Parent Network of Western New York (PNWNY): In an earnest effort to foster a more inclusive and equitable community, Parent Network of Western New York (WNY) has recently taken a significant step forward by participating in anti-racism training provided by Open Buffalo. This move signifies their commitment to strengthening their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and procedures and aiming to create a more just and fair society for all. The training not only laid a solid foundation for the staff’s understanding of racial disparities but also underscored Parent Network’s determination to identify and rectify institutional inequities in their work. Read more here.

Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN): Join FSCN’s NextGen Careers Youth Coordinator, Mikayla Metcalf, and Danielle Daugthry, Transition Coordinator, on Connecting YOU(th)—a monthly virtual conversation for young adults by young adults. Ask questions. Meet other young adults like you. Be heard! The next listening session is on October 10, 2023, at 5:30 - 6:30pm on Disability Employment Awareness Month. More information here.

Region A Drop-In Call: The next Drop-in call will take place on Tuesday, October 3rd, 10:00am -12:00pm, ET. Our featured technical assistance presenter will be Andy Garbacz from Wisconsin Center for Education Research School of Education. Andy’s session will focus on developing partnerships among families, educators, and community members to support student social and emotional development. Join the Drop-in call.

2023 Data Collection Drop-In Calls: CPIR will host multiple Data Collection Drop-In Calls to provide assistance and an opportunity to answer your questions related to both Part 1 and Part 2 of the Data Collection process. To get more information about when your data is due and the required forms, click here.

To attend any of these Drop-in calls, follow this link. Registration is not required. Feel free to invite any staff that works with your Parent Center’s data.

• Wednesday, October 4th at 2:00 pm ET
• Wednesday, November 1st at 2:00 pm ET
• Wednesday, November 15th at 2:00 pm ET

School Avoidance in Youth with Mental Health Needs: This workshop will help parents and others learn positive interventions for youth who struggle with school avoidance, anxiety and challenging behaviors, including the role of special education. Join us Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023 1:00 PM. Click here to register.

Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR): Check out the Hub Central events calendar for more webinar and events.

Current Issues Impacting Non-Profit Management Education: Non-profit management education and training is a vital component of preparing and development leaders, staff and volunteers for the social sector. This field is evolving and facing trends and issues that impact its quality, relevance, and accessibility. This article explores some of these trends and issues. Read the article.

Engaging Community Support to Empower Diverse Families of Students with Disabilities: Check out this piece from Edutopia (which mentions Parent Centers!).

The Exceptional Experience Podcast: Season 2, Episode - INTERDEPENDENCE: The Exceptional Experience Podcast is kicking off season 2! The podcast empowers the voices of youth and young adults with disabilities. Hear about interdependence from youth leaders who share resources and experiences to apply to your youth and young adult community. Find it here.

Free Professional Development Courses! Check out Coursera, which offers free courses on a multitude of relevant topics.

Psychologist Lisa Damour Breaks Down Rise of Student Absenteeism at Schools Across US:  Psychologist Lisa Damour joins “CBS Mornings” for a closer look at chronic student absenteeism across US schools and what can be done to curb the growing trend. Watch the under 4 minute video here.

The Magic of Bilingual Education: Let’s support all multilingual children in keeping their home language. Language immersion programs teach much more than another language. Learn more

Social media brings benefits and risks to teens. Here’s how psychology can help identify a path forward: American Psychological Association Magazine, September 2023. New psychological research exposes the harms and positive outcomes of social media. APA’s recommendations aim to add science-backed balance to the discussion. The article includes an Ingrained Racism discussion and concludes with Social Media recommendations. Click here to read more.

Separating Poverty From Neglect in Child Welfare, Child Welfare Information Gateway Issues Brief, February 2023. The strategies presented in this brief should be viewed as part of a larger movement within the child welfare system away from a focus on surveilling and separating families experiencing poverty and toward collaborating with a broader social services system to ensure that all families have access to the resources and support they need to care for their children and thrive. Find it here.

Research on School Vouchers Suggests Concerns Ahead for Education Savings Accounts: In 2023 alone, seven states passed new school voucher programs and nine expanded existing plans. The last decade of achievement studies have shown negative voucher impacts; the larger the program, the worse the results tend to be. Read more.

New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities Cultural and Linguistic Competence Modules: These modules were created by Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence for the Improving Diversity, Equity, Cultural Competency, and Linguistic Responsiveness at New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities Project, led by SPAN Parent Advocacy Network. Learn more.

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence: How they Work Together: Check out this brief overview of the intersection of big data and artificial intelligence (summarized as part of their sales pitch for Masters of Science in Business Data Analytics!)

