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Issue No. 16 |
September, 2012 | |
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DIRECTORS' WELCOME | | |
Dear Friends,
We hope that everyone had an enjoyable and restful summer season. Now that school is back in session throughout the country, we know that your center is probably humming with activity! As we move into some of the busiest months at our parent centers, it is important to ensure that the fundamentals which underpin our organizations and services are solid. Therefore, the theme of this edition of the Region 4 Insider is "back to basics". We hope that you find the following articles helpful in shoring up your foundation so that your center is well equipped to move forward.
As always, as your regional technical assistance provider, we are here for you and your Boards, no matter what your issue.
Jan Serak and Courtney Salzer
Region 4 PTAC Co-Directors
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Region 4 Parent Center News | | |
Region 4 PTI's Refunded!
Illinois - PTI - Region 1 - Michelle Phillips, Director
Family Matters Parent Training and Information Center
Illinois - PTI - Region 2 - Debbie Einhorn, Director
Michigan Alliance for Families
PTI - Region 1- Caryn Ivey, Director
PTI - Region 2 - Michelle Miller, Director
Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities
PTI - Region 1 - Lee Ann Derugen, Director
PTI - Region 2 - Margaret Burley, Director
Region 4 welcomes a new CPRC in Pennsylvania:
Jill Hrinda-Patten, Director
Mission Empower (formerly Educational Advocacy for the Inclusion of Youth) was formed to address the dire need to integrate youth with disabilities into their communities and society as a whole. Prior to the inception of EAIY, there were no other groups or agencies exclusively empowering, educating or advocating for families and youth with disabilities in Erie County. Advocates and parents of children with disabilities rallied around this common vision to create this organization.
Mission Empower strives to integrate the current generation of all youth with disabilities to be fully included, productive, participatory citizens of their community. through education, advocacy and empowerment. Mission Empower has developed a three pronged approach for promoting inclusion: educational advocacy, youth leadership/mentoring, and community education programs.
Jill Hrinda-Patten, the President of Mission Empower, is an individual with significant disabilities. In 1991, Jill received her BA degree in psychology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Jill has had more than ten years of experience in the Independent Living Movement and in educational advocacy. Her passion is to integrate future generations of youth with disabilities into all aspects of society.
Jill is a member of the Gaskin Settlement Advisory Panel for Least Restrictive Environment. This panel advises the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide the inclusion of students with disabilities in the public school system.
MIssion Empower Website |
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NON PROFIT MANAGEMENT |
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Back to School for Parent Center Boards!
With the new school year underway, kids throughout the country are boning up on content from the previous year and digging in to new concepts. So, we thought it might be a good time to remind you that your Boards of Directors might benefit from going back to school! Parent Center Boards are essential to the overall health and stability of our organizations. One of the main responsibilities of board members is to maintain financial accountability of their organization. Board members act as trustees of the organization's assets and must exercise due diligence to oversee that the organization is well-managed and that its financial situation remains sound. Below you will find articles and resources that we have identified to help your parent center have a more robust dialogue with your Board of Directors related to financial issues. Remember - your regional technical assistance team is available to provide training to you AND your board on financial issues.
Fiduciary Responsibilities of Board Members - a good overview article from BoardSource.
Why is Financial Management Important of Nonprofit Organizations?- a VERY good, resource filled article from the National Council on Nonprofits that covers how to make your Board financially literate, managing cash flow and important financial policies.
How to Talk About Finances So Non-Financial Folks Will Listen - an article designed to help executive directors talk to their direct service staff about finances, but the concepts and ideas will translate easily to non-financial savvy board members.
Nonprofit Budgeting Process - a short step-by-step overview of how to successfully budget for a nonprofit organization from the Nonprofit Assistance Fund.
Balance Sheet Cheat Sheet - a nice snapshot on understanding nonprofit balance sheets from the Nonprofit Assistance Fund.
Budgeting: A Guide for Small Nonprofit Organizations - a very comprehensive, free guide from the Virginia Society of Public Accountants. Great for the finance committee.
Protecting Assets with Sound Internal Controls - a quick overview of the most important financial internal controls from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. |
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TECHNOLOGY | | |
PR YOUR CENTER WITH QR CODES
Can you read these?
