| Sumario: | Seeking to bring attention for further development and research, Leading Opportunities for Transition Under Supervision (LOTUS) is an analytical conceptualization focused on youth with disabilities involved with the juvenile justice system (i.e., transition-age, youth under supervision ages 14 - 24 years old). Arguably, youth under supervision are one of the most vulnerable populations because their transition back to their communities and out of the school system too often results in unemployment and high levels of recidivism. LOTUS highlights the need and recommendations for system and action coordination. LOTUS depicts a potential structure to guide further development and investigation of strategies to bring systems of education, rehabilitation, justice, and workforce development together for coordinated preparation and planning. Rather than relying on decisions made from differing definitions, models, and responses to disability, advancing knowledge in this area could uncover the definitions of disability being used, models being applied (e.g., Religious-Moral, Biomedical, Functional, Ecological, Sociopolitical, Human & Civil Rights Combo, other), and the responses to disability impacting policy and practices. Without focused attention, youth under supervision will continue to transition back into their communities undereducated, underserved, and unprepared. LOTUS provides a beginning for consideration of combining strengths for interdisciplinary actions with implications for stimulating further leadership, development, and research. The potential benefits are linking approaches as the basis for change to generate transformative methods to overcome value-based challenges. Ultimately, using the suggested targets for coordinating systems and actions could better position transition-age youth under supervision for equitable transitional work experiences in preparation and planning for employment.
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