OPINION: Why turning school libraries into discipline centers will backfire (Hechinger Report): This summer, the Houston Independent School District decided to close school libraries and replace them with discipline centers. School libraries should be places where students can learn independently and think creatively outside the traditional classroom. That won’t happen under a new plan proposed for Houston, the largest school district in Texas. Instead, spaces once reserved for quiet contemplation of books will now be transformed into disciplinary spaces for troubled students. Read more here.

Navigating Intra-family Conflict, A Resource for EIS Providers: CADRE, 2023. The importance of early intervention services (EIS) in improving outcomes for children with developmental delays or disabilities is well-established, as is the impact on the child’s development of having stable, supporting, safe and responsive adults. While conflict is a normal and a natural part of healthy relationships, prolonged conflict between parents can be harmful to a child. This resource offers strategies and sample language EIS providers can use and adapt to fit their context as they navigate intra-family conflicts. Read more here.

State Board gets a stark look at ‘learning loss’ from the pandemic: By and large, the presentation before the State Board of Education showed anywhere from a third to half of students fell short of grade-level expectations for the fall — and the numbers were even starker in some racial and income groups, Read about it here. 

Students push NJ lawmakers to help curb high school dropout rate: Many students fall through the cracks, dropping out of school before they obtain a diploma. Considering the staggering amount of learning loss for New Jersey students brought on by the pandemic, some say the government should work harder to ensure more kids have a better opportunity to succeed in life. Check out the full article here.

When Family Members Downplay a Child's Potential Disability: This is a dilemma many parents face. It is difficult because parents want the support of their family and it would feel good to receive it. Instead, a parent's concerns are invalidated, and the parent is made to believe that what they experience every day with their child is "typical behavior for their age," or not concerning. These tips would be helpful to share with families. Read the full article here.

Helping Families Deal with School Avoidance: 3 questions for Naomi Fisher, Clinical Psychologist, American Psychological Association, September 1, 2023. Psychologists are often called upon to help kids with school avoidance or school refusal. Sending kids to therapy for school avoidance can send a really insidious message that the problem is with them when the problem isn’t the kids. Read more to learn advice offered to families and actions schools can take.

Thought Leader Conversation Series: These archived webinar series focus on elevating equity in opportunity and achievement for students with disabilities or who may have disabilities and who are English learners. You can find the recording and all resources for Pursuing Equity for Black Students: Exploring the Intersection of Race and Disability and Pursuing Equity at the Intersection of Language, Culture and Disability by following this link.

Parenting Foster Kids with Challenging Behaviors: Creating a Family has many resources to help those of you who are parenting foster kids with challenging behaviors. Read more about a few recent resources that you might find particularly helpful.

Elder Caregiving: A Life Span Issue is just one of the many articles you will find in the September issue of Exceptional Parents. The focus is on Eldercare and as we tell families, you must put a mask on yourself first. This is a great resource to share with grandparents that struggle to take care of themselves as they continue to be caregivers for others. Read the whole magazine here.

The State of Children with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs: This Annie E. Casey Foundation blog explores the experiences of children who have disabilities or special healthcare needs and examines how they are supported and where current approaches may be falling short. Read more

The crisis hiding in plain sight? Since 2004, the number of students experiencing homelessness has risen by 63%. In a 2022 report from The National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), it was reported that 1,280,886 students experienced homelessness during the 2019-2020 school year, which represented 2.5% of all students enrolled in public schools. Many still hidden in plain sight. Read more.

Number of Students in Special Education Increasing, Aug 24, 2023 | Capitols: According to Pew Research Center, the number of students in special education in the United States has doubled over the past four decades, creating a rising share of public-school kids who need special education services. The data is part of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released this summer. The total number of students in special education went from 3.6 million in the 1976-77 school year, to almost 7.3 million in 2021-22. These students now make up 15 percent of the K-12 student population across the country, nearly double what it was in the late 1970s. View the data compiled by NCES.

Greater Immigration Can Alleviate Troubling Skilled Nurse Shortage: Immigration, always a strength for the U.S. economy, has the potential to fill a dangerous and growing labor shortage of skilled nurses. According to nurse.org’s 2023 State of Nursing report, “91% of nurses believe the nursing shortage is getting worse, and 79% report that their units are inadequately staffed.” And it’s not just nurses who recognize this problem. 90% of hospital CEOs report that nursing shortages are their most pressing workplace issue. Read more.

