Upcoming Events

2011 OSEP Leadership Mega Conference

Parent Center Updates

Federation for Children with Special Needs Holds Annual Gala

Special Education Advisory Councils – Strategies for Success

Announcements & News

TA&D Center of the Month: TACSEI

Office for Civil Rights Releases Technology Guidance

National Transition Conference

Resources

The Young Child Risk Calculator

How Families Can Support Youth’s Job Search and Retention

Parent Guide on Restraint & Seclusion 

Mental Illness Fact Sheets

Spanish Child Development Videos

Playground Surface Accessibility Longitudinal Study

New RTI Center Website

Technology

Facebook Nonprofit Resource Center

Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Cultural Competence

Nonprofit Management

Charting Impact Nonprofit Reporting Tool

Why Operating Reserves Matter

 

Upcoming Events

2011 OSEP Leadership Mega Conference

Register today for the 2011 OSEP Leadership Mega Conference, a training event for Parent Centers, state education agency staff, and lead agency staff to come together to learn and share perspectives. Register by June 24^th to receive the $300 rate. The National Parent Technical Assistance Center will cover the cost of airfare for one director or designee per federally funded Parent Center. Contact kerryjo.johnson@pacer.org with any questions. More>>>

Parent Center Updates

Federation for Children with Special Needs Holds Annual Gala

Federation for Children with Special needs (FCSN), Massachusetts’ Parent Training and Information Center, held its annual gala on May 13. The event included awards for leaders in the field, a silent auction, and musical entertainment by a local school and a singer/songwriter. Congratulations to executive director Rich Robison and all of FCSN for their great accomplishments! More>>>

Special Education Advisory Councils – Strategies for Success

The Rhode Island Parent Training and Information Center, RIPIN, has adapted PACER's Special Education Advisory Councils (SEAC) Strategies for Success online training modules into a 5-night, 15-hour training that they make available to school districts to train parent leader teams. Seven districts have already participated in the SEAC Strategies for Success: Building Special Education Advisory Committees training, and another series is planned for the fall. Congratulations to PTI director, Sue Donovan, training manager, Deb Belanger, and all of RIPIN on this exciting new technical assistance activity!  More>>>

Announcements & News

TA&D Center of the Month: TACSEI

TACSEI, the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI), recently updated its Teaching Tools for Young Children (TTYC) to include strategies for toddlers in addition to preschool children. The toolkit includes a user’s manual, a decision tree, forms for teaming, tips for consultation to the classroom, and guidance on assessing implementation and outcomes. TACSEI is a TA&D Center that’s goal is to improve stakeholders’ understanding of and ability to use evidence-based best practices for improving the social emotional outcomes of young children.  More>>>

Office for Civil Rights Releases Technology Guidance

On May 26, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released guidance to elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education on the legal obligation to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to the benefits of technology. The guidance includes dear colleague letters and a FAQ document. More>>>

National Transition Conference

The 2011 National Transition Conference originally scheduled for November 7-9, 2011 will be rescheduled for sometime in 2012. The conference will bring together a wide range of stakeholders including youth, family members, educators, rehabilitation staff, researchers, government officials, and others. Policy ideas, research findings, and best current practices will be shared. More>>>

Resources

The Young Child Risk Calculator

The Young Child Risk Calculator is a new online tool from the National Center for Children in Poverty that provides data on the number of children under age 6 who are experiencing developmental risks. The data can be disaggregated by state, age group, and other economic and other factors. More>>>

How Families Can Support Youth’s Job Search and Retention

A new InfoBrief from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Development for Youth (NCWD/Youth), Tapping into the Power of Families: How Families of Youth with Disabilities Can Assist in Job Search and Retention, describes how families and other caring adults can support youths’ job readiness, career exploration, and workplace success. The guide is also useful to educators and other vocational professionals. More>>>

Parent Guide on Restraint & Seclusion 

TASH recently published a parent guide to respond to and prevent restraint and seclusion of students with disabilities in school, Shouldn’t School Be Safe? The free resource provides information to parents about partnering with the school to take an active role in decision making regarding their child’s behavior plan. More>>>

Mental Illness Fact Sheets

The National Institute on Mental Health has published new fact sheets on how mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders affect children. Current findings and future research are discussed. More>>>

Spanish Child Development Videos

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has made three videos from its InBrief series available in Spanish. Titles include The Science of Early Childhood Development, the Impact of Adversity on Children’s Development, and the Foundations of Lifelong Health. More>>>

Playground Surface Accessibility Longitudinal Study

A new report from the National Center on Accessibility describes the performance of playground surfaces after one year in use. The study describes the accessibility, safety, and maintenance issues of various surfaces and their implications for children with disabilities. More>>>

New RTI Center Website

The National Center on Response to Intervention recently redesigned its website to be easier to navigate and include a new advanced search function. More>>>

Technology

Facebook Nonprofit Resource Center

Facebook recently relaunched its Nonprofit Resource Center to share best practices, success stories, and other information useful to supporting nonprofits’ use of the social networking tool. More>>>

Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Cultural Competence

The recent Family Center on Technology and Disability newsletter includes insights from an educator on multicultural issues related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assistive technology tools. More>>>

Nonprofit Management

Charting Impact Nonprofit Reporting Tool

The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, GuideStar USA, and Independent Sector collaborated to develop a framework for reporting that asks nonprofits to answer five basic questions about the work they’re trying to accomplish. The standard format was designed to promote strategic thinking and provide a concise format for stakeholders to view nonprofits’ progress in meeting their missions. More>>> 

Why Operating Reserves Matter

This blog post on philanthropy.com provides resources on helping nonprofit boards understand what operating reserves are and why they’re important to a nonprofit organization’s sustainability. More>>>