In this issue you will find resources in the following areas:
- Assistive Technology
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Children and the Internet
- Classroom Accommodations
- Colleges and Disabilities
- Dispute Resolution
- Early Intervention
- Educational Collaboration
- English Language Learners
- Family Information
- Functional Behavioral Assessment
- Inclusion
- Insurance Issues
- Learning Disabilities and Reading-Research Studies
- RTI
- Social Security Issues
- Spanish Language Articles From NICHCY
- Special Education Resources
- State and System Tools
- Technical Assistance
- Transition Services
- Work and Disability Information
Assistive Technology
Family guide to assistive technology & transition planning.
Coming soon from the Family Center on Technology and Disability (FCTD). This 50-page guide is aimed at providing families with the information they need to effectively prepare for and participate in periods of transition in their children’s lives. Individuals may order one free copy of the guide. Additional print copies are available for $10. A discount is available for bulk orders. To request one or more print copies, send an e-mail to fctd@aed.org.
Child Abuse and Neglect
Strengthening families and communities: 2010 resource guide.
This is a resource guide to support service providers in their work to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/res_guide_2010/
Children and theInternet
For those of you with children online.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan introduced a new guide to help parents educate children on Internet safety. Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online addresses safe use of social networking Web sites, cyberbullying, and the importance of protecting computers from viruses and other harmful software. – https://www.onguardonline.gov/
Classroom Accommodations
At the heart and soul of improved outcomes for children with disabilities may very well be the types of accommodations they receive in the classroom to help them access the general curriculum, learn new info and skills, and demonstrate their learning. Certainly, we get a lot of inquiries at NICHCY from both teachers and parents about how to adapt curricula, support students in the classroom, and provide instruction that meets their special needs. So we are focusing on this as our special topic in April.
You’d better bring a big bag to haul away the resources you find at NCEO (National Center on Educational Outcomes). Enter through the link below and find sections answering FAQs, publications, links to state websites posting their accommodations policies and information, and more.
https://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/TopicAreas/Accommodations/Accomtopic.htm
Accommodations for students with disabilities.
Here’s a short guide to explain accommodations.
https://das.kucrl.org/iam/studentacc.html
How to select, administer, and evaluate use of accommodations for instruction and assessment of students with disabilities.
https://www.osepideasthatwork.org/toolkit/accommodations_manual.asp
From TeacherVision.
https://www.teachervision.fen.com/special-education/resource/5347.html
Accommodation strategies.
Read Chapter 6 of the resource Collaborative Teaching: Special Education in Inclusive Classrooms.
https://www.parrotpublishing.com/Inclusion_Chapter_6.htm
An IRIS online module: Instructional accommodations.
Making the Learning Environment Accessible to Students With Visual Disabilities can be found at:
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/v02_successsight/chalcycle.htm
Accommodations and strategies for different disbilities.
Here, you’ll find info on what types of accommodations are appropriate for specific disabilities, namely: Autism | Mental Retardation | Learning Disability | Other Health Impaired | Emotionally Disturbed | Visually Impaired | Hearing Impaired | Orthopedically Impaired.
https://akuehnel3.tripod.com/index.html
What about accessible materials?
Bookshare provides an online accessible library for individuals with print disabilities and offers pre-recorded webinars for educators and parents. The link below will take you to the K-12 Educators Bookshare Community.
https://bookshare.org/_/community/educatorsK12
Maryland’s accommodations manual for students with disabilities.
https://tinyurl.com/yznk7oa
Florida’s guide for educators.
https://www.paec.org/fdlrstech/acom_edu.pdf
Including students with disabilities in STEM courses and activities.
https://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/acc.html
Accommodations for students with disabilities in high school.
https://www.ncset.org/premium-publications/viewdesc.asp?id=247
And for those with disabilities in college.
https://das.kucrl.org/iam/ACCSDModule.pdf
More for those in college.
https://www.disaboom.com/college-for-students-with-disabilities/college-accommodations-for-students-with-disabilities
Colleges and Disabilities
Disability-friendly colleges for students with physical disabilities.
This online college guide for students with physical disabilities contains interactive charts of the most disability-friendly colleges and profiles of the colleges that provide services necessary for students with physical disabilities to live on campus.
https://www.disabilityfriendlycolleges.com/
Dispute Resolution
New booklet from CADRE for families and advocates!
