Parent Network of Western, NY Native American Collective Impact: From June 3–5, the Parent Network of Western New York hosted the Native American Collective Impact gathering in Buffalo, NY. The event took place in recognition of the 101st anniversary of Native American and Indigenous peoples being granted U.S. citizenship—a milestone that calls us to honor history while deepening our commitment to inclusion and equity.

During the convening, Workgroup members gathered at the Parent Network of WNY for a rich overview of Native American culture and traditions. Participants had the opportunity to visit the Native American Museum of Art, followed by an immersive day at the Seneca Arts & Learning Center (SALC), located on the Allegany and Cattaraugus Reservations. SALC provides holistic child care and early childhood development services, deeply rooted in cultural values.

The Parent Network of WNY has fostered a strong partnership with SALC, and this visit allowed the Workgroup to learn from their practices in engaging Native American families—as well as honoring the diversity of all cultures represented within the center. A moving presentation shed light on the traumatic history of residential schools and the lived experiences of survivors, deepening the group's understanding of generational resilience and the strength of the Seneca Nation.

This convening served as a powerful reminder of the importance of culturally responsive and inclusive programs. By centering Indigenous voices and traditions, we not only strengthen our partnerships but reaffirm our collective responsibility to create spaces where every family is respected, valued, and supported.

Region A Drop-in Call: The next Drop-In call is scheduled for Tuesday, July 1, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST. It will include the quarterly Collective Impact Workgroup meeting from 10:45 to 11:30 AM, and a presentation from Suzanne Farris of Family Voices, our featured Technical Assistance Provider.

2025 NE-PACT Region A Conference - Call for Proposals & Registration Now Open: NE-PACT, the Region A Parent Technical Assistance (TA) Center is hosting the 2025 NE-PACT Region A Parent Center conference with Project Directors, Executive Directors, and key staff from October 28 to 30 at the Courtyard Marriott Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD, for this year’s conference: "Collective Impact in a Divided and Rapidly Changing Environment." The conference will explore: Technology use across service tiers, Advocacy and skill-building in today’s landscape, and Building staff and organizational capacity.

Submit a Proposal by July 1: We are seeking presentations that highlight cross-sector partnerships, promising practices, and/or offer interactive learning. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by July 25, 2025. Final materials for Workshops are due: October 3, 2025. Submit here.

Registration Details:

• $275 until September 4 (5:00 p.m.)
• $325 from September 4 (after 5:00 p.m.) to September 15
• Includes sessions, materials, and lunch (Tues–Thurs); lodging and dinner not included
• Lodging: $159/night (plus taxes and fees (17.5% tax) at Courtyard Marriott Inner Harbor

NE-PACT attendees: NE-PACT will pay for two people from your center, one of whom should be focused on working with youth/young adults. Email Dr. Lanisha Makle-Ridley at lmakleridley@spanadvocacy.org for the promo code to waive your registration fee. Register here.

2025 OSEP Conference: The annual OSEP Conference will take place on August 5-6, 2025, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. This year’s event will span two full days. Only one person per project may attend, and it must be the Project Director. Registration is still live here.

National Dropout Prevention Center 35th Annual Conference: October 12-15, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. Learn more under Dropout Prevention, below. Learn more here.

CPIR Calendar: Don’t forget to check out the HUB Central Events calendar at the Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) for more webinars and events.

Maintaining DEI Commitments: Legal Considerations in Today’s Climate: The Minnesota Council on Non-Profits has valuable information on this topic here.

Protecting your Health in a Polarized World: Expert Advice on Political Stress: Syracuse University News shares some tips to help you – and help you help parents – deal with the stress and trauma associated with what is happening on the national stage right now, here.

Youth Action Toolkit: Developed alongside the National Youth Forum on Homelessness, this toolkit provides youth-focused guidance for ending youth homelessness for underserved populations, from exploring housing models to forming action boards, preventing burnout, and prioritizing self-care. Whether you're just getting started or deep into advocacy work, this resource offers practical steps to drive lasting change. Download the Youth Action Toolkit (PDF available in English and Español) here.

SkillPath: SkillPath offers a wealth of free professional development trainings and resources here. 

Chronic absenteeism is schools' 'biggest problem.' Five reasons kids are missing school: Chronic absenteeism - when students miss at least 10% of the school year - has become an epidemic in America’s schools. Though educators and advocates hoped attendance would improve after the instability of the pandemic, in many cases it has become more pervasive and intractable. Read more here.

FAQs about bilingualism and dyslexia: Dyslexia is a common learning difference. It exists all over the world, in all languages. But even though the difficulties are largely the same in each language, children who are bilingual and have dyslexia face a special set of challenges. Read more.

Resources to stop Bullying: Bullying is a problem of epic proportions that has long-term effects on youthful victims, robbing them of self-esteem, isolating them from their peers, causing them to drop out of school, and even prompting health problems and suicide. Resources can be found here.

National Council on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW): NCSACW is a national resource center providing information, expert consultation, training, and technical assistance to child welfare, dependency court and substance use treatment professionals to improve the safety, permanency, well-being, and recovery outcomes for children, parents, and families. Read more here.

How Vouchers Hurt Public Schools: Calculating the Cost of Voucher Programs to Public School Districts: The Economic Policy Institute has a report and an fiscal externality calculator here.

Black Parents and the Importance of Cultural Competence in Therapy: Finding a Black therapist isn’t easy. According to the 2022 Black Mental Health Workforce Survey, within the United States, only about 5% of psychologists, 7% of marriage and family counselors, 20% of social workers, and 11% of professional counselors are Black. Learn more here.

How to Protect Yourself from Being Manipulated by Data: Read this piece from Psychology Today here.

Not Your Grandma’s PBS: An examination of PBS framework over the last two decades. Check it out here.

