New Hampshire Pre-ETS: How to Access Pre-Employment Transition Services

Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) are one of the best-kept secrets in New Hampshire's special education system. They're free, they don't require a formal VR eligibility determination, and they can start as early as age 14. Yet most families never hear about them until years after their child could have been participating.

What Pre-ETS Are (and Are Not)

Pre-ETS are short-term, introductory vocational services delivered through VR New Hampshire — the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation within the NH Department of Education. They're funded through a combination of federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) dollars and state appropriations.

Pre-ETS are not the same as standard VR services. Standard VR requires a formal application, an eligibility determination, and an Individual Plan for Employment (IPE). Pre-ETS bypass all of that. Any student with an IEP or a 504 plan is "potentially eligible" and can access services without a formal application or waitlist.

The Five Required Activities

Federal law mandates that Pre-ETS cover exactly five activity areas:

1. Job Exploration Counseling — learning about different industries, touring workplaces, informational interviews with employers
2. Work-Based Learning Experiences — internships, job shadowing, paid or unpaid work trials in real community settings
3. Counseling on Postsecondary Enrollment — guidance on college programs, trade schools, apprenticeships, and the legal differences between high school IEP supports and college ADA accommodations
4. Workplace Readiness Training — building the soft skills employers actually screen for: showing up on time, communicating with supervisors, managing a schedule, handling workplace social dynamics
5. Instruction in Self-Advocacy — learning to request accommodations, communicate needs, and navigate systems independently

Who Can Access Pre-ETS in NH

Eligibility is broad. Any student who meets all three conditions:

• Has an active IEP or a Section 504 plan
• Is between age 14 (or enrolled in 9th grade) and age 22
• Is enrolled in an educational program

That's it. No separate application to VR. No clinical evaluation. No Order of Selection waitlist. The student just needs a referral.

How to Get a Referral

There are two paths:

Through the school: Ask the IEP team to invite a VR New Hampshire representative to the next transition IEP meeting. Schools are supposed to be coordinating with VR, but the referral doesn't always happen automatically. Parents can request it directly and should provide written consent for the school to share information with VR at least 14 days before the meeting.

Directly through VR: Contact the nearest VR New Hampshire regional office and ask about Pre-ETS for your student. VR has seven regional offices across the state — Berlin, Concord, Keene, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, plus a specialized office for individuals who are blind or vision impaired.

How Pre-ETS Are Delivered

Services come through several channels:

• Student Transition Specialists employed by VR who work directly in schools
• Individualized counseling sessions at VR regional offices
• Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) contracted by VR — organizations like Easterseals New Hampshire that run structured programs for youth with disabilities

The delivery model depends on the student's location and the specific activity. A student in a larger district might access Pre-ETS through a school-based specialist, while a student in a rural area might work with a CRP.

Why Early Access Matters

Starting Pre-ETS at 14 gives a student up to eight years of vocational exploration before school services end. That's enough time to try multiple work environments, discover what they enjoy, build real employment references, and develop self-advocacy skills before they're expected to navigate the adult service system alone.

Waiting until 18 compresses all of that into the final years of school — the same years when the family is simultaneously managing Medicaid applications, SSI determinations, Area Agency intakes, and transfer-of-rights decisions.

The Connection to Standard VR Services

Pre-ETS are the on-ramp. When a student needs more intensive support — job coaching, adaptive equipment, postsecondary tuition assistance — they'll need to formally apply for standard VR services and develop an IPE. The recommendation: start that process at age 16 or 17, so the eligibility determination (due within 60 days) and IPE development (due within 90 days after eligibility) are complete well before the student exits school.

The New Hampshire IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes the full VR coordination timeline showing exactly when to initiate Pre-ETS, when to submit the formal VR application, and how to align the IPE with the student's IEP transition goals so nothing falls through the gap.

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