CADRE focuses on dispute resolution in special education. Its new booklet, Preparing for Special Education Mediation and Resolution Sessions: A Guide for Families and Advocates, is aimed at helping families and advocates take advantage of the dispute resolution options in IDEA.
https://www.directionservice.org/cadre/dukeguide.cfm
EarlyIntervention
Weigh in on newborn screening.
The Genetic Alliance wants to know your perspective on a number of important issues in newborn screening. They’ve crafted a survey on a range of topics, including number of conditions and what conditions are screened for at birth to key policy and system challenges. The survey takes less than 15 minutes to complete, and your participation helps inform the development of models to educate parents and create systems for informed decision-making in newborn screening. The survey closes on April 14th, so now’s the time to share your insights and experience.
https://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229ZDMPN6F2
Keys to high-quality child care for infants and toddlers.
Early care and education professionals need to understand the rapid physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional development that infants and toddlers experience. This resource from the National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative will help them do just that.
https://nitcci.nccic.acf.hhs.gov/resources/keys_to_hqccit.htm
The magic of catalogs and magazines.
This practice guide comes from the Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) and will give you ideas for using pictures and text from catalogs and magazines to help toddlers begin to connect meaning to print. https://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/cellpractices_rev/CELLprac_Magic_Cat_Mag.pdf
Including children with disabilities in state pre-K programs.
This policy brief of the Education Law Center will give you an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and policies that help ensure preschool-aged children with disabilities receive an appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
https://tinyurl.com/ykr8mk5
Registration for the 2010 Training Institutes is now open!
This is a conference on children’s mental health systems of care, where you can choose from 30 institutes and 30 workshops on improving practice and performance. Read all about it, and register if you like, at:
https://gucchd.georgetown.edu
Serving children in Part C: What qualifications must service providers have?
Workforce Preparation to Serve Children Who Receive Part C Services is a new policy brief from Project Forum. It summarizes the results of a survey sent to all states looking at: the requirements states expect professionals to hold for each of twelve different early intervention roles; the areas in which states have shortages; and how states are ensuring that qualified personnel fill positions. https://www.projectforum.org
How good does an early childhood program have to be in order to achieve school readiness outcomes for children?
Learning How Much Quality is Necessary to Get to Good Results for Children is a new 2-page brief from the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education, and is based on the findings that emerged from a NCRECE study.
https://ncrece.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/NCRECEInFocusV1I2Thresholdanalysis.pdf
State activities to inform families about outcomes.
The ECO Center has assembled documents developed by states and federal intervention systems to inform parents about child and family outcomes requirements, how outcomes measurement systems will be implemented in their state, and how the requirements will affect them and their children.
https://www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pages/states_parents.cfm
Educational Collaboration
NASSP/MetLife Foundation: Breakthrough Schools
https://www.principals.org/AwardsandRecognition/BreakthroughSchools.aspx
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the MetLife Foundation are calling for entries in the search for the nation’s top “Breakthrough Schools.” Applicants should be high-achieving middle or high schools, or schools that are making dramatic improvements in student achievement, whose best practices and outstanding results can help other schools in their own improvement efforts. Honorees will be chosen based on documented success in implementing strategies aligned with the three core areas of NASSP’s Breaking Ranks II publication: collaborative leadership; personalization; and curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Deadline: May 15, 2010.
National Center for Education Statistics Seeking Proposals
https://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=632&cid=2
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is sponsoring the STATS-DC 2010 Data Conference July 28-30, in Bethesda, MD. The Conference is designed for education researchers, policymakers, and data system managers from all levels of government who want to share innovations in the design and implementation of education data collections and information systems and to provide insight and comment on technical and policy issues related to the collection, maintenance, and use of education data. NCES invites interested parties to attend the conference and to submit a proposal for presenting a session that will add to the conference’s usefulness. Presentations of all relevant topics will be considered, but the major focus will be on education data system design and management, data standards, data delivery methods, and strategies for improving data use. Deadline for proposals: May 7, 2010.
Peer Reviewers Needed at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
https://opeweb.ed.gov/frs
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), is seeking peer reviewers (field readers) for its discretionary grant program application reviews. The application review process involves a reader orientation, reading and evaluation of applications, and discussions with other panelists. Apply on-line to become a reader for the OPE grant program.
The Gateway Project
https://www.thegatewayproject.org
The Gateway Project, a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE), which is itself a collaboration between Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University, and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, aims to serve as a gateway to research committed to the values of inclusion, respect, accessibility and relevance. The Gateway Project is recruiting participants on the autistic spectrum, and participants with and without disabilities for a series of continuing Internet-based research studies on topics such as health care, well-being, and problem solving.
English Language Learners
Instructional models and strategies for teaching English language learners.
This publication offers educators and policy makers guidance on research-based strategies that have been effective in instructing ELLs. 40 pages, from the Center on Instruction.
https://centeroninstruction.org/resources.cfm?category=reading&subcategory=materials&grade_start=0&grade_end=12#272
FamilyInformation
Rural FAQs and people with disabilities.
The Rural Assistance Center offers People with Disabilities Frequently Asked Questions, such as What support is available for families that have children with disabilities? and Are rural child care providers required to provide access to child care for children with disabilities?
https://www.raconline.org/info_guides/disabilities/disabilitiesfaq.php
Functional BehavioralAssessment
Need to know about functional behavioral assessment?
This is an IRIS professional development module called FBA: Identifying the Reasons for Problem Behavior and Developing a Behavior Plan. The module explores the basic principles of behavior and the importance of discovering the reasons that students engage in problem behavior. The steps to conducting an FBA and developing a behavior plan are described.
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/fba/chalcycle.htm
Inclusion
Inclusive education in schools and classrooms.
Here are 3 professional learning modules designed to develop participants’ understanding of inclusive curriculum, co-teaching, professional learning, and school/family connections. From the Equity Alliance.
https://www.equityallianceatasu.org/professional-learning/inclusive-education-for-equity/1
Infusing disability studies into the general curriculum.
This OnPoint provides hints and resources about how to start thinking, talking, and teaching about the meaning and experience of children with disabilities in our schools. From the National Institute for Urban School Improvement.
https://www.urbanschools.org/pdf/OPdisability.pdf
Insurance Issues
Are you underinsured or know someone who is?
The National Underinsured Resource Guide, developed by the Patient Advocate Foundation, is intended to help those who are underinsured locate resources and alternative options for coverage. You can search the resource guide in two ways: by using keywords or by completing the online interactive tool to help you find the missing pieces surrounding your particular situation.
https://patientadvocate.org/help4u.php
Learning Disabilities and Reading-Research Studies
Students with LD: Newest topic area at the What Works Clearinghouse.
One of the first releases in this new topic area is the WWC Intervention Report on the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) program that is designed to teach students to decode words and identify individual sounds and blends in words. The Clearinghouse reviewed 31 studies that investigated the effects of LiPS on students with LD. Read what WWC found, at:
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/learning_disabilities/lips/
Another from the WWC: Effectiveness of 10 reading and math software products.
See the one-page WWC Quick Review of a study that looked at the effects of ten reading and mathematics software products on student achievement. Analyzing data on more than 11,000 students in 23 primarily urban, low-income school districts, the study found that one of six products reading products had positive effects on test scores; none of the four math products did.
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/premium-publications/quickreviews/QRReport.aspx?QRID=126
RTI
Webinar | RTI for ELLs.
Wednesday, April 29, 2010, 2:00-3:00 PM
The National Center on Response to Intervention invites you to participate in the webinar, RTI for English Language Learners (ELLs): Appropriate Screening, Progress Monitoring, and Instructional Planning. This webinar is free and pre-registration is not required!
• To participate in the conversation, you can submit questions before and after the webinar by emailing them to: rtiwebinars@air.org
Fifteen minutes before the event starts, join by following the link below, which will take you to Microsoft Office Live Meeting.
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/airorg/join?id=RTIforELL&role=attend
Spanish Language Articles From NICHCY
¿Por Dónde Empezar? | Where to Begin?
This section is expressly written for Spanish-speaking families and others who’ve recently learned that their child has a disability. Here, they’re introduced to the disability network of help that’s available and can read FAQs of parents and the article “You Are Not Alone” in Spanish.
Sobre Discapacidades | About Disabilities.
This section is very similar to what’s on our website in English under “Disabilities” (first choice on our left nav). Just like the English, it features 3 threads you can follow: developmental milestones, categories of disability under IDEA, and fact sheets on 13 specific disabilities.
Encontrar Servicios para Niños con Discapacidades | Find Services for Children with Disabilities.
Here, Spanish speakers can read about early intervention services for children up to their 3rd birthday and special education services for children with disabilities from 3-21. They can also connect with our state resource sheets and the guide in Spanish to the resources listed there.
Sobre la Ley IDEA | About IDEA.
This section is loaded with info in Spanish about IDEA, including where to get a copy, key terms and definitions in IDEA, rights that parents have under IDEA, and how to resolve disputes under IDEA.
Sobre el Proceso de Educación Especial | About the Special Education Process.
Another section bulging with info! Here, you’ll find key processes described in detail: evaluation of children, determining eligibility, all about the IEP (its contents, the team that develops it, and the IEP meeting), determining the child’s placement, and revising the IEP.
Sobre Temas de Discapacidad | About Disability Topics.
This section connects families with information in Spanish on 6 disability topics: Behavior, Other Important Laws, Health, Related Services, Assistive Technology, and Transition to Adult Life.
Nuestras Publicaciones en Español | NICHCY Publications in Spanish.
Find NICHCY materials in Spanish through an alphabetical list of publications by title, a topic list A-Z, and a list of NICHCY en español for English speakers.
We know that many of you do not speak Spanish but still have a great need to connect Spanish-speaking families with reliable disability info. So we’ve tried make it easy for you to locate that material. Here are three primary ways:
• NICHCY en español for English speakers.
This lists–in ENGLISH alphabetical order–all the major topics addressed in our Spanish language pages, what it’s called in Spanish, and where to find it. https://www.nichcy.org/spanish/publicaciones/Pages/temas-English.aspx
• Spanish language resources.
Here’s a list of disability-related topics–again in ENGLISH alpha order–with connections to info in Spanish about that topic, AD/HD to TBI. Not just NICHCY materials now, this list takes you and yours into the world of resources outside our doors.
https://www.nichcy.org/Pages/spanishresources.aspx
• Links to the Spanish from within the English pages.
You’ll also notice that many of the English pages now sport a new link at the top: in Spanish | en español. If you’re reading a page with that link at the top, just click it and off you’ll go to the Spanish page where the same or similar information is offered.
Social Security Issues
Social Security benefits for children with disabilities.
What social security benefits are available for qualifying children with disabilities? How do they qualify? This booklet will tell you—and it’s also available in Spanish.
English | https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.pdf
Spanish | https://www.ssa.gov/espanol/10926.html
Special Education Resources
A Closer Look at Career-Changers
https://www.woodrow.org/images/pdf/policy/CareerChangersClassroom_0210.pdf
A new report from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, underwritten by the MetLife Foundation, points to the shortfalls in preparation and support for those who change careers to teach, and debunks common assumptions about their paths to teaching. To be eligible for the survey, interviewees had to be current teachers who had been teaching in public schools for no more than 20 years, and who had held positions in other fields for at least three years before teaching. Available in pdf (47 pages, 506 KB).
Alternative Schools and Programs for Public School Students at Risk of Educational Failure: 2007-08
Report
https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010026
This report presents data from a recent district Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) survey about alternative schools and programs available to students during the 2007-08 school year. Alternative schools and programs are specifically designed to address the educational needs of students at risk of school failure in a setting apart from that of the regular public school. They can be administered by the district or by another entity besides the district. The study includes information on the availability and number of such schools and programs, the number of students enrolled in them, and district policy on returning students to a regular school.
Beyond the Classroom: Creating Pathways to College and Careers for Latino Youth
Report
https://www.nclr.org/content/premium-publications/detail/61740/
This report, from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), provides evidence that Latino youth have a greater potential to diversify and enhance America’s workforce when they have access to a broader range of education and career networks. The study identifies common challenges to education and career success that Latino youth face and documents the role that NCLR’s after-school initiative, the Escalera Program: Taking Steps to Success, plays in improving participants’ academic and career preparation, as compared to their non-Escalera peers.
Building a Learning Agenda Around Disconnected Youth
Report
https://www.mdrc.org/premium-publications/545/
Built on a MDRC research review and consultation with youth policy experts, this report makes the case for developing a menu of approaches for the heterogeneous population of disconnected youth; building knowledge about mature programs (to better understand whether they work, for whom, and why), and creating new programs that address areas of unmet need. This framework may be particularly relevant for the Administration’s newly proposed Youth Innovation Fund.