Preparing for Special Education Mediation and Resolution Sessions a Guide for Families and Advocates: This guide provides a comprehensive article on preparing for special education mediation and resolution sessions, including tips for both families and advocates. It offers communication tips for building strong partnerships and additional resources for locating further information. Access the guide here. 

National Dropout Prevention Center 35th Annual Conference: Chronic absenteeism is surging, AI is reshaping classrooms, and student mental health concerns are growing. With 6.5 million students missing school regularly and less than half feeling engaged, educators are seeking urgent, research-backed solutions. The 35th Annual National Dropout Prevention Conference, set for October 12-15, 2025, in Orlando, will deliver actionable strategies to address these pressing challenges. Learn more here.

Families of children with autism hail Florida's new law that increases early detection and intervention: Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a major bill aimed at increasing early detection and intervention for children with autism. It also works to fill in the gaps in children’s education with specialized programs. Under the bill, the University of Florida Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment will develop a micro-credential so that instructional personnel can learn skills to help students with autism. Read more.

What Federal Changes Mean for Your Classroom: Educators for Excellence summarizes the education policy “reforms” proposed by the current administration here.

Three judges, including two Trump appointees, rule against the Department of Education’s anti-DEI policy: President Donald Trump’s efforts to crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs suffered a major legal blow as three separate judges - two of them appointed by the president, ruled against a Department of Education policy that threatened to withhold federal funding for schools engaging in DEI or incorporating race in certain ways in many other aspects of student life. Read more here.

Resources for Foster Care: This resource provides letters and reports to states for important programmatic activities, including the States’ consolidated State plans, requests for waivers, monitoring reports, and the peer reviews of State assessment systems. The list may be sorted or filtered by State, year, program, and activity. Find your resource here.

Are You A Long-Distance Grandparent? Living far from your grandchildren doesn’t mean you can’t stay close. Discover practical tips to build strong bonds and stay connected across the miles. Learn more here.

Including All Children: Health for Kids with Disabilities: This piece by Action for Healthy Kids provides an overview of the current status of children with disabilities and strategies to overcome some of the barriers they face in maximizing their health, here.

National Job Corps closure leaves students homeless: This article focuses on NJ students, but applies to all states, and you can access additional information in your area.

The shrinking number of special ed teachers adds to schools’ pressures: The number of special education teachers nationally has dropped by more than 17 percent over the past decade, a worrisome trend in a career path that has seen chronic shortages for years. Read more here.

Immigration Raids Add to Absence Crisis for Schools: New research shows that after recent deportation sweeps, parents kept their children home — with big impacts on how all students learn. Read more here.

Nine Secrets to Inclusion in Schools: IDEA prioritizes inclusion, but what does this look like in schools? Dr Naina Cowell and Chloe Cooke offer nine keys to successful inclusive practice. Learn more here.

Massive blow to Juvenile Justice Programs: Youth Services Insider has gone through the details, released last Friday, to update our budget and appropriations chart for readers. Access here.

Advocacy Toolkit: True Colors United offers a step-by-step guide designed specially for LGBTQ+ youth to drive change in their communities. Topics include how a bill becomes law, digital campaigning strategies, and tips for planning awareness initiatives. Perfect for youth leading school clubs, launching local advocacy campaigns, or working with adult allies to end LGBTQ+ youth homelessness. Available here in English or Spanish.

Real Risk to Youth Mental Health Is ‘Addictive Use,’ Not Screen Time Alone, Study Finds: Researchers found children with highly addictive use of phones, video games or social media were two to three times as likely to have thoughts of suicide or to harm themselves. Learn more.

Request for Information for 2027 Department of Defense (DoD) State Priorities Impacting Service Members and Their Families: Wondering how you can help? The DSLO (Defense State Liaison Office is asking for your input — new ideas, policy fixes, and innovations that could improve life for military families — to help shape the 2027 DoD State Policy Priorities. Submit via the Federal Register Notice: Request for Information – DoD 2027 State Policy Priorities here.

Native Student Fights to Walk in Regalia at Her High School Graduation: In 2018, California passed Assembly Bill 1248, which amended the state’s education code to explicitly allow Native American students to wear items of cultural or religious significance at graduation ceremonies. Now, nearly six years later, Ramos has introduced new legislation to close the loopholes. His new bill, AB 2335, would make it clear that only the student and their family, not school administrators, can decide what counts as tribal regalia. Read more.

Youth Engagement: Best Practices for a Successful Strategy: This article by Go Vocal outlines key strategies and provides practical tips for achieving meaningful youth engagement.

What Children in Poverty Could Lose from the Big Beautiful Bill: Check out this article from NPR on the child poverty implications of the House-passed budget bill.

Maine Schools report thousands of restraints and seclusions per year, but the real number is higher: Even with incomplete data, experts say districts show alarming reliance on practices meant for emergency use. Read more here.

Understanding SEL Building Skills for Life and Learning: This resource from CASEL introduces the foundations of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)—a vital process that helps young people and adults develop healthy identities, manage emotions, build relationships, and make responsible decisions. Learn how SEL supports equity, academic success, and strong school-family-community partnerships. Learn more here.

Accessibility In 2025: Forces, Finance, And The Future: As Accessibility Hits A Crossroads, Innovation (And Capital) Will Dictate Where The Industry Emerges. Learn more here.

Planning the Transition to Adulthood for Youth with Disabilities: This guide from Exceptional Lives walks families through the three essential steps in preparing youth with disabilities for adulthood: Start Planning, Build Skills, and Find Adult Services. With clear language and actionable tips, it’s a great resource for navigating this important life stage. Access guide here.

Racial Trauma: Check out this information from the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on how racism can cause trauma, here.