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Learning Opportunities for Families

Deborah Richards, Consultant, CT State Department of Education (CSDE)

Helpful Resources for Families

The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), Bureau of Special Education continues to work with local school districts in a variety of ways to provide information and support to families of students with disabilities. On a monthly basis, the Bureau meets with a Parent Work Group in order to gather input from families themselves on the most effective ways to provide outreach. To that end, the Parent Work Group developed Helpful Resources for Families, a brochure designed to be an easy and cost effective tool that the Bureau, parent organizations, and school districts can use to connect families with organizations that support families of students with disabilities.

The brochure contains contact information for statewide organizations and agencies; families who contact a statewide organization can then ask about local chapters that may be available to them. The brochure also has a section that local school districts can complete with the names and contact information of agencies and support groups specific to that community. The brochures are available in English and Spanish. To date, 30,000 brochures have been disseminated.

To request a copy, contact the special education director in your town, or call Mary Jean Schierberl, Education Consultant, Bureau of Special Education, at (860) 713-6943 to request copies.

Families as Partners Training

Another project that the Bureau has been engaged in over the past eighteen months is the Families as Partners Training Project. Two statewide parent support organizations – the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) and the A.J. Pappanikou Center for Developmental Disabilities – have been contracted by the Bureau to conduct the training. The training is designed to provide districts and families with information and support in preparing for the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meeting, developing the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and resolving differences or conflict that may occur during the meeting. Each grantee identified fifteen districts to participate in the project. As part of the data collection for the grant, an external evaluator has been reviewing feedback from the participants and conducting follow-up interviews to determine the most effective practices for reaching out and providing support to families.

The grant will culminate this fall with a district level "train the trainers" session, Conducting Joint Training for Families and Professionals on the IEP Process. This training will be available to all districts, and will demonstrate the training materials that have been piloted with over 500 parents and professionals across Connecticut. Districts are encouraged to send a team consisting of both school staff and parents.

For information about this training, contact Annie Stockton at CPAC, 1-800-445-2722, or Regina James at the Pappanikou Center, (860) 679-1500.

Parent Survey Report

The final project being completed this fall is the summary of the 2005 Connecticut Special Education Parent Survey Report. In the spring of 2005, the Bureau conducted a statewide survey of the parents of students receiving special education services, ages three through twenty-one. The survey was a collaborative effort developed by the Parent Work Group. The surveys were sent to 6,225 families representing elementary, middle, and high school students from all disability categories from 100 schools chosen randomly throughout the state. Responses were received from 1,627 families, a 26.1% response rate. The summary report is being finalized – watch for it on the CSDE web site in the next month (www.state.ct.us/sde).

Deborah Richards can be contacted at (860) 713-6925, or deborah.richards@po.state.ct.us.