Wisconsin Personnel Development System (WPDS)

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Parent Leadership Hub Weekly E-Newsletter for November 19, 2009

This week's update is provided by WSPEI and WI FACETS to share statewide information regarding parent leadership and family involvement. Please visit the Parent Leadership Hub web page of the SPDG website at http://www.wispdg.org/pl.html for the current and archived weekly updates and to find information on these topics:

• WSPEI website: http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/parent.html
• WIFACETS website: http://www.wifacets.org
• Resources- Product Order Form, and Educational Materials for Parents
• Calendar of Events
• Multi-Media Resources- Workshops Online, Video Series, and Webcasts

The Parent Leadership Hub supports parents/family members, educators and other community partners to build capacity regarding meaningful family involvement. The Hub serves three primary purposes:
(1) To support parents of children with disabilities between birth and 26 years of age to participate as partners in the professional development activities of each of the other Statewide Initiatives as they design, deliver and support professional development experiences; and
(2) To facilitate opportunities for parents/family members to build leadership skills; and
(3) To provide Content Focused technical assistance concerning family involvement.

Please, direct any questions to the PL Hub Co-Facilitators:
Mary Skadahl, WSPEI Statewide Project Director at 715-829-8932 or marys@cesa12.k12.wi.us
Dawn Wians, WI FACETS SPDG Coordinator at 608-827-5234 or dwians@wifacets.org

Deadline for submitting contributions to each week's issue is Tuesday noon. For time sensitive training advertisements, the information should be sent a minimum of two weeks prior to the event date; ideally a month ahead of time. Material appropriate for the weekly newsletter include web links to sources of family involvement/parent leadership resources and advertisements for statewide trainings for parents, youth or parent/educator audiences (we don’t post research articles, reports or news opinion articles). Your submittal may not be in the final copy if it was in a previous weekly email, the event date has passed or the web link doesn’t work. Please, send submittals to phyllis@banbury.com

NOTE: Note: If you would like to receive this weekly update or if you would like to have your name removed from the distribution list, please contact Mary Skadahl or Dawn Wians.

'Just in Time Information' Now Available  

A new online repository of information is available for parents, youth and professionals who are searching for articles previously posted to the PL Hub Weekly E-Newsletters since October 2008. This repository of information will help the reader locate valuable information by topic, 'just in time'. Currently, there are web pages for 'Transition to Adult Life' and 'Family Involvement'. Future web pages will include 'Early Childhood' and 'School-Age Years'.

For our reader's convenience, all archived issues of the E-Newsletter will eventually be re-posted on the 'Just in Time Information' page of the PL Hub website. We hope this format will help our readers quickly access the resources they need, when they need them, and that it will be visited frequently. Additions are always welcome! To submit suggested resources and training products, simply follow the instructions and criteria provided in the introduction to each of the PL Hub Weekly Updates.

To visit the new 'Just in Time Information' web page go to: http://www.wispdg.org/pl/resources.html

 

Parent/Personnel Development Opportunities

1. Transition to Adult Life Conference in Green Bay
   Saturday, November 21, 9am-3:15 pm
   Location- CESA7, 595 Baeten Road, WI 54304
   Keynote- A New Day for Transition: Family Care, IRIS & Self-Directed Supports by Dennis Harkins, In Control Wisconsin
   Keynote- Have it Your Way: Customizing the Job Experience by Lisa Steffan, N.E.W. Curative Rehabilitation, Inc.
   Breakout topics- planning for the future, DVR, Summary of Performance, Section 504 & civil rights, alternate dispute resolution, independent living, ADRC, disability services in higher education plus panel presentations
   To register for this free conference call Sandra McFarland at 1-877-374-0511.
   Sponsored by: WI FACETS & Pathways to Independence
2. Proactive Behavior Management for Parents in Milton
   Recognizing and defusing behaviors before they escalate and strategies to cope when they do Wednesday, December 2, at CESA 2, 448 E. High Street, Milton 5-8:30 PM
   Please RSVP to Sharon Anderson, Administrative Assistant, CESA #2
   608-758-6232, ext. 318 sanders7@cesa2.k12.wi.us
3. Self Directed Supports: Developing Service and Support Co-operatives
   When: Wednesday, December 2nd
   Where: Wilderness Resort - Glacier Canyon Lodge Convention Center, 45 Hillman Road, Wisconsin Dells
   What: How individualized funding through SDS can be used collectively by citizens with disabilities and their families to help people obtain employment and self-employment, housing and support to live in one’s own home, and support to contribute to and with others in our communities.  This will be a day of shared learning and action planning, rather than of presentations to develop specific plans for developing Co-ops that will include individuals and families who are receiving Self-Directed Support through IRIS, Family Care, and CIP.
    
   There is no charge for registration but you must register in advance to save your seat. For more information and to register click on or cut and paste into your web browser:
   http://tiny.cc/SDSCooperative
   
4. IRIS and Family Care Seminars in Racine/Kenosha
   The State of Wisconsin has two programs, IRIS & Family Care, for individuals to control of the services they need to remain independent. These seminars are for adults 18 and over who are Medical Assistance (Medicaid) eligible, elders, adults with disabilities or family members caring for them. Learn from people who are already using help from Family Care and IRIS to remain in control of their lives. Meet IRIS and Family Care experts. Find out how to sign up for these programs.
   Saturday, November 14, 1:00 to 3:00 PM – Gateway Technical College, Burlington Center.
   Monday, November 16, 3:00 to 5:00 PM – Gateway Technical College, Racine (The Racine Building).
   Thursday, November 19, 3:00 to 5:00 PM – Kenosha Public Library Southwest Branch. Saturday, November 21, 9:30 to 11:30 AM – Kenosha County Center Building. Monday, November 30, 3:00 to 5:00 PM – Gateway Technical College, Elkhorn Campus
   
   Refreshments will be served at all seminars. For more info call the Independent Living Coordinator at Society’s Assets at 1-800-378-9128.
   

Family Involvement Resources

1. New DPI Information Update Bulletins
   Two new special education Information Update Bulletins have been posted on the DPI website.  Bulletin 09.02, Transportation Questions and Answers, replaces bulletin 03.06 from the year 2003.  Bulletin 09.03, Special Education Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment, gives results of the past three years of the Self-Assessment process that school districts perform with verification by DPI staff.  Both of these can be accessed at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/bulindex.html. Online training related to frequent IEP errors identified by the self-assessment and parent perceptions in the statewide parent survey can be found at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/par_traing.html.
2. Do you want to learn more about your child’s development?
   This website is from the University of Oregon where the education department is renorming the results of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. You can answer developmental questions about any child between the ages of 3 months and 5 ½ years and have the results sent to you at your e-mail address http://asq.uoregon.edu/ .
3. Parents as Teachers (National Center)
   This website contains parenting tips, developmental information, a suggested reading list and many national websites listed by topics of interest. To find local parents as teachers locations, click on your state and find a center near you. www.parentsasteachers.org
4. Special Education and Pupil Services Leadership Conference Materials
   Conference materials from the 2009 State Superintendent's Conference on Special Education and Pupil Services Leadership Issues are available on the DPI website at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/falleader09.html.
   

DISCLAIMER
Inclusion of information in this e-mail does not constitute an endorsement by the Wisconsin Statewide Parent-Educator Initiative, Wisconsin FACETS, the Department of Public Instruction, the U.S. Department of Education, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.