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Navigating Excellence - Parent Center Assistance & Collaboration Team
Region A E-News
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“Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” ~ Dale Carnegie
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Message From Diana & Michele |
We all painfully know that the journey to reach a seemingly unattainable goal is difficult. Parent Centers have taken these steps throughout their existence and will continue to do so. Our hope at NE-PACT is that you never feel alone in your journey. |
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The Parent Education and Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center serves families, youth and professionals throughout Pennsylvania. In 2005, parent founder Liz Healey had a passion to start a Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) to serve the western and central regions of PA, which became statewide in 2014. PEAL’s mission is to provide support to families, youth and professionals, ensuring that Pennsylvania children with disabilities “lead rich, active lives as full members of their schools and communities”. To enhance the leadership capabilities of family members, the PEAL Center offers Family Leadership Institutes (FLI) twice each year. During 8 sessions, the FLI families learn skills to carry their burning issues from ideas to action. Many FLI participants become key players in promoting inclusive education and advocating for better services for individuals with disabilities. Learn more about what the PEAL Center has to offer.
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Upcoming Events/Dates to Remember |
Region A Drop-In Call: The July Drop-in call has been canceled due to the July 4th holiday. The next Region A Drop In Call will take place on Tuesday, August 2, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. The NE-PACT Drop-In calls are on the first Tuesday of every month. Check your calendar invite for additional details. Please let us know if you have any agenda items. Join here.
COVID-19 Drop-In Call: The next COVID-19 Drop-In call will be on Tuesday, July 19th, 10:00-11:15 am. We will discuss what is happening in your state/territory/community, address any new developments, and identify any help you need concerning COVID-19. Join here.
REAL Update: Join us on Thursday, July 21st, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, as we listen to a group of young adults with disabilities discuss what independence means to them and which skills have helped them toward their goals. Register here.
Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference: The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) will host its Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference virtually from Monday, July 18th to Thursday, July 21st. Register here and view the agenda.
National Parent Center and F2F Conference: For the first time ever, we will bring together the Parent Center and the Family to Family Health Information Center networks for a national conference! We will start the morning of Tuesday, October 18th and end around noon on Thursday, October 20th. Access the conference website. See you there!
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Non-Profit Management Resources |
Six Simple Tricks for Running a More Effective Non-profit Meeting: Have you ever looked on your calendar and seen nothing but a wall of meetings stretched before you, seemingly keeping you from getting your “real work” done? Staff meetings can be one of the most or least valuable tools nonprofits have to get everyone moving in the same direction. This article has some simple tricks to make your meetings more productive and less of a chore.
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Family-Centered Services Resources |
More than Marketing: A NJ Study on Outreach to Underserved Populations Birth to Five: In 2012, the NJ Council for Young Children commissioned the National Institute of Early Education Research to identify recommendations for reaching diverse, underserved families with children ages birth to 5. They included a representative from the NJ PTI in their work. Read the report. |
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Youth-Centered Services Resources |
Youth for Education, Advocacy and Healthcare (YEAH): The YEAH Council from New Hampshire, which is sponsored by New Hampshire Family Voices and New Hampshire Parent Information Center, has a new project! Check out their brochure to help other youth with special healthcare needs and/or disabilities prepare for a smooth and effective trip to the Emergency Room.
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Staff Development Resources |
Follow the Money: The US Budget and You: Would you like your staff to know more about the federal budget, but don’t want them to have to wade through a bunch of jargon? Check out these great resources developed by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.
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School’s Medicaid’s Role in Addressing Mental Health is Focus of HSPF Meeting: A new survey by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 70 percent of public schools reported an increase in the number of students seeking mental health services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
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Bullying Prevention Resources for Educators and Families: The Committee for Children has an excellent webpage on bullying, including what it is, who is affected, how to prevent it, and what parents should know. Check it out.
