrals to medical and support services
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Connections to other parents with children and youth with special health care needs
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Family Resource Center: This virtual resource center supports Louisiana families and pediatric providers by providing community referrals, resource linkage, help navigating health and social systems, and transition support. Contact the center at (504) 896-1340 or send email requests to BFH-FamilyResourceCenter@la.gov.
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Exceptional Lives Louisiana: Resource guides and directories can help users find services in their area and walk them through the process of applying for disability benefits.
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Disability Rights Louisiana: Legal supports are available for individuals with a developmental disability who require supported decision-making for health care, finances, or independent living as an adult.
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Regional Resource Guides: These guides were created to help providers refer families to relevant services and share resources for adolescents and youth transitioning from pediatric to adult health care. Each regional guide has local contact and referral information for agencies and services. Use the buttons next to the map below to view the regional resource guide for your parish.
Youth Health Transition Training and Support
Implementing changes in your practice can feel like a daunting task. From creating a plan to training staff and making the changes in services, a lot of coordination needs to take place. While there are many resources available to help guide this process, we also have a team of experts available to provide Implementation Training and Support (ITS). You can use this request form to learn more about the topics we can help with and the services we offer
Quality improvement (QI) is the framework used to improve the way health care is delivered to patients systematically. It refers to the process of planning and testing changes on a small scale, to implement them across the entire practice. Plan-Do-Study-Act (Step 3 of Implementing YHT Services in this toolkit) is a popular QI framework.
Using evidence-based QI strategies while implementing your YHT initiative will strengthen your clinic’s services and provide
staff with the tools to improve efficiency, patient safety, and clinical outcomes.
Building clinic QI capacity does not have to be costly or overwhelming. Evidence tells us that selecting a QI method and using it consistently is key to success. Many no and low-cost, evidence-based QI trainings provide the framework needed to get started. The resources listed below can be used to better understand QI and how to use the PDSA framework.
Quality Improvement Resources
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American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Quality Improvement in the Pediatric Practice - Tutorial
An introduction to QI and the PDSA framework. Topics covered include the basics of QI, creating a QI team, and how to complete a PDSA. -
The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) Quality Improvement - Virtual Trainings
American Board of Pediatrics Maintenance of Certification 4 (MOC-4) Credits
This toolkit can be used as an American Board of Pediatrics MOC-4 project for providers who are heavily involved in leading the QI efforts. Review the checklist, application questions, and project examples so you know what you’ll need to submit to qualify for credits. Find more information about the American Board of Pediatrics MOC-4 credits here.