TRACE Staff Resources

Who to call, and in what order.

Eighteen referral resources for TRACE students, ages 18 to 22, with what each one actually does, who qualifies, and the exact first step. Written for paras, case managers and teachers. Every fact was checked against the organization's own site.

Every link checked October 2026 18 resources Staff reference
Steps in order By situation

Pick a domain to show only its resources.

TRACE service domains

TRACE names six service domains, and each one ends the same way: a linkage to a community agency. Every resource below is tagged by the domains it serves. Pick a domain to show only its resources.

Referral order of operations

DOR first for almost everyone, but not alone. Most of these run at the same time. Waiting for one agency before calling the next is how students exit with nothing in place.

  1. Send the DR 203 to DOR Student Services

    For every student who is 16 to 21, and for 22-year-olds still in special education. This is a request for Pre-Employment Transition Services, not a VR application, and DOR's Order of Selection does not touch it. A school official's signature can stand in for IEP or 504 copies. The student signs; a parent signs only if the student is under 18, a conservator if the student is conserved.

  2. The same week, start the parallel lanes

    • Student has or may have an intellectual or developmental disability: check regional center status. If they are not a client, an adult student (or conservator) starts the SDRC Initial Contact Form. Eligibility can take up to 120 days, so do not wait.
    • Independent living, benefits questions or self-advocacy: Access to Independence takes self-referrals with no DOR eligibility needed.
    • Friends and free time: social and recreation programs never depend on DOR. Refer whenever the student is ready.

  3. Work experience runs in-house, alongside

    TPP, WorkAbility I and District-Hire placements happen through TRACE itself. They do not wait for outside agencies. If the student is an SDRC client, the Paid Internship Program can add hours, with both the IEP and IPP teams agreeing.

    Whether one student can hold WorkAbility I, TPP and an SDRC paid internship at once is a reasonable inference from the state's program chart, not a written rule. Confirm locally before promising hours.

  4. Decide on the full VR application, with eyes open

    Right now every newly eligible VR applicant goes on a waiting list, served by priority category, with a status letter every six months. Students who apply keep their Student Services while eligibility is decided. Applying earlier puts the student in line sooner. Full VR status is what opens WorkAbility III and Able-Disabled Advocacy's DOR job-search services.

  5. Before exit, make the handoff warm

    Invite DOR and the SDRC service coordinator to the IEP (with written consent). Name the adult provider who picks up on day one after TRACE: a DOR counselor, a regional center vendor, a day program, a college. For students not aiming at competitive employment right now, a regional-center-funded day program such as Promising Futures is a real pathway, and the employment goal can stay in the plan.

Order of Selection leaves the student lane open

DOR's own page: "OOS does not impact DOR Student Services. Those services continue to be available and open to all potentially eligible students with disabilities ages 16 through 21."

A 22-year-old still counts

DOR's site says "16 through 21," but 9 CCR 7026.5 keeps a student who turns 22 while in special education covered for a set period tied to the birthday month. Cite it if a student is turned away on age.

Staff can do almost all of it

School staff can fill out, certify and submit the DR 203 and drive the process. Staff cannot consent for the student or family, and cannot file the VR application or sign the IPE for them.

Which resource for which situation

Pick what is going on with the student. You get the local partner, any free tool that sets it up, and the order to use them in.

Choose a situation

Start on the left. Each answer opens the full notes for the resources it names.

The resources

Grouped by what kind of help they are. Scroll each row sideways, or pick a domain to see its matches all at once. Open a card for eligibility, the exact first step, contacts, and the things that trip people up.

VCU is curriculum, not a service provider.

VCU's two centers (CTI and the RRTC) give TRACE research-backed lessons, assessments and staff training for free. No student can be referred to VCU for services. Their materials were built for Virginia, so swap Virginia DARS for California DOR and local partners wherever they come up.

What no online course replaces is a warm handoff: a staff member who knows the DOR counselor, the WorkAbility III coordinator or the Able-Disabled Advocacy youth director by name, and makes the introduction. VCU supplies the what and the why. San Diego partners deliver the how and the where.

Call with the student, not for themSpeakerphone in the room, student says their name and what they want.
Send the paper aheadSigned DR 203, assessment results, a short strengths note. Nothing with more PII than the agency needs.
Book the first meeting before you hang upDate, place, and how the student will get there.
Close the loopCheck after the first appointment. Log who the student's person is now.