Helping Families Partner for Education and Employment Success Megan Cote, Family Engagement Initiative Lead for the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) Sean Roy, Co-Director of National Parent Center on Transition and Employment (PACER) Monica Ballay & Pamdora Williams | Louisiana State Personnel Development Grant (LaSPDG) Thought you all could add your logos as well with NCDB logo @ bottom

Overview of the session: We will share strategies on how all 3 organizations help families partner with the education and workforce systems to better educate their child and prepare them for employment success. NCDB will share practical cross-agency collaborative strategies that empower and educate families of children with significant disabilities. PACER will share promising strategies that educators and workforce professionals can use to engage families of youth with disabilities in the career readiness process. Louisiana SPDG will focus on high impact family partnership practices and the integration of technology to deliver effective professional development to educators.

What is the National Center on Deaf-Blindness? A national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education that works to improve the quality of life for children who are deaf-blind and their families. Our Initiatives are: Early Identification/ Referral Family Engagement Interveners & Qualified Personnel Transition Literacy National Child Count

Working Together for Families: State Deaf-Blind Project & Parent Center Collaborations In the fall of 2014, OSEP sent a letter to state deaf-blind projects and parent centers urging them to work together to provide training and supports to families of children who are deaf- blind to enable them to successfully advocate on behalf of their children. A family engagement technical work group comprised of representatives from NCDB, regional parent centers, state deaf-blind projects, NFADB, CADRE, and the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation was created. In June 2015, a form created by the group was sent to state projects and parent centers for them to describe their current collaboration strategies. By August of 2015, NCDB had received 21 completed forms.

Working Together for Families: State Deaf-Blind Project & Parent Center Collaborations (cont.) These forms were then carefully reviewed to identify specific collaborative strategies and activities and sorted into the following 4 categories: Networking Cooperation Coordination Collaboration

Stage 1: Networking Organizations are aware of each other and have a general understanding of what each does, but communication is limited and no joint decision making is taking place (Frey et al., 2006). There are no specific strategies associated with this very informal stage of interacting. Most state deaf-blind project-parent center pairs who responded to our request for information had already moved beyond this level.

Stage 2: Cooperation Agencies are beginning to establish professional relationships and communication is becoming more formal. They share information and exert some effort to limit duplication of similar resources. They are also gaining a better understanding of the services offered by each other’s organization and the strengths of their personnel.

Stage 3: Coordination Organizations consistently share information and resources in a way that increases their efficiency, reducing duplication of effort. Become involved in each other’s activities Develop an in-depth understanding of what each project does Meet regularly Disseminate news and materials and make referrals Share expertise and provide staff development training

Stage 4: Collaboration Communication based on mutual trust —organizations have established processes that drive and organize shared work. Involve other stakeholders and work together on state systems change activities Develop a formal working agreement and strong professional and personal relationships; possibly share financial resources Work together on data collection and evaluate collaboration outcomes Share and/or connect parent leaders

Working Together for Families: State Deaf-Blind Project & Parent Center Collaborations (cont.) In this report you will learn a variety of practical strategies—some small and some more extensive—that state deaf-blind projects and parent centers use to work together to increase the effectiveness of their services to families. The report can be found here: https://nationaldb.org/pages/show/working-together-for-families/home

PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Employment PACER Center PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Employment Promote family involvement in transition Promote building professional capacity around same goal National conferences and TA Direct assistance to families www.pacer.org/transition

The Power of Family Engagement •Students with one or more parents who participated in the IEP meetings during 11th and 12th grades were more likely to be engaged in post-school employment •Students with parents who had HIGH EXPECTATIONS were more likely to be engaged in postsecondary education and employment www.nsttac.org

What Parents Experience Unsure of what youth can accomplish Messaging rooted in low expectations Unsure about their role in secondary transition planning Unaware of adult supports Poor communication

Coordinated parent training efforts can: Inform parents of rights, responsibilities and options Bring parents together with other parents Give parents access to experts Allows for cross-agency partnerships around supporting parents www.parentcenterhub.org

Professional Capacity Many professionals such as educators and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors have never received formal training on effectively working with families. No magic solution Needs to be an ethic and job expectation Communication breakdowns tend to make up majority of issues Consider ongoing capacity building effort

Knowledge Translation Families benefit from resource materials that explain complicated rules, policies, and concepts in a easy to understand format. Reading level Translated into other languages Trend is towards shorter pieces strung together Families not only want to know who helps, but how the process works and what they can do if process isn’t working

Messaging to Families Around Employment Consider these core messages when supporting families and youth in the career planning process: Maintain high expectations Work experiences a must Research support options early Build soft skills through home activities Youth should drive the process Some youth need a longer runway

Resources to Strengthen Family Partnerships LA State Personnel Development Grant (LaSPDG) A grant awarded to the LDOE in 2011 for 5 years from Office of Special Education Programs Pamdora Williams pwilli@lsu.edu & Monica Ballay mballay@lsu.edu

Session Outcomes Participants will gain knowledge on Family Engagement: Practices that have a high impact on student achievement On-line learning modules for teachers Practices that promote partnerships with diverse families including families of students with disabilities

Louisiana State Personnel Development Grant

LaSPDG Family Facilitators

4 Domains of Family Engagement

Mindful Engagement Webinar Series

Mindful Engagement Series: Strategies & Tools to Strengthen Family Partnerships http://www.laspdg.org/content.cfm?id=429

Webinar Series Purpose: -to support educators in identifying the essential elements for establishing and sustaining partnerships with families through an online professional learning series Webinars can be: -viewed in any order -used individually or during PLCs -viewed in 30 minutes or less

Each Module Includes: Listening Guide Extension Guide

Each Module Contains: Links to Additional Tools & Resources

Ongoing Communication Mindful Engagement Series Module 3 of 10 Louisiana State Personnel Development Grant | www.laspdg.org

Promising Practices for Family Engagement Purpose: to increase awareness of Louisiana Family Engagement practices as ideas for developing initiatives to strengthen partnerships with all families.

Family Engagement Promising Practices

Discussion Questions: 1) Collaboration is vital for agencies involved in complementary grant program activities. What strategies can agencies use to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in areas where their missions converge? 2) What strategies can educators and other professionals use to make sure parents are informed about community resources that support employment? How can educators and other professionals better frame the purpose of transition so parents feel invested in the process? 3) High impact family partnership practices and the integration of technology will support delivery of effective professional development to educators. What high impact family partnership practices does research support to increase academic outcomes for students?