Poor postschool outcomes historically await students with disabilities upon graduation. For more than three decades, professionals have responded to this unfortunate reality by focusing on the provision of effective supports and services for the successful transition to adulthood. Social workers play critical roles in supporting this successful transition, yet they are often left out of conversations on policy and practice. One such area involves the role of social workers in the lives of students with disabilities approaching the rights and responsibilities of legal adulthood. Ethics of social work dictate that social workers must navigate a dynamic tension between acting on behalf of “vulnerable” groups and supporting their capacity to act on their own behalf. This tension may create an unnecessary ambiguity when it comes to responding to issues related to adult decision-making support. In this paper, the authors discuss the landscape of decision-making supports in the context of modern social work practice and the ways in which social workers can and should re-think their position on guardianship for transition-age students with disabilities. Practical suggestions to enhance transition outcomes through alternatives to guardianship are provided.

毕业后的不良学业成绩历来等待残疾学生。三十多年来，专业人士通过专注于为成功过渡到成年期提供有效的支持和服务来应对这一不幸的现实。社会工作者在支持这一成功过渡方面发挥着关键作用，但他们往往被排除在政策和实践对话之外。其中一个领域涉及社会工作者在接近法定成年期的权利和责任的残疾学生的生活中的作用。社会工作的伦理要求社会工作者必须在代表“弱势”群体行动和支持他们代表自己行动的能力之间驾驭动态的张力。在回应与成人决策支持相关的问题时，这种紧张关系可能会造成不必要的模棱两可。在本文中，作者讨论了现代社会工作实践背景下决策支持的前景，以及社会工作者可以而且应该重新思考他们对过渡年龄残疾学生监护的立场的方式。提供了通过替代监护来提高过渡结果的实用建议。