Healthcare Transition is the change from pediatric to adult healthcare services. This transition typically takes place between the ages of 12 and 26 years. Extra planning may be needed if your child has a developmental disability or special health care need. This webpage offers tools, resources, and trainings to help guide your child’s transition to adult-centered healthcare.
Statewide Transition Table Talks is casual, low-pressure Zoom Chat where parents and caregivers can connect, share what’s working, exchange ideas, ask questions, and support each other through the ups and downs of raising kids. No experts, no lectures-just families helping families. We need families who not only have questions, but also have ideas! Maybe things they have tried and it didn’t work do well or they tried and it worked. Bring your experience and your questions! Resource Sheets from previous Talks are available!
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- Resources for families
- Transition Talks Tuesdays: Fall 2025 Spring 2025 Fall 2024
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We have a quarterly newsletter with healthcare transition stories, events, and resources.
Want more transition information than just 4x a year? Join the Transition Transmission? YHTI (Wisconsin Youth Health Transition Initiative) sends a few emails a month to keep families updated on what we are doing and other events, articles, research and more. Sign up today: https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b1a016H69hwbxd4
Fall 2025 Transition Talks Tuesdays — Recordings and Resources
Resources for Families
Basics of Health Insurance with Covering Wisconsin
Learn about the basics of health insurance, which you can share with your child with a disability! This workshop is designed for caregivers of children 14-25 years old who have a special health care need …
What Youth Want Physicians to Know when Treating Them
High school students were asked how they want physicians to talk to them when receiving treatment. The HEADSS framework, a recognized psychosocial interview framework, was used. HEADSS stands for Home, Education, Activities/Alcohol, Drugs/Diet, Sexual Behavior/Self-Esteem, …
Transition Practices in Wisconsin Health Care Systems: What Do We Know?
The transition from youth to adult health care is a complex process, and only 25% of all youth and less than 35% of youth with special health care needs in Wisconsin receive support. Objectives: This …
Stay A Step Ahead Brochure
A brochure summarizing the steps in healthcare transition. Available in English and Spanish. To request print copies, contact healthtransitionwi@waisman.wisc.edu.
A Multifaceted Process: Transitioning a Child who is Medically Complex into Adulthood
An article by Jill Wall describing her experience supporting her daughter’s transition to adulthood. Jill Wall is a Certified Registered Nurse of Infusion (CRNI), working at Pediatric Home Service as Infusion Educator, and is licensed …
Courageous Parent Network: Planning Transition from Pediatric to Adult Providers for the Fully Dependent Child
As a child with significant health challenges matures into adulthood, there are many considerations that require advance planning. This Guide focuses on the process of providing for a child with significant health care needs, who …
Living Well Project: Healthy, Safe, and Connected Resource Toolkit
Knowing how to stay healthy is important to live a long and healthy life. This resource will give youth ideas and resources on how to live a healthy life. It includes information about exercise, eating …
My Health Pocket Guide
This pocket guide can be used to keep track of health care information. It is available in both English and Spanish. There is also an accessible version online.
Workshops
Transition Care Mapping (2025 Pilot)
A Care Map is a visual way to show all the people and services involved in caring for and supporting your child. In a Transition Care Mapping workshop, family members and self-advocates can visually map …
An Introduction to Youth Health Transition video
This recording provides an overview of the healthcare transition process.
Build Your Bridge – Moving from Child to Adult Health Care
This is a free presentation and conversation to help guide families through the transition from child-centered to adult health care systems. Youth and families are often overwhelmed and under-prepared for the transition to adult health …
Bridging the Gap
Bridging the Gap is a free presentation and discussion for community members to learn what Health Care Transition is and how health care impacts other areas of transition. By community we mean self-advocates, family members, …
Dreaming Differently: Planning the Transition to Adult Healthcare
This is a free presentation and conversation to help guide families whose child has a significant intellectual and/or developmental disability or medical complexity. Family members will spend 90 minutes learning about the unique experience of …
More Resources
Eight Important Tools for a successful transition to adult healthcare
The Youth Health Transition Initiative has identified 8 tools for families and youth. Careful planning using these tools will help transition go more smoothly and cause less stress for families.
Supported Decision-Making and Alternatives to Guardianship
Learn more about the options available for supporting healthcare decisions for adults with disabilities or special healthcare needs.
Healthcare Transition Stories
Hear the experiences of young adults and their families as they transitioned to adult healthcare.
Got Transition Website
Got Transition® is the federally funded national resource center on health care transition (HCT). Its aim is to improve the transition from pediatric to adult health care through the use of evidence-driven strategies for clinicians and other health care professionals; public health programs; payers and plans; youth and young adults; and parents and caregivers.
Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities
The Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities is a national health care transition resource center. The goal of the center is to empower youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) ages 12-26 to direct their own transition from pediatric to adult care with no reduction in quality of care and no gaps in service.
Children's Resource Centers
Wisconsin has five Children's Resource Centers (formerly Regional Centers) devoted to supporting families with children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and the providers who serve them.
Community Discussion: Tim Markle & the Wisconsin Integrated Transition Planning Project (WITPP)
A podcast focused on the ins and outs (and everything in between) of the secondary transition process for families of students with disabilities! Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) serve as supportive guides, leading families step-by-step up each rung of the transition ladder. This week, hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) jump states to sit down with Tim Markle and discuss the Wisconsin Integrated Transition Planning Project (WITPP). That collaboration brings together self-advocates, family members, and professionals with the goal of improving transition for young adults with disabilities, including advocating for a greater understanding and say in healthcare transition. Join the conversation!
Resources from the Wisconsin Integrated Transition Planning Project
Resources developed and gathered by our sister project, the Wisconsin Integrated Transition Planning Project.
Team-based Care: Health Care Transition
Welcome to Team-Based Care, a podcast for the interprofessional healthcare team produced by the Office of Continuing Professional Development at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
This podcast is approved for continuing education credit. In this episode of Team-Based Care, we will discuss Health Care Transition. Our guest host for this episode is Tim Markle, Director WI Youth Health Transition (YHTI) and Outreach Program Manager, Children's Resource Center-South. Our speakers are Dr. Heather Peto and Laura Vergenz, RN. Dr. Peto is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the UW Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She is also a Hospitalist in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at UW Hospital and Clinics and American Family Children's Hospital. Laura Vergenz, is a RN nurse and a Doctor of Nursing Practice student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing.