{"id":1388261,"date":"2025-07-25T15:11:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T19:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/?post_type=resource&p=1388261"},"modified":"2025-07-28T12:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:22:03","slug":"what-is-a-chapter-688-referral","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/es\/resource\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Chapter 688 referral?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Massachusetts, Chapter 688 is also known as the “Turning 22” law.<\/p>\n

What is a Chapter 688 Referral?<\/h2>\n

Chapter 688 is a law in Massachusetts addressing the needs of young adults with severe disabilities as they end their public-school education and transition into the adult service system.\u00a0 It requires a planning process to start at least two-year before graduation from high school or when special education services end, whichever comes first.\u00a0 At that time, the school district makes a Chapter 688 referral directly to human services agencies as well as to the Bureau of Transition Planning. Adult agencies in Massachusetts include the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), and the Department of Mental Health (DMH).\u00a0 Since special education services can continue until the child turns age 22, the law is also known as the \u201cTurning 22 law\u201d.<\/p>\n

Even with a referral to an adult services agency, family or caregivers must submit an application for the student to the chosen agency.\u00a0 The family should also follow up to make sure the agency received the application to avoid any unnecessary confusion or delay when the student leaves high school.<\/p>\n

Learn more from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s resource page on the Chapter 688 guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":1387322,"template":"","resources-categories":[305,232],"topics-filter":[269,274,275],"age_filters":[250],"language_filters":[308],"class_list":["post-1388261","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resources-categories-families","resources-categories-adult-life","topics-filter-laws-legal-rights","topics-filter-special-education-ieps","topics-filter-transition-to-adult-life","age_filters-age-14-22","language_filters-english"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.3","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es","pt","ar","zh","vi"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"pt":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ar":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"vi":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a Chapter 688 referral? - Federation for Children with Special Needs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/resource\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is a Chapter 688 referral? - Federation for Children with Special Needs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/resource\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federation for Children with Special Needs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T16:22:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Fotolia_21124033_S-e1753470694543.jpg?fit=565%2C469&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"565\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"469\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/resource\\\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/resource\\\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\\\/\",\"name\":\"What is a Chapter 688 referral? - Federation for Children with Special Needs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/resource\\\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/resource\\\/what-is-a-chapter-688-referral\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/fcsn.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Fotolia_21124033_S-e1753470694543.jpg?fit=565%2C469&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-25T19:11:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-28T16:22:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is a Chapter 688 referral in Massachusetts? 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