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Northeast Parent Centers'
Assistance & Collaboration Team
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| Newsletter Issue 4 |
May, 2009 |
Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) / Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs)
Located in the states of CT-CPAC, ME-MPF, MA-FCSN, MA-Urban Pride, NH-PIC, NJ-SPAN, NJ-ASCF, NY-AFC, NY-UWS, NY-TAC, NY-RCSN, NY-Sinergia, NY-PNWNY, RI-RIPIN, and VT-VFN. |
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Greetings!
We are pleased to bring you this new edition of the NEPACT E-Newsletter. We hope you will enjoy the resources.
The Region 1 Technical Assistance Center; in collaboration with the Alliance for Parent Centers, provides technical assistance to federally-funded parent centers -- Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) - located in the states of  Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These Parent Centers are independent non-profit organizations. Secondary clients for our work include emerging parent centers and parent organizations serving families of children with disabilities. In addition, we work with education agencies (local, state and federal level) seeking information regarding best practices in involving parents of children with disabilities in the systems improvement.
Our goals:
--Enhancing 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 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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June 15 - 17, 2009
Regional Conference
The Courtyard Marriott
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Topical Regional Teleconference
To facilitate state sharing and joint problem solving, we will again be hosting a series of joint teleconferences with SEA Directors, Part C Coordinators and Parent Center Directors in the Northeast. These calls provide an opportunity for states (Parts B and C Lead Agencies and Parent Centers) to share their knowledge and experiences regarding IDEA implementation issues and to discuss possible opportunities for collaboration.
Look for more specific information several weeks before each call. If you have resources or ideas to share to help shape the calls and to make them more useful to your state, please send them to Vicki Hornus, vhornus@wested.org. Additional dates will be identified for the Fall.
We hope that you and your staff will be able to join us!
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Tiered Interventions Search Engine
The Newark Public Schools (NPS), Newark Teachers Union (NTU) and the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) have developed this "Tiered Intervention Search Engine" (TISE) to assist in pinpointing the resources they need to prevent and/or address academic, behavioral and health problems and succeed in school. Through this web-based portal, teachers, administrators, parents and students can access an array of resources from the:
1. New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE);
2. Newark Public Schools, including research-based interventions that stakeholders can
utilize to prevent and address the many problems Newark students encounter; and
3. collaborations between the Newark Teachers Union (NTU) and the Statewide Parents
Advocacy Network (SPAN). |
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Outreach & FY 2010 Budget
To spark ideas about how schools and school districts might use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, particularly under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), Title I, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B, the Department has released a new resource: "Using ARRA Funds to Drive School Reform and Improvement." This document includes framing questions for decision-making and examples of potential uses of funds to improve educational outcomes from early learning through high school. While many districts may need to use a portion of their ARRA funds to save jobs, all schools and districts should be considering how to use these funds to improve student outcomes over the next two years and to advance reforms that will have a long-term impact. Click here for more information. To date, over $7 billion in ARRA funding under the SFSF has been approved for nine states. The latest approved states are Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin. The agency has pledged to release funding within two weeks after receiving acceptable state applications. Click here for more information. Approved state applications, Department ARRA reports.
On May 7, President Obama released his full Fiscal Year 2010 budget request, including $46.7 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education. ED Review will summarize the budget request in a future issue. Click here for more information. |
Achievement Gap Report
 Secretary Duncan addressed education leaders from across the country on the release of " The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools," a new report from McKinsey & Company. This report examines the dimensions of four gaps in education: (1) between the U.S. and other nations, (2) between African-American and Hispanic students and white students, (3) between students of different income levels, and (4) between similar students schooled in different regions or systems. It finds, notably, "The persistence of these educational achievement gaps imposes on the U.S. the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession." The Secretary encouraged attendees to "turn this great crisis into an opportunity." Specifically, he cited the importance of longitudinal data systems (funded by the ARRA) in creating transparency, connecting data to outcomes, and creating systemic change. |
Task Force Recommends Screening Adolescents for Clinical Depression
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends screening adolescents for clinical depression only when appropriate systems are in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care. This applies to all adolescents 12 to 18 years of age. In a separate recommendation, the Task Force found insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening children 7 to 11 years of age for clinical depression.
