Dear