1. Connect for Success Symposium
Updates for Parent Resource Centers
Presented by Tracy Lee, Family Engagement Specialist
September 2016
Division of Special Education and Student Services Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services

2. Data Collection for PRCs

3. What do you mean when you ask for…
Web resources
Web links that you have sent out to parents or to others in response to a request for information.

4. What do you mean when you ask for…
Number of newsletters provided Both paper newsletters, as well as blasts. When counting, count each original document created as one. We don’t want the number of copies that you sent.

5. What do you mean when you ask for…
Number of s sent If you send one to 1000 people, that is counted as one; not as 1000 separate s. When you and another person are ing back and forth and produce a string of s on the same topic, that string counts as one “ consultation”.

6. What do you mean when you ask for…
Parent contacts
Under 34.C.F.R in IDEA, a parent is defined as a natural or adoptive parent of a child, a guardian (but not the State if the child is a ward of the state), a person acting in the place of a parent (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare) or a surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with Section Moreover, depending on state law, a state may permit a foster parent to act as a parent if the natural parents’ authority to make educational decisions on the child’s behalf has been extinguished under state law, and the foster parent has an ongoing, long term parental relationship with the child, is willing to make the educational decisions required of parents under the Act, and has no interest that would conflict with the interests of the child. We will use this definition.

7. What do you mean when you ask for…
Number of contacts
A contact is any exchange with a parent, school staff member, or other community member where information is exchanged. Again, a string of s on the same topic is considered one contact.

8. What do you mean when you ask for…
Workshops
These include events in which training has occurred. We have provided space to count workshops, support groups, and other events, individually.

9. Frequently Asked Questions
Can we add “none specified” to the section on race/ethnicity?
Done!

10. Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we need to keep data on race/ethnicity?
It is important for us to know whether families of minority children are accessing our PRCs at the same rates as other families. If they aren’t, we need to dig deeper to determine the reasons and then we need to adopt culturally responsive practices to assist our minority families with accessing us.

11. Frequently Asked Questions
How long do we need to keep our compiled data?
We are working on finding a definitive answer to this question. In the meantime, please keep your data for at least three years.

12. Frequently Asked Questions
How do we count our s? There are so many.
Some PRCs have developed a system whereby they create folders in their and file the s as they are received. You could have three folders; one for parents, one for staff, and one for other community members. At the end of the year, go to the individual folders and find out how many are there. This number should be tabulated for you.

13. Frequently Asked Questions
If we are separating contacts into special education and general education inquiries (for our own purposes or for sub-grant applications), how does a child going through eligibility get counted?
Count this student as a child in special education until/unless he or she is deemed ineligible..

14. Frequently Asked Questions
Take a look at this example: A child with ADHD and a learning disability is having homework problems and the parent contacts us for advice. Under “Top Three Disability Areas of Concern”, do we count the ADHD or the learning disability?
Count them both. Through this particular question, we aren’t concerned with the number of students who have been assisted. We are concerned with which disability categories are most represented through contact with the PRCs.

15. Sub-Grant Changes

16. Sub-Grants
We may or may not receive this money, depending upon the effects of the state budget shortfall.
No gift cards as part of your sub-grants
Issues regarding funds for activities that will benefit both general and special education families
New deadline for applications
Personnel sub-grants—superintendent letter requirement

17. Patricia V. Haymes, Director
Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services (ODRAS) Division of Special Education and Student Services
Patricia V. Haymes, Director
Art Stewart, Coordinator of Mediation Services
Ron Geiersbach, Coordinator of Due Process Services
Gloria Dalton, Ombudsman
Tracy Lee, Family Engagement Specialist
Scottie Alley, Complaints Specialist
Kathleen G. Harris, Complaints Specialist
Sabrina Gross, Complaints Specialist
Christina Owens, Private School Monitoring Specialist
Judy McKinney, Private School Monitoring Specialist
Karen Schonauer, Private School Monitoring Specialist
Sheila T. Gray, Administrative Coordinator
Michele Orr, Administrative Assistant
Renee Gray-Epps, Program Support Technician
(804) Toll free: (800) Toll Free TDD: (800) Fax (804)