November 15, 2012 MPACT ENews

MPACT ENews

November 15, 2012

Greetings!

Did you miss an issue of the MPACT ENews? Delete it by mistake? Wish you could find a past article? Well you can! To view current and past issues of the MPACT ENews visit our website at http://ptimpact.org/News.aspx

Online Trainings offered through MPACT

MPACT has just added another online training to our resources, Extended School Year is now available along with:

Special Education: What I Need to Know
IDEA Transition Requirements
Transition to Post Secondary Experiences (Part 1 & 2)
Connecting Goals to Coordinated Activities and Services for Transition
Transition Resources - Disability Disclosure
Soft Skills

You can access them by going to our Training page and clicking on Online Training, or CLICK HERE .

In This Issue

MPACT Online Trainings

Parent Mentor Program

MYLF Accepting Applications

Transition to ECSE FAQs

2013 Inclusion Award Nominations

Soft Skills Video Vignettes

Upcoming Trainings

Quick Links

Volunteer

Fact Sheets

Surveys- Let us know how we're doing.
Contact Us!

MPACT Parent Mentor Program

MPACT Parent Mentors are available to offer support and guidance to parents of children with disabilities throughout the IEP process. Parent Mentors are volunteers who receive 24 hours of initial training, ongoing monthly training, and technical assistance from MPACT staff with regard to special education law, the IEP process, conflict resolution, and effective communication. Their goal is to help parents build a collaborative partnership with the school district so their child may receive an appropriate education. To view the list of current MPACT Parent Mentors, go to http://ptimpact.org/Volunteer/MentorList.aspx.

If your school district has had a MPACT Parent Mentor in attendance at an IEP meeting, please take a moment to complete a brief online survey located at http://ptimpact.org/Surveys.aspx if you have not already done so. A separate survey should be completed for each mentor who has provided services to parents in your district. These surveys assist MPACT and DESE with identifying and addressing areas of success and improvement with the Parent Mentor Program.

For more information about MPACT or if you have questions regarding the status of a Parent Mentor, please contact MPACT by telephone at (800) 743-7634 or by e-mail at info@ptimpact.org. You can also view the MPACT website at http://www.ptimpact.org.

Missouri Youth Leadership Forum Accepting Applications

The Governor's Council on Disability is now accepting applications for the 2013 Missouri Youth Leadership Forum, July 21-24, 2013, at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

The Missouri Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities is a unique career leadership-training program for high school juniors and seniors with disabilities. By serving as delegates from their communities at a three and a half day event, young people with disabilities cultivate leadership, citizenship, and social skills.

During the MYLF, youth delegates have the opportunity to:

Learn about disability history and culture
Participate in discussions concerning leadership career development skills as well as issues pertinent to persons with disabilities
Learn positive strategies from adult mentors and youth peers with disabilities
Learn about assistive technology
Visit Jefferson City to learn about the legislative process and meet with elected officials concerning policies and legislation that affect persons with disabilities

Please share this information with high school students with disabilities (ages 16-21) and other interested parties. For more information about the annual Missouri Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities and the online application, please visit the website at http://disability.mo.gov/gcd/ylf.htm.

If you have any questions, please contact Dawn Evans at Dawn.Evans@oa.mo.gov or 573-751-2600.

Transition from First Steps to ECSE Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) from the recent webinar on Transition from First Steps to Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) recorded on October 9, 2012, is now available on the Office of Special Education website under "Frequently Asked Questions - Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)" at: http://dese.mo.gov/se/compliance/Q&A/. The FAQ includes First Steps (Part C) and ECSE (Part B) requirements such as LEA notification/referral, First Steps late referrals, timelines, transition plan, and conference with LEA.

Additionally, materials related to the October 9, 2012, webinar on Transition from First Steps to ECSE including the recording and handouts are also available on the Department's webinar page at: http://dese.mo.gov/webinar/Webinar-10-09-12-SE.htm and on the First Steps Transition page at: http://dese.mo.gov/se/fs/Transitionindexpg.htm.

2013 Inclusion Award

The Governor's Council on Disability is now accepting nominations for the annual Inclusion Awards which recognize and honor a Missouri resident, organization, or business that illustrates excellence in leadership for best inclusion practices. The chosen winner and one honorable mention will receive their awards at the annual Power Up assistive technology conference.

For more information and to complete the nomination form, please visit GCD's website at http://disability.mo.gov/gcd. Deadline for nominations is November 30, 2012.

Video Vignettes Illustrate 'Soft Skills' All Young Workers Need

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy has developed a series of free video vignettes as part of its "Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success" curriculum.

Youth services programs, educators and others helping young job seekers prepare for employment are encouraged to view, display, share and lead discussions about the videos, which aim to help all youth, including those with disabilities, develop and strengthen six essential skills needed to succeed in today's workforce: communication, networking, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking, and professionalism.

Although employers have identified these skills as being among the most important competencies young workers need, three-quarters of those participating in a survey by the Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the Society for Human Resource Management ranked new high school graduates as deficient in soft skill areas. The videos explain what soft skills are, why they matter, and what young workers and job seekers can do to improve them.

To download fact sheets and activities from ODEP's soft skills curriculum, visit http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/.

Free MPACT Trainings

MPACT trainings are provided free of charge to parents of children with disabilities. To sign up for an upcoming training, follow the links below, then click on the 'SIGNUP' button located next to the training name. Fill in your name, email address, phone number, the name of the training you wish to attend and the date it is being offered.

While registering for a training is not mandatory it does ensure that the trainer has an adequate amount of handouts. This also allows MPACT to contact you should a training need to be cancelled or rescheduled. To view a comprehensive list of all trainings provided by MPACT go to http://ptimpact.org/Training/Training.aspx.

Please be sure to double check the website training pages for any updates or changes to trainings offered.