Disability Inclusion and Intersectionality webinar: This session addresses the relationship between race and disability and establishes a common language around intersectionality. You will walk away with insights into cultivating programs, practices, and building an organizational culture that is grounded in racial justice, disability justice, and inclusion. The webinar is Tuesday, October 3rd, 3:00 pm ET. Click here to register.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Processing of Delinquency Cases | National Institute of Justice (ojp.gov): Data snapshot uses data from OJJDP's National Juvenile Court Data Archive to assess variations in case processing. Except for drug cases, referral rates for cases involving Black youth exceeded the rates for all other groups. Across offenses, cases involving white youth were most likely to be diverted. Regardless of offense, cases involving youth of color were more likely to involve detention than cases involving white youth. Across offenses, cases involving white youth were less likely to result in placement than cases involving Black or Hispanic youth. Click here to learn more.

Identity and Cultural Dimensions: Knowing the important risk factors of LGBTQ+ mental health is a key step in supporting the community. For example, showcasing positive changes in societal acceptance of LGBTQ+ people act as a protective factor for mental health. However, this shift in acceptance has meant that many LGBTQ+ youth “come out” or share their sexual orientation or gender identity at younger developmental ages, which can impact their social experiences and relationships. Read more.

How to Ward Off the Sunday Scaries: Weekends are supposed to be a time to recharge and unplug from work. Even a few hours lost to worrying about work can drain your mind and body. If the Sunday Scaries are robbing you of joy and rest, consider these strategies to get your weekend back. Find out what you’re feeling and how to cope!

DoD Seeking Caregivers, Military Family Members for Study on Consequences of Brain Injuries in Troops | Military.com: DOD Study on Consequences of Brain Injuries, Seeking caregivers of military members with brain injuries. Click here to learn more.

Medical care, child care: How shutdown could affect military families (militarytimes.com): If lawmakers can’t come to an agreement to avoid a government shutdown by Oct. 1st, many activities of the Defense Department could be affected, including some aspects of military benefits such as medical care and child care. Read more here.

Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day explained: What to know about the date, history: Many states are choosing to celebrate Indigenous People Day in place of Columbus Day, this informative USA News article explains the history of these two events and why states are replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People Day. Check out the article and 1 minute video.

Teaching your Child to Self-Advocate: Parent Centers have a responsibility to teach parents how to advocate for their child and family, and to teach youth how to advocate for themselves. But we also have a responsibility to teach parents how to teach their children to self-advocate! Read this interesting piece from Engage the Brain here.

A Profile of Low Income Immigrants in the US: Of the more than 44 million immigrants in the United States as of 2019, one-third (14.8 million) were low income, meaning that their family’s income was below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Relative to U.S.-born individuals in a similar financial situation, low-income immigrants face some unique barriers to accessing supportive services and public benefits during times of need, including language barriers, lack of access to information, and in some cases, holding an immigration status that, by federal law, makes them ineligible for public benefits. Understanding the characteristics of low-income immigrants can help service providers and policymakers better target assistance to this group and include them in broader efforts to alleviate economic hardship in U.S. households. Read more.

CHN’S Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship: The September 11, 2023 report from Coalition on Human Needs Report, “ It’s September, and our children really should be back at school. But millions are missing, described as chronically absent. Why? Part of the explanation may be academic disengagement during the pandemic. Another part is the nation’s youth mental health crisis – the two causes are probably related, although the youth mental health crisis existed before the pandemic began.” Read the report.

The Civil Right Violations of Spectrum Academy: The Utah school was recently put under investigation for the restraint of their students and inaccurate record keeping.  A federal investigation found that Spectrum Academy violated the civil rights of students to a free and public education. Read the details here.

Research Finds Social and Emotional Learning Produces Significant Benefits for Students: In the midst of an unprecedented mental health crisis plaguing our nation’s youth, a study led by Christina Cipriano, PhD, assistant professor in Yale Child Study Center, and Michael Strambler, associate professor of psychiatry, substantiates the evidence of social and emotional learning (SEL) in supporting student flourishing in school and life. Click here to read more.

Chrome tests 'read aloud' mode to shrink Microsoft's accessibility Edge: A new accessibility feature headed to Google's desktop browser. Google Chrome is starting to take accessibility more seriously, which is good for people who want an alternative to Microsoft and Apple products. Get more information here.

Living with LD: Navigating the Transition to College: The transition from high school to college can be a confusing time for any student. Deciding which school to attend is one of the biggest decisions a student will make. But for students with learning and attention issues, there are some additional hurdles to navigate. Read more.

2022 Trauma-Informed Policy Developments Overview: Check out this resource from the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care.