 
A QR Code (it stands for "Quick Response") is a cell phone readable bar code that can store website URL's, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses and pretty much any other alphanumeric data.
Storing up to 4296 characters they are internationally standardized under ISO 18004, so a QR code is a QR code all over the world - they've been big in Japan forever, broke into Europe and the UK a few years back, and are now getting real traction in USA.
You can create a QR code for your Center. There are tips and tricks for creating and using codes on this site also. Once you create your QR code, you can print it on a T-shirt (watch the fun when people try to "scan you"), on your brochures, on workshop calendars, on a exhibit display board. Your scan can take people to your website, to fundraising information, to a training calendar, to contests and give aways, etc.
It is easy to download an app to a cell phone for scanning QR codes. There are many websites with the apps. Sample App
Social Media Do Chart
This chart has been added to the Files section of the Region 4 Yahoo group. Includes suggested tasks for staff and Board members related to use of social networking to promote your organization and disseminate information (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and You-Tube). |
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MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE | | |
RESOURCES IN SPANISH
The National Center for Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)
Los Pasos Hacia el Éxito: Cómo comunicarse con la Escuela de sus hijos
Steps to Success: Communicating with Your Child's School
This brochure offers 6 specific communication skills that may be helpful to parents as they develop and maintain partnerships with their child's school. The 4-page document is written in plain language and is available to download for free
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Video: Entendiendo las Posturas y los Intereses
Understanding Positions & Interests
This 9-minute video is available to assist Spanish-speaking parents in understanding conflict and managing disagreements in special education. The video provides real life examples of differences between parents and professionals, to demonstrate the relation between conflict and positions, and to identify common interests to resolve their conflicts in special education. |
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LEGAL UPDATE |
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Recent OSEP Policy Letter
A December inquiry by Wisconsin disability groups recently resulted in an OSEP policy letter (6/22/12) that indicated work placements must reflect LRE principles. It is not appropriate to place a student automatically in a segregated community work site. The letter noted that if the IEP team determines work placement is an appropriate transition service, it must be included in the IEP. The IEP Team is required to provide parents with written "notice of placement" before the proposed placement is initiated or changed. The district must provide supplementary aids and services, if needed, to allow the student to participate in the least restrictive work placement possible. The letter indicated the SEA has a responsibility to monitor an LEA if evidence exists that the LEA makes work placements that are inconsistent with the provisions of IDEA. Time spent in a work placement that includes individuals with and without disabilities should be counted by the SEA as time spent inside the regular classroom when reporting the number of students participating in regular education (Indicator #5 Educational Placements).
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TA&D NETWORK | | |
The TA Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports has been established by the Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education to give schools capacity-building information and technical assistance for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school-wide disciplinary practices.
PBIS Newsletter Volume 5
Volume 5, issue 1
Monthly Variation in ODR per 100 Students per Day
University of Oregon PBIS Workgroup
Volume 5, issue 2
Growth in the Cumulative Number of ODRs in Elementary School Settings
University of Oregon PBIS Workgroup
Volume 5, issue 3 Changes in Percentage of Elementary Students at Various Risk-Levels
University of Oregon PBIS Workgroup
Volume 5, issue 4
Influence of School Level Socioeconomic Status and Racial Diversity on Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support Implementation
Jennifer L. Frank, Robert H. Horner, & Cynthia M. Anderson, University of Oregon
Access previous PBIS Newsletters here. |
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IMPORTANT DATES 2012 | |
Sept. 19, 2012
CADRE webinar, Reconnecting with the Roots of IEP/IFSPs, 1:30-3 CST/2:30-4 EST
September 19-21
National PTAC Institute, Minneapolis, MN (attendance is optional)
September 27, 2012
TA Alliance Webinar - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
3:00-4:00 EDT (2-3 CDT, 1-2 MDT, 12-1 PDT
October 5, 2012
OSEP State Advisory Panel/ICC Webinar, 2-3 p.m. CST/ 3-4 EST
October 10-11
Region 4 PTAC -Fall Summit, Milwaukee, WI
October 15, 2012
2012-13 Region 4 ICAP's Due
2012-13 Region 4 Center TA Needs Assessment Due
Nov. 7-9, 2012
New Directors' Training, Arlington, VA
11/7 - reception; 11/8 all day; 11/9 - to 1 p.m
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REGION 4 INSIDER