Depressed children and adolescents are at an increased risk of suicide, which is the third-leading cause of death among people age 15 to 24 and the sixth-leading cause of death among those age 5 to 14. Adolescents suffering from clinical depression are also more likely to suffer from depression in early adulthood. Nearly 6 percent of adolescents 13 to 18 years of age are clinically depressed, and it is more common among girls than boys.
The Task Force is the leading independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care. The Task Force, which is supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, conducts rigorous, impartial assessments of the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a broad range of clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling and preventive medications. Its recommendations are considered the gold standard for clinical preventive services. The Task Force based its conclusions on a report from a research team led by Selvi Williams, M.D., at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, which is part of AHRQ's Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center.
Click here to view summary of recommendation and other supporting documents. Previous Task Force recommendations, summaries of the evidence and related materials are also available on the AHRQ Web site. Clinical information is also available from AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse. For more information, please contact AHRQ Public Affairs: (301) 427-1539 or (301) 427-1855. |
NAMI Releases Guide to Crisis Intervention Programs for Youth
NAMI has published a guide titled, Supporting Schools and Communities in Breaking the Prison Pipeline: A Guide to Emerging and Promising Crisis Intervention Programs for Youth, to help inform advocates about existing crisis intervention programs for youth and what they can do to promote and implement such programs in their states and communities. The guide responds to concerns about the alarming number of youth with mental health treatment needs who continue to enter the juvenile justice system. Schools in particular have been a pipeline into the juvenile justice for far too many youth in America. Crisis intervention programs for youth promise to support schools and communities in breaking this prison pipeline. To download a copy of the guide, please visit NAMI's Child and Adolescent Action Center (CAAC) or NAMI's CIT Resource Center. Advocacy fact sheets are being developed to accompany the guide and will be posted online soon as well...so stay tuned! For more information contact Dana Markey, Program Coordinator, at danac@nami.org, or Laura Usher, CIT Coordinator, at laurau@nami.org. RTI at the secondary level continues to be a topic that I hear discussed with some angst among educators. These two articles might be useful in furthering the conversation in your district or with colleagues. Response to Intervention: The Future of Secondary Schools [6-12] - This article includes a general explanation of RTI, its importance to secondary school principals, and a description of the components of effective RTI programs. Response to Intervention at the Secondary Level [6-12] - This article discusses tiered interventions including whole-school, small-group, and individual interventions that make RTI initiatives successful. |
HEATH Resource Center
The HEATH Resource Center is an online clearinghouse with information for students with disabilities on educational disability support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, financial assistance, scholarships, and materials that help students with disabilities transition into college, university, career-technical schools, or other postsecondary programs.
New to their site is the addition of 14 training modules written for high school students with disabilities preparing for transition from high school to college, a module for parents, and a module for college/university professionals. These 16 modules are accessed by clicking on the "Modules" tab found at the top of their website. Development of these self-directed modules and their improved website was supported in part by Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation dedicated to expanding success in education beyond high school.
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States Expand Newborn Screening for Life-Threatening Disorders
 According to a new report by the March of Dimes, all 50 states and the District of Columbia now require that every baby be screened for 21 or more of the 29 serious genetic or functional disorders on the uniform panel recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) and endorsed by the March of Dimes. If diagnosed early, these disorders can be treated to prevent death, disability, or other serious consequences. To learn more click here. |
Your Chance to Weigh in on Early Childhood Assessment Measures
 The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) invites those who work with young children from birth to age eight to participate in a consumer rating of early childhood assessment measures. Click on image for more information. |
Guide Assists Families of Children with Mental Health Needs
The Family Guide to Systems of Care for Children with Mental Health Needs provides information on how to seek care for children with mental health needs. Families across the country had a hand in determining the content and format in the hopes that other families will get the information they need to know. English guide, Spanish guide. |
Racial Equity Tools
Racial Equity Tools is a web site designed to support people and groups who are working for inclusion, racial equity and social justice. The site includes ideas, strategies and tips, as well as a clearinghouse of resources and links from many sources. Racial Equity Tools is a companion site to Evaluation Tools for Racial Equity - which helps people track progress and document results of similar work, in racially explicit and competent ways. | |
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