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In This Issue

August 2008

Upcoming Events

1. Management Institute
2. National Accountability and OSEP Leadership Conference

Parent Center Updates

1. Association of Special Children and Families Celebrates 30th Anniversary
2. PLUK to Hold Willie Nelson Benefit Concert
3. IN*SOURCE Launches Online Community

Announcements & News

1. TA&D Project of the Month: National Center on Response to Intervention
2. 2008 National Disability Employment Awareness Month
3. Higher Education Opportunity Act

Resources

1. Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) Practice Guides
2. Recent GAO Reports
3. Executive Function Fact Sheet

Technology

1. Tips for Hiring IT Staff

Fundraising

1. Mattie J.T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship
2. Staples Foundation for Learning

Upcoming Events

Management Institute

The ALLIANCE Management Institute will take place September 22-24 in San Diego, CA. We look forward to seeing many of you there!

Materials from the recently held Transition Institute are available online at www.taalliance.org.
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National Accountability and OSEP Leadership Conference

The National Accountability Conference and OSEP Leadership Conference will take place August 25-27, 2008 in Baltimore, MD. Draft conference agendas are available online.
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Parent Center Updates

Association of Special Children and Families Celebrates 30th Anniversary

The Association of Special Children and Families (ASCF), a Community Parent Resource Center in New Jersey, is holding a 30th Anniversary Celebration on September 20, 2008. The event will include food and music and feature stories of families assisted by the center. Congratulations to director Angela Abdul and all of ASCF on this important milestone!
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PLUK to Hold Willie Nelson Benefit Concert

PLUK (Parents, Let’s Unite for Kids), the Montana PTI, is presenting Willie Nelson & Family in concert on August 22, 2008. The event will benefit PLUK and is being held at the Rodeo Grounds in Red Lodge, MT. Congratulations to Executive Director Roger Holt and PLUK on this exciting event!
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IN*SOURCE Launches Online Community

IN*SOURCE has launched a new free online community to enable parents, families and service providers to communicate directly not only with IN*SOURCE staff, but with one another as well. Myinsource.org features forums that allow users to ask and respond to questions, to post topics, browse for answers that have already been posted by others, send private messages to other users of myinsource.org and receive e-mails notifying them of new posts in selected topics.

According to IN*SOURCE, an online community is a powerful tool that enables people to get information, make contacts and build relationships. Online communities provide Parent Centers another medium to help empower and connect parents as well as efficiently distribute valuable information to a large audience.
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Announcements & News

TA&D Project of the Month: National Center on Response to Intervention

The National Center on Response to Intervention is one of the newer projects in the OSEP Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) Network. The Center is based at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and its goal is to provide technical assistance to states and districts to build their capacity to effectively implement proven models of Response to Intervention (RTI) and Early Intervening Services (EIS). The RTI Center’s Web site contains a variety of useful resources and tools for states, administrators, teachers, and families.
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2008 National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has announced the theme for the 2008 National Disability Employment Month: America’s People... America’s Talent... America’s Strength!. National Disability Employment Month, celebrated each October, raises awareness about the significant contributions of people with disabilities to America’s workforce, despite their historic underemployment. Through their programs, ODEP seeks to facilitate the development and implementation of policies and practices to fully support an integrated work environment.
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Higher Education Opportunity Act

On July 31, 2008, President Bush signed the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The final bill includes several provisions benefiting students with disabilities, including: an advisory committee on accessible instructional materials, a national study on higher education access success, and Teach to Reach grants to prepare teachers to provide more effective instruction to students with disabilities.
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Resources

Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) Practice Guides

The Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) is pleased to announce the publication of 70 new practice guides. These practice guides were prepared to help practitioners and parents promote the early and emergent literacy skills of young children with disabilities or delays. The practice guides are organized by the child age and the type of literacy skill. There are 31 infant, 22 toddler, and 17 preschool practice guides that can be printed and used by parents or practitioners.
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Recent GAO Reports

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently released two new reports relevant to special education and people with disabilities:

Young Adults with Serious Mental Illness: Some States and Federal Agencies are Taking Steps to Address Their Transition Challenges
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08678high.pdf

Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waivers: CMS Should Encourage State to Conduct Mortality Reviews for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08529high.pdf

Executive Function Fact Sheet

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has developed a fact sheet explaining what effective functioning is and how it affects learning. This short, easy-to-read resource provides examples of signs of possible problems with executive functioning and strategies to help.
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Technology

Tips for Hiring IT Staff

This TechSoup.org article lists questions to consider when hiring information technology staff and describes various staffing options for smaller organizations. Links to other IT hiring resources are also provided.
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Fundraising

Mattie J.T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship

The Mattie J. T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship provides four $2,000 awards to caregivers for training and education that will increase their skills and effectiveness. Family, professional, and paraprofessional caregivers are all invited to apply. Applications are due September 15, 2008.
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Staples Foundation for Learning

The Staples Foundation for Learning supports programs that promote job skills and education for all people, particularly disadvantaged youth. Awards are granted three times a year; the next round of applications will be accepted between October 10 and October 24, 2008.
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Featured ALLIANCE Publications

Positive Behavioral Interventions & IDEA 2004 - Spanish

This curriculum provides information about Positive Behavioral Interventions in the context of the IDEA 2004 law. The Spanish translation was released in August 2008.
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The Time is Now: Diversity Inclusion for Parent Centers and Advocates

Examines the issues of diversity inclusion and cultural competency for Parent Centers and includes strategies for conducting outreach to diverse communities. Available in book or CD format.
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