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Choice/Charter Schools/Virtual Schools/Voucher Programs |
Supreme Court Says Religious Schools Can’t Be Singled Out for Exclusion from Public Dollars in Carson V Makin: The US Supreme Court has held that when a state provides funding to private schools to provide secular education, it must also fund private religious schools even when they do not meet the state’s academic standards and discriminate against students and families on the basis of LGBTQ+ status. The state of Maine's legislation provided tuition support in the form of vouchers for parents to use to send their children to public or private non-religious schools and the Court said that was a violation of the First Amendment. Find the opinion here. The decision could mark the beginning of a new series of lawsuits, including whether charter schools can be religious and whether states can exclude private schools of all kinds from government aid. Read here. |
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Equity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence - Resources to Consider: CADRE has compiled resources geared toward assisting states, parent centers, practitioners and families who are interested in equity initiatives and developing or improving cultural competency in their own practice or within their professional environments. View the resources. |
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Discipline & Positive Behavior Supports |
Trauma’s Impact on the Benefits of Student Behavioral Intervention: Positive behavior interventions can work to improve behavioral and academic outcomes for all students, research has shown. But after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, those benefits stopped for Black students. Read about the study. |
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Collaborative Advocacy Guiding Principles: Collaborative Advocacy is an approach to advocating for children with disabilities that utilizes collaborative problem-solving skills and relationship-strengthening strategies to resolve disagreements. This approach can be used by anyone serving as a third-party advocate to focus on improving educational and developmental outcomes for students with disabilities. Download the guide here. |
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Motivating Students to Do Their homework (English & Spanish): Your child gets home after a long day at school and you ask, “Do you have any homework?” Does your child complain and say something like, “Yes, but I don’t want to do it!” or “Yes, but it’s too hard”? What happens next? If you’re like many parents, you soon find yourself in an argument that may end in your child doing the homework, but you’re both mad. Check out this 17 page parent guide to motivate your child to do their homework.
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Early Childhood/Early Intervention |
Pandemic Babies are behind after years of stress, isolation affected brain development: Kids born in the COVID-19 era lag in certain skills and are more prone to challenging behaviors. Experts say their parents need more support. Read more here. |
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Stakeholder Guide to the Every Student Succeeds Act: The Center for Parent Information and Resources has an excellent guide to ESSA developed in collaboration with The Advocacy Institute.
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Districts Need to Setup W-Fi for Learners in Low Income Neighborhoods: We know that there are millions of families with school-age kids who don’t have internet access. Most of these families lack internet access because they can’t afford it. We know that this creates problems for learners in school. So why not eliminate these problems by providing internet access to needy families? Click here for examples to level the digital learning field.
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Kinship Care and the Child Welfare System: Sometimes grandparents, other relatives, or family friends care for children when their parents are unable to care for them. This arrangement, known as kinship care, can occur with or without the involvement of a child welfare agency, depending on the situation. This factsheet for families is designed to help kin caregivers work effectively with the child welfare system. It also includes resources, such as links to more detailed information or places to find support, to help caregivers learn about and navigate the child welfare system.
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Grandparents as Caregivers |
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Grandparents and other relatives parenting children face unique challenges. Share these state specific resources from across the country.
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U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Pregnancy Discrimination Investigation of Salt Lake Community College: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of a student’s complaint of pregnancy discrimination against Salt Lake Community College, in Utah. Read the resolution. |
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Improving How We Identify and Support Students Experiencing Homelessness: If identifying homeless students is important for mitigating the negative impacts of homelessness, then it stands to reason that early identification would be especially valuable. Read more here
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Dear Colleague Letter with four recommendations: This resource highlights seven key challenges to providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood, K–12 schools, and higher education settings, and presents seven corresponding recommendations.
Fact Sheet: Providing Students with Disabilities Free Appropriate Public Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Addressing the Need for Compensatory Services Under Section 504: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued this fact sheet to remind elementary and secondary public schools of their obligations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide appropriate evaluations and services to students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, including schools’ responsibility to provide compensatory services.
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Study: Immigrants in the U.S. are more likely to start firms, create jobs: Compared to native-born citizens, immigrants are more frequently involved in founding companies at all scales. Taking firm creation into account, the results indicate that immigration to the U.S. is associated with a net gain in job availability, contrary to the common perception that immigrants fill jobs that U.S.-born workers would otherwise have. Learn more. |
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Can we Talk about the Coffee Cart?: This video by Paula Kluth pushes back and wants all of us to ask the question, “How can we do inclusion better?”
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Juvenile Delinquency/Juvenile Justice |
Are Juvenile Records Public? Not all states seal them, but there is a movement to change that. Read more here.