Building a Learning Agenda Around Disconnected Youth
Report
https://www.mdrc.org/premium-publications/545/abstract.html
In December 2007 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave MDRC a grant to conduct research on promising strategies to reengage disconnected young people and improve their long-term outcomes. The grant’s objective was to identify key points for future investment by government and foundations. MDRC consulted with researchers and policy experts, reviewed the results of completed and ongoing evaluations of youth programs, visited a number of innovative youth programs and cities with strong youth strategies, and hosted a meeting of youth practitioners. The goal of the paper’s recommendations is to develop a menu of approaches for the heterogeneous population of disconnected youth – analogous in some ways to the multiple pathways that are being developed for high school students.
Current Challenges and Opportunities in Preparing Rural High School Students for Success
Report
https://www.all4ed.org/files/RuralHSReportChallengesOpps.pdf
Recent debate on high school reform at the federal level has not focused on rural schools, but a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education, Current Challenges and Opportunities in Preparing Rural High School Students for Success in College and Careers, finds that high schools in many rural communities are in trouble; currently, one in four rural students fails to graduate from high school, and the rate is even lower for minority youth. The report also looks at the development of promising practices that stem from the tight-knit nature of rural communities. Available in pdf (48 pages, 706 KB).
Didn’t Win? Consider the Progress, Regardless….
Research Brief
https://www.pie-network.org/web/guest/home
The Race to the Top competition, despite what many saw as its flaws, spurred tremendous change in reform climates across the country, according to a new monograph from the Policy Innovators in Education Network. The brief finds “important victories” in many states, whether selected as finalists, first-round winners, or neither. The initiative prompted regulatory changes in California, Illinois, Washington, and Tennessee, where until recently there had been “impenetrable legal barriers to education reform.” The competition also proved a “ready vehicle” for comprehensive efforts for widespread overhaul in states like Delaware, Florida, and Tennessee. The second round of the contest yields ongoing opportunities to leverage tougher reforms in states like California, Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Oregon, none of which advanced to the first round, and also challenges states like Washington, one of 10 that didn’t apply.
Education Research News
Newsletter
https://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/newsletters/
The Institute of Education Sciences’ March issue of Education Research News features interventions for students with learning disabilities, a new topic area added to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC); a discretionary grant program to study Race to the Top’ special education research grants; and others.
Going to Work: A Guide to Social Security Benefits And Employment for Young People with Disabilities
Resource Guide
https://www.communityinclusion.org/article.php?article_id=211
This booklet from the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), provides basic information about Social Security disability and health benefit programs, discusses what happens to Social Security disability and health benefits when a young person goes to work, and explains how to maximize a young person’s options when he or she goes to work.
Grading the Standards
Report
https://tinyurl.com/ydcabnl_
A review by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute of the National Governors’ Association Common Standards proposal finds that, contrary to other analyses, the draft’s math component is stronger than its English language arts one, earning an “A-”. ELA standards need greater “adjustment,” in the view of the reviewers, with “vague spots” and insufficient specific references to essential content. The reviewers call attention to the fact that, without an actual curriculum, the standards are merely aspirational. All this said, “assuming this draft only improves in the process of revision, the Common Core represents a rare opportunity for American K-12 education to re-boot,” the reviewers write, and is “a chance to set forth, across state lines, a clear, ambitious, and actionable depiction of the essential skills, competencies, and knowledge that our young people should acquire in school and possess by the time they graduate.”
Progress in Assessment
Report
https://www.achieve.org/files/AchieveClosingtheExpectationsGap2010.pdf
“Closing the Expectations Gap, 2010” is the fifth annual report in a series from Achieve, a nonprofit group created by the nation’s governors and business leaders, charting changes in state standards and practices in the years following Achieve’s 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools. This 50-state progress report on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and careers details state progress implementing the American Diploma Project policy agenda. Available in pdf (32 pages, 3.8 MB).
The Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition Demonstration Projects
Report
https://www.mdrc.org/premium-publications/546/overview.html
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is conducting the Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) as part of an initiative to encourage disability beneficiaries to return to work. The demonstration provides youth ages 14-25 with employment-related services and waivers of certain rules governing the Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance programs, including childhood disability benefits. The waivers augment existing financial incentives for beneficiaries to work. The evaluation includes a process analysis of the implementation of the seven original projects; this report focuses on those implementation experiences.
Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge
Job-Seeking Resources
https://www.careeronestop.org/jobseekertools
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced the results of its “Tools for Job Seekers Challenge.” Recommendations from the public regarding favorite online job seeking tools have been tallied and the top-rated sites are listed in each of six categories: general job boards, niche tools, career tools, career exploration tools, web 2.0 and “other.”
Wrightslaw Preparing for College and Continuing Education
Journal
https://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/10/nl.0316.htm
Parents of students with disabilities are often surprised to learn that their college-bound kids are no longer eligible for services. This issue of the Special Ed Advocate provides information to help plan ahead, choose a postsecondary school, find ways to finance continuing education, and advice about challenges students with disabilities encounter as they make the transition from high school to postsecondary education.
Going To Work: Real People, Real Jobs
https://realworkstories.org/
The Institute for Community Inclusion’s Real People, Real Jobs Web site is a growing catalogue of success stories about individuals working in paid jobs in their communities. Through the use of innovative, front-line employment support practices, these individuals are earning money, forming networks, and contributing to their communities.
State and System Tools
How to develop a logic model for districtwide family engagement.
This step-by-step guide is designed to help you understand and develop a logic model for districtwide family engagement efforts. It is designed to accompany Seeing is Believing: Promising Practices for How School Districts Promote Family Engagement. Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and the National PTA have teamed up to bring you the guide.
https://www.hfrp.org/content/download/3487/99463/file/HowToDeveopALogicMode-District.pdf
What a superlative student assessment system should look like.
This white paper from the Council of Chief State School Officers considers
what a student assessment system would entail if built from the best
practices in current educational research and educational systems in the
U.S. and high-achieving nations around the world. https://www.ccsso.org/premium-publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=381
2009 Nation’s Report Card in Reading just released.
The Nation’s Report Card presents results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 4th and 8th graders in all 50 states, DC, Department of Defense Schools, and the nation as a whole.
https://nationsreportcard.gov
Tools for digging into data from the NAEP.
NAEP webtools and applications make it quick and easy to find data of interest and customize your findings. To help you use all the features of these tools, there are quick reference guides, short introductory videos, tutorials, and help systems. Learn about all the webtools at
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/naeptools.asp
10 tips for SEAs and LEAs to improve their mediation agreement rates.
This CADRE tip sheet provides coordinators of mediation programs with ideas and strategies on how to improve their mediation agreement rate.
https://www.directionservice.org/cadre/pdf/CADRE_Ten%20Tips2.pdf
And now….Tips for state dispute resolution system managers.
Following an extensive review, CADRE identified four States with exemplary dispute resolution systems. Here’s their list of “Top Tips” for other State dispute resolution system managers. https://tinyurl.com/yhozvue
Using data to inform a state infant/toddler care agenda.
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) recently published A Tool Using Data to Inform a State Infant/Toddler Care Agenda. It includes key questions for state advocates and policymakers to better understand the context and conditions of infants and toddlers in the state.
https://www.clasp.org/babiesinchildcare/publications?id=0004
Technical Assistance
Hot off the press–the updated TA&D network placement.
The TA&D network is a great source of info and technical assistance for all of us with disability-related questions and concerns. The “placemat” (so called cos that’s what it looks like, only bigger) lists the 40+ projects in the network, the Comprehensive Centers, and the Equity Assistance Centers. Produced by the TACC (Technical Assistance Coordination Center), it’s your network of disability expertise, right at your fingertips.
https://www.tadnet.org/placemat
Transition Services
What works for older youth during the transition to adulthood.
This new Child Trends fact sheet looks at the role that programs for older youth (ages 18 to 25) can play in promoting positive development and subsequent self-sufficiency in adulthood. It synthesizes the findings from 31 rigorous evaluations of programs.
https://tinyurl.com/ylhpsmp
Work and Disability Information
Disabilities At Work Internet Talk Radio debutes April 14th.
