Hispanos Unidos para Niños Excepcionales (HUNE): HUNE, one of the 3 Parent Centers in Pennsylvania, is a Community Parent Resource Center (CPRC) located in Philadelphia. HUNE’s Youth Program (HYP) is community-based and provides an after-school and summer inclusion program focused on increasing graduation rates and decreasing dropout rates. HYP empowers youth with and without disabilities from 14-21 years of age through academic, transition, social, behavioral, and other skills building. HUNE also promotes family engagement as an evidence-based practice, as parents and families are part of the planning team. HUNE works with the families of the youth through their monthly parent meetings and networking with school entities. HYP's foster collaborative relationships with students’ principals, teachers, and special education professionals within charter schools and the School District of Philadelphia. HUNE has developed, through partnership with Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), community and culturally responsive mentoring materials and resources. Check out the resources here.

Educating Families of Students with Disabilities about Assessments: Come learn about school assessments, including multilingual and alternate assessments. Plus you will be able to answer the following questions with confidence!

• True or False? The school district must remove a child from receiving the alternate assessment to stay under the 1%
• True or False? The state can tell my IEP team what to do about state academic assessments.
• True or False? The federally-defined purpose of state tests is to determine whether students move from one grade to the next.

This webinar is hosted by the Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) and presented by the National Center for Educational Outcomes (NCEO). NCEO focuses on the inclusion of students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities in instruction and assessments. They are a leader in advocating for appropriate testing access and accommodations for students with disabilities, including English learners with disabilities and English learners without disabilities. Join the webinar on Tuesday, January 30th, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, ET. Please note that this event is open to Parent Center staff only. Click here to register here!

Region A February Drop-In Call: The next Drop-in call will take place on Tuesday, February 6th, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, ET. Our featured technical assistance presenters will be Joann Morris and Judy Wiley. They will share resources for outreach to Native American families as well as technical assistance they provide to Parent Center staff in Region A. Join the Drop-in call.

Executive Function Tools and Supports Webinar: Executive functions are the self-regulating skills that we all use to accomplish tasks, from getting dressed to doing homework. They include: paying attention, organizing, planning, and prioritizing as well as regulating emotions and many others. Join this webinar on Tuesday, February 6th, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm and discover tools and strategies that may assist individuals with time and project management, organization, attention, focus, working memory, and self-regulation. Click here to register.  

2024 NE-PACT Follow-up Forum, Collective Impact: From Contention to Collaboration: The Follow-up Forum will take place at the Courtyard by Marriott on April 10th (REAL Day) and April 11th (NE-PACT Day). Registration closes on February 9th. Click here to register and Click here for more information

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

Overcoming Pandemic Fatigue _ How to Re-energize Organizations for the Long Run: Leaders must actively manage the energy of their workforces, cultivate the quality of employee relationships, and demonstrate a capacity for resilience to recharge their organizations during crises. Read more.

Resilience and Well Being Strategies for Pandemic Fatigue: A recent meta-analysis of 43 effect sizes from 36 studies found that globally, regardless of age, status as a medical provider, race, or region of origin, respondents experienced significantly elevated rates of psychopathology symptoms during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Schafer et al., 2022). These rates escalated in the context of sharp economic challenges, long-term unemployment, closure of businesses, educational, cultural activities, and severe travel limitations, likely exacerbating overall stress. Find out more.

Understand your abilities and disabilities. Play to your strengths: Self-determination is a critical step in individuals with disabilities finding their strengths, talents, challenges, and outcomes. Read more on understanding your disability and what steps to take.

How to Develop Strategic Thinking: Whether you're born with a natural inclination towards strategic thinking or not, there's always room for growth. And this is an important skill for your staff! Learn more.

Biden Admin. Says New K-12 Agenda Tackles Absenteeism, Tutoring, Extended Learning: The Biden administration wants states and school districts to increase student attendance, adopt high-dosage tutoring, and expand summer and after-school learning as part of a new agenda for reversing declines in student achievement. Read more.

State Testing of Your Child Who is an English Learner: If your child is an English learner, they may use test resources during state testing of reading, math, and other subjects. Some resources may be available during state tests of their English language proficiency. Read more.

Who to Call: The Cybersmile Foundation is committed to digital wellbeing and tackling all forms of bullying and abuse online. We work to promote kindness, diversity and inclusion by building a safer, more positive digital community.” Find out more information about this 501C3 org here. Services include: ‎STOP BULLYING NOW HOTLINE, Advice for parents on bullying and mental health, and Dealing With A Cyberbullying.

National Fatherhood Initiative: Browse the National Fatherhood Initiative, which offers research on father presence and father involvement, information on fatherhood programs and resources, staff training, and father-engagement planning services. Read more.