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Preventing Homelessness in Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth: Research reveals that experiencing marginalization, physical or verbal threats, discrimination, and trauma can undermine physical, social, emotional, and mental health. This can be particularly true for youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) or questioning (Q) their sexual orientation or gender identity. An estimated 43% of homeless LGBTQ youth are forced from their homes because of conflicts with their families about their sexual orientation or gender identity; 32% have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse at home over their sexual orientation or gender identity (Durso and Gate, 2012). Discover more here. |
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Mental Health in America- A Workplace Report: There is a workplace mental health crisis in America. Burnout, exhaustion and hopelessness are more common among workers than ever before, while pandemic-related stress continues to chip away at productivity. Read more. |
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Military Families & Youth |
Purple Star Schools: What can states do to help military-connected youth? The NJ Senate cleared a bill creating Purple Star Schools, specifically by recognizing schools that place emphasis on assisting children of active duty military and helping families to more easily navigate the often difficult educational path for military dependents and spouses.
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) in Indian Country: Due to numerous historical policies and practices employed by the federal government against American Indians and Alaska Natives, it is not surprising that many Native individuals, families, and communities have been impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), causing physical and mental health issues in their lifetimes. A new resource, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) Information Hub: ACEs in Indian Country, includes a valuable “resource basket” designed for Native and non-Native professionals, such as Parent Center staff. It includes hard-to-find, culturally-specific research articles, tools, and interventions. Find the resource basket here. |
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Parent/Family Engagement (and Youth!) |
Family Engagement Toolkit: Continuous Quality Improvement Through an Equity Lens: WestEd disseminates this useful toolkit developed by the California Department of Education.
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WIC Must be Modernized to Serve More Families and Address the National Crisis in Food Security: Families with small children are facing an unprecedented food crisis as the United States confronts a serious infant formula shortage. For those using the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the formula crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed troubling questions about the access and availability of food benefits in the program. This is a critical moment for WIC to assess how it delivers food and other services to ensure that barriers are lowered for the most vulnerable communities in our country. Learn more. |
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Remote Learning/School Reopening |
Resources for Learning at Home: Check out these links to materials as a potential resource for parents, students, schools, teachers, and other educators to use during this challenging time.
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Inside the Quiet Rooms: NJ schools are locking kids in padded rooms, are they breaking the law? Read more here.
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Social-Emotional Learning |
How High Schools Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning: Fourteen years ago, Cleveland public schools turned the rooms where students were sent for in-school suspension into places where students having behavioral issues could go to talk to a counselor, do homework or just relax in a beanbag chair. Learn about more tools to address social-emotional learning. |
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Report: 33% of organizations don’t have a digital focus on accessibility: Now more than ever, diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) is at the forefront of customers’ and employees’ perceptions of businesses. But it’s time we all address the missing “A”: accessibility. Read more. |
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Transition to Adult Life/Youth |
School-Based Health Center Playbook on Health Care Transition: The School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA) and Got Transition®, in collaboration with an advisory group of school-based health center (SBHC) clinicians, administrators, and young adults, created a "SBHC Playbook on Health Care Transition (HCT)" which guides SBHCs and other school staff on assisting students with their preparation for the transition from pediatric care to adult health care.
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Creating Supportive Environments When Scary Things Happen: The National Traumatic Stress Network offers guidance on creating supportive environments for youth when scary things happen. This fact sheet includes information on routines, rhythm, and rituals for families and caregivers.
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ABOUT THE REGION A PARENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
The Navigating Excellence-Parent Assistance and Collaboration Team (NE-PACT), the Region A Technical Assistance Center, provides technical assistance to federally-funded parent centers -- Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) - NEPACT Logolocated in the states of CT-AFCAMP, CT-CPAC, DC-AJE, DE-PIC, MD-PPMD, ME-MPF, MA-FCSN, NH-PIC, NJ-SPAN, NJ-ASCF, NY-AFC, NY-CIDA, NY-LIAC, NY-UWS, NY-Starbridge, NY-INCLUDEnyc, NY-Sinergia, NY-PNWNY, PA-HUNE, PA- ME, PA-PEAL, PR-APNI, RI-RIPIN, VI-DRVI and VT-VFN. These Parent Centers are independent non-profit organizations. We also provide support to emerging parent centers and parent organizations serving families of children with or at risk of being identified as having disabilities. In addition, we work with early intervention and education agencies (local, state and federal level) seeking information regarding best practices in involving parents of children with disabilities in systems improvement.
The center activities are specifically designed to:
- Enhance the capacity of parent centers to provide effective services to families of children with special needs and to work effectively with their states to improve special education and early intervention systems; and,
- Facilitate their connections to the larger technical assistance network that supports research-based training, including educating parents about effective practices that improve results for children with disabilities. For more information click here.
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