Parent Center Updates

Parent to Parent of Miami Partners in College Program for Students with Disabilities

Open Doors for Multicultural Families Holds Family Fall Event

Archived Webinars for Parent Centers

Announcements & News

TA&D Center of the Month: LeadScape

New Children’s Mental Health “Action Signs” Released

Summer 2012 White House Internship Program

Resources

25 years of IDEA Early Childhood Programs

No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration

Parent's Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder

New Reports from DisabilityStatistics.org

Early Literacy Activities in Multiple Languages

Social Security Spanish Website

Technology

Online Safety Report

Nonprofit Management

Executive Director Evaluation

Parent Center Updates

Parent to Parent of Miami Partners in College Program for Students with Disabilities

Florida International University recently launched “Project Panther Life” in partnership with the Miami-Dade Public Schools and Community Parent Resource Center (CPRC) Parent to Parent of Miami. Through Project Panther Life, students with intellectual disabilities work with a peer mentor and faculty member to gain social and academic skills and experience college campus life.  Congratulations to Executive Director Isabel Garcia and the entire organization on this exciting initiative! More>>>

Open Doors for Multicultural Families Holds Family Fall Event

Open Doors for Multicultural Families, a new CPRC in Kent, WA, held a family fall event for families of children with disabilities. Families picked and carved pumpkins and had family photos taken by a volunteer professional photographer. One mother described the event as an "oasis of friendliness" and said, "It was so nice to see my son having a good time." See photos of the event on their Facebook page! Open Doors is directed by Ginger Kwan. More>>>

Archived Webinars for Parent Centers

Over the past year, webinars have been conducted for Parent Centers on topics such as autism, Fragile X Syndrome, Continuation Reports, Language Access, and more. Access the archived recordings and materials from the webinars on the ParentCenterNetwork.org portal. More>>>

Announcements & News

TA&D Center of the Month: LeadScape

The National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI) LeadScape project is a professional development learning center dedicated primarily to supporting principals in their efforts to create inclusive classroom environments in their school buildings to ensure students with disabilities have access to the general education classroom. LeadScape uses a variety of technology platforms to make research-based information and tools available online and to connect principals with each other in professional learning communities. A large number of topical briefs have also been published through the project covering issues such as disproportionality, immigration, gender equity, leadership, cultural competence, and more. More>>>

New Children’s Mental Health “Action Signs” Released

The REACH Institute, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and a group of mental health experts, recently published the Action Signs Project toolkit. The action signs (originally called “warning signs”) are research-based but worded in common-sense, non-stigmatizing ways and indicate that a child or youth may need evaluation or intervention by a mental health professional. The toolkit includes dissemination materials, information handouts, and links to related resources. More>>>

Summer 2012 White House Internship Program

The Summer White House Internship Program runs from May 29-August 10, 2012, and the application deadline is January 22. Interns provide a wide range of tasks including writing memos, responding to correspondence, conducting research, and attending meetings. More>>>

Resources

25 years of IDEA Early Childhood Programs

October marked the 25^th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C and Part B Section 619 early childhood programs. The Data Accountability Center (DAC) developed a historical analysis of the program using child count data and other factors. Additionally, an anniversary video was produced by the Technical Assistance Coordination Center. Learn more about Part C at http://idea.ed.gov/part-c/search/new.

No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration

This new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation provides statistics on the ineffectiveness of juvenile incarceration and examples of successful juvenile justice reform efforts. More>>>

Parent's Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder

The National Institute of Mental Health recently updated their Parent’s Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder. This comprehensive document helps parents understand the different types of autism spectrum disorder, the diagnosis process, treatment options, and available resources. More>>>

New Reports from DisabilityStatistics.org

The 2009 Disability Status Reports are now available by state in English and Spanish and include information such as prevalence of various disabilities across age groups, employment and income statistics, and education and healthcare data. More>>>

Early Literacy Activities in Multiple Languages

Washington Learning Systems’ On the Go early literacy sheets are available at no cost in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Somali, Burmese and Russian.  The materials provide parents with ideas for activities to promote early language and literacy development in children with and without disabilities. Free registration is required to download the materials. More>>>

Social Security Spanish Website

The United States Social Security Administration has a launched an enhanced Spanish version of its website: www.segurosocial.gov. The new site allows individuals to quickly apply online for retirement and Medicare benefits completely in Spanish. More>>>

Technology

Online Safety Report

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) recently published the State of Online Safety Report that includes international trends in digital citizenship and efforts to inform children and parents about online safety. Examples of relevant legislation and educational programs are provided. More>>>

Nonprofit Management

Executive Director Evaluation

Read this article from BlueAvocado.org to learn various processes for conducting executive director evaluations, and download sample forms that can be modified to fit the unique needs of organizations. More>>>