What School Choice is and How it Works: US News and World Report, April 2023. Learn more by checking out these news and opinion pieces: 

• School voucher programs pose risk to Kentucky public school funding, Courier Journal, Jan 2024 Big-dollar lobbyists representing corporate-run private schools and churches
• Chicago charter school advocates appeal to mayor on school choice, Chalkbeat, Jan 2024

Transition-Cultural and Linguistic Competence Checklist for Medical Home Teams: Culture defines the values, beliefs, and practices surrounding when and how youth transition to adulthood. The United States, its territories, and tribal communities embrace myriad rituals that prepare and celebrate the pathway from adolescence to adulthood. Learn more.

School Discipline can lead Students Right into the Justice System: Breaking the school-to-prison pipeline is difficult when school officials rely on seclusion rooms and suspensions and disproportionately hand out punishments. Read more.

Trends in Dispute Resolution under the IDEA - Updated December 2023: This one page CADRE document details recent trends in the use of dispute resolution procedures to resolve special education disagreements. One state, New York, accounted for nearly 65% of the Due Process Complaints filed nationally, realizing a 25% increase over the previous year. Read the document here.

Students push NJ lawmakers to help curb high school dropout rate: Students in New Jersey are expected to attend school and graduate ready to enter the workforce or continue their education. However, many students fall through the cracks, dropping out of school before they obtain a diploma. Read more.

Growing Strong: 12 months of Tips and Activities for Enhancing Child Development: Check out and share this beautifully made 2024 calendar full of trusted tools and resources to promote inclusion and optimal child development.

Newark, NJ Becomes First in the State to Lower Voting Age to 16 for School Board Elections: Chalkbeat, Jan 10, 2024. The city will be the first in the state to lower the voting age to 16 for school board elections. The ordinance, sponsored by council president LaMonica McIver, stems from McIver’s desire to engage in civics as a 16-year-old after being inspired by her fifth grade teacher. Read more here.

Equity isn’t just a slogan. It should transform the way we educate kids: Students will need different things in order to thrive and meet their full potential. Addressing the needs of all students is not easy but that is the goal of equity in education: to treat our students the way we would want our own children to be treated. Read more from Dr. Pedro Noguera here.

Protecting the Rights and Providing Appropriate Services to LGBTQIA2S+ Youth in Out-of-Home Care: This publication reviews State laws and policies that are directed toward reducing the negative experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit, or other gender or sexual identity) youth in care, including addressing a youth's right to be safe and free from discrimination, have access to needed care and services, and be placed in nurturing settings with caregivers who have received appropriate training. Read about it here.

Grand Magazine: Do you know about the Grand Magazine? If not, check it out! The Lifestyle Magazine for Today’s GRANDparents Living the Ageful Life. Through GRAND, they celebrate the joys and help provide solutions to the many challenges of being a grandparent in today’s tech-savvy world. They also realize that you are not ‘just’ grandparents. Grandparents are multifaceted human beings with many passions and interests. In addition to our important role as grandparents, we want to transition through our life stages as successfully as possible.

2023 State of Mental Health in America: The Mental Health Association has released this report, which provides data to answer the following questions for every state the DC: How many adults and youth have mental health issues? • How many adults and youth have substance use issues? • How many adults and youth have access to insurance? • How many adults and youth have access to adequate insurance? • How many adults and youth have access to mental health care? • Which states have higher barriers to accessing mental health care?

Public Integrity, Partners Win Award for work on Student Homelessness: A collaborative Center for Public Integrity investigation that put a sobering number on local school districts’ failure to help homeless students — and showed ways to improve — is being honored with the Stewart B. McKinney Award recognizing contributions to the understanding of homelessness in the U.S. Links to those articles included. Check it out.

Policy Statement: Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs, Nov, 2023: This policy statement reiterates the departments’ stance to include infants and toddlers with disabilities in high-quality early childhood programs. Click here for the policy statement and for more information, click here for a question and answer document on early childhood transition.

NCELA - Newcomer Toolkit for families: A guide, available in various languages, for newcomers to American schools. Learn more.

The Inclusion Think Tank Podcast: The Inclusion Think Tank is the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education’s podcast that features conversations with inclusive education leaders, experts, and advocates to discuss the impact of inclusion in schools. It serves as a resource for educators, school administrators, and families who are seeking additional knowledge about topics related to inclusive education. Click here to listen to 37 episodes on spotify and apple podcast or watch on youtube.