DAW Radio will be spotlighting businesses that go ‘beyond compliance’ in finding and hiring qualified people with disabilities, or who support people with disabilities through philanthropy or in other ways. Tune in and hear corporate VIPs, successful service providers, educators, people with disabilities who have interesting stories, authors, researchers, government officials, elected representatives, and celebrities who have reasons to be involved. The show will make its debute on April 14, 2010, on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel and will air every Wednesday at Noon EST.
https://www.disabilitiesatwork.org/
NCWD/Youth to Offer Two Free Pre-Conference Sessions at NAWDP’s 2010 Annual Conference
https://www.nawdp.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Did_You_Know1&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2839
The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth), in partnership with the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP), will offer two pre-conference training sessions during NAWDP’s 2010 annual meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico from May 1 – 5, 2010. The pre-conference sessions are:
- Assessment & Individualized Planning: Charting a Course with Youth – Participants will receive hands-on experience with purposes, types, and selection of assessment tools, person-centered planning, and engaging youth in goal-setting.
- Employer Relations: Beyond the Handshake – In this interactive workshop, participants will learn about approaching potential partners, identifying employer needs, creating successful matches, and program role in advocating for youth and supporting employers.
These training modules are part of NCWD/Youth’s Youth Service Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities initiative aimed at providing youth service professionals with advanced training opportunities to improve their work with all youth. These interactive sessions will be limited to 20 participants and are open to non-conference attendees on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please contact Patricia Gill (gillp@iel.org).
U.S. DOL Releases Youth Summer Jobs Report
https://wdr.doleta.gov/research/keyword.cfm?fuseaction=dsp_resultDetails&pub_id=2436&mp=y
In late February, the U.S. Department of Labor released Reinvesting in America’s Youth: Lessons from the 2009 Recovery Act Summer Employment Initiative. This report found that the 2009 Recovery Act Summer Youth Employment Initiative was largely successful in connecting young workers with employment experiences. Overall, 317,000 young people took part in the initiative. The report analyzes monthly performance data submitted to the Employment and Training Administration by states and looks closely at the experiences of 20 select local areas.
Office of Disability Employment Policy-Funded Website Features Resources on Disability Employment
https://www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org
The Campaign for Disability Employment is a collaborative effort between several disability and business organizations that seek to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by encouraging employers and others to recognize the value and talent they bring to the workplace, as well as the dividend to be realized by fully including people with disabilities at work.
The web site offers a range of education and outreach tools, all designed to engage employers, people with disabilities, family and educators, and the general public. The site features on-line forums, grassroots tools, links to trusted resources that provide disability employment-related information, and more.
The Campaign is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy; receives technical assistance from the Job Accommodation Network; and is supported by the Disability Policy Research Center at West Virginia University.
Social Security Administration Hosts Free Work Incentive Seminar Events in Communities Across Country
https://www.cessi.net/wise
The Social Security Administration is hosting a series of free community events around the country for beneficiaries with disabilities and their families. These Work Incentive Seminar Events are held by local organizations and can help people receiving Social Security disability benefits (SSDI or SSI) learn more about the Ticket to Work Program, connect with local training and employment resources, and explore opportunities to increase income.
Federal Government Issues Rules Requiring Parity in Treatment of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Conditions
https://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ebsa/EBSA20100151.htm
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use conditions. The new rules prohibit group health insurance plans—typically offered by employers—from restricting access to care by limiting benefits and requiring higher patient costs than those that apply to general medical or surgical benefits. The rules implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
NAMI Launches Social Networking Site for Young Adults
https://www.strengthofus.org
The National Alliance on Mental Illness has launched StrengthofUs.org, a new online community where young adults living with mental health concerns can provide mutual support in navigating unique challenges and opportunities during the critical transition years from ages 18 to 25. Developed by young adults, StrengthofUs.org is a user-driven social networking community where members can connect with peers; share personal stories, creativity, and helpful resources; write and respond to blog entries; engage in discussion groups; and share videos, photos, and other news.
Finance Project Issues Brief on Financing Strategies for Youth-Serving Organizations in a Difficult Economy
https://www.financeproject.org/premium-publications/CuttingCostKeepingQuality.pdf
The Finance Project released “Cutting Cost, Keeping Quality: Financing Strategies for Youth-Serving Organizations in a Difficult Economy.” This brief highlights financing strategies that successful youth-serving organizations are using to maintain quality services despite difficult economic times. Drawing on interviews with leaders of 17 successful youth programs, the brief illustrates how organizations have aggressively managed costs, creatively generated new revenues, and created partnerships to mitigate the effects of funding cuts. In-depth examples help leaders understand how to implement and adapt these strategies to their unique context.