Teens kept in isolation cells at Kentucky juvenile detention center, lawsuit alleges: Lawsuits filed in Kentucky and New Jersey against Juvenile Justice Facilities: A federal lawsuit alleges that two teenage girls were kept in isolation cells for weeks in unsanitary conditions at a troubled Kentucky juvenile detention facility. A similar legal action was filed Wednesday in New Jersey against one of that state's youth detention centers. The lawsuit alleges the center had a “culture of abuse,” in which staff sexually abused boys over decades. Read more here.

New Year's Resolution Refresh: Making community a habit can be the difference between isolation or including LGBTQ+ young people who struggle with depression and loneliness. Find out how connection can be the antidote here.

Five Ways to Support Your Teen’s Mental Health: As teens go through puberty, spend more time with friends and less with family and discover their own identities, changes don’t come easy — for them or their families. How can you determine if your child is going through normal adolescent behavior or is experiencing something more serious like a mental health challenge? Learn more.

Military Families May Get Better Access to Mental Health Care: Military families may get easier access to mental health outpatient care and counseling under two new provisions in the recently signed defense policy law. The fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act allows Defense Department health officials to waive out-of-pocket costs for the first three outpatient mental health visits each year for active duty families using Tricare. It also expands non-medical counseling services for military families through the Military and Family Life Counseling Program. Read more here.

Empowering Native Youth: The Mission of the Center for Native American Youth: The Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) is a policy program of the Aspen Institute, based in Washington, D.C. Through CNAY, young Native people from all 50 states can become engaged in projects promoting leadership development, civic engagement, social justice, and healthy communities. A primary goal is to elevate the voices of young Native people in rural, reservation, urban, village, and island communities. Updates and official reports can be found on their website, such as details of the November 2023 White House Tribal Youth Forum, or press releases, such as the Jan. 1, 2024, announcement of the Creative Native award-winning artists aged 5-24. Equally valuable are the youth-hosted podcasts on current topics. Learn from and engage with the Center for Native American Youth! You won’t be sorry you did.

Supporting LGBTQ Youth through Family Engagement: Families play a critical role in a student’s social and emotional wellbeing as well as their academic performance. Research has shown that students whose parents are involved in their educational achievements are more likely to do better academically regardless of their parent’s education level, socioeconomic status, and ethnic or racial background. Additionally higher levels of school connectedness and family acceptance have been shown to reduce the behaviors associated with HIV and STI risk. Engaging families and parents of LGBTQ students could help reduce behavioral risks associated with HIV and STI. Below you’ll find strategies and resources to engage LGBTQ families – both LGBTQ identified students and non-LGBTQ students with LGBTQ family members. Check out this resource.

Advancing Equity by Incorporating Intersectionality in Research and Analysis: This tool is intended to support those who design, conduct, manage, fund, or oversee research and analysis, to help them advance equity by improving their understanding of why and how to examine intersectionality when conducting research and analysis. It highlights strategies for quantitative and qualitative research and reporting, including examples of how they can be used to inform intersectional analyses. The Department of Health and Human Services Evaluation Policy. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services. Embedding an equity and intersectionality framework in research and analysis is an essential means to achieve the goal of advancing people’s well-being through research, evaluation, and analysis activities. To do so, it is important to embed equity throughout all stages of research and analysis—starting with planning and design—and to consider intersectionality in both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Check out this tool.

'I'm not safe here': Schools ignore federal rules on restraint and seclusion:  Federal law requires school districts like Wake County to tell the U.S. Department of Education every time they physically restrain or seclude a student. But the district, one of the largest in the nation, with nearly 160,000 children and 190 schools, reported for nearly a decade, starting in 2011, that it had zero incidents of restraint or seclusion, according to federal data. Documents show that restraint and seclusion were part of special education plans. Children were repeatedly restrained or forced to stay alone in a seclusion room. Read more 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. Learn more.

10 internal linking best practices for accessibility: Learn how internal linking, a powerful tool for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is pivotal in creating a navigable, user-friendly website for people with disabilities. Read more.

Federal Government Emphasizes Workplace Accessibility, Disability Rights: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued an article outlining laws that federal agencies must follow to provide disabled workers with access to accommodations and ensure they are able to fully participate in the workplace. Click here to learn more.

What Can We Do About Toxic Stress?  In our communities, everyone depends on each another in so many ways. And, while it might not always seem like it at first, people’s lives are connected by threads that hold us all together. These threads grow stronger when we take on difficult challenges in our lives, such as dealing with the effects of trauma. Building resilience and strength in families and communities is one of the most important investments we can make as a society. But what does that mean? Instead of suffering alone or trying to get better without any help or by sheer force of will, it’s important to recognize that no person is an island, and we all need the help of others in order to deal with challenges in our lives. This infographic from the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University explains what toxic stress is, how it affects us, and the steps we can take to address it and build resilience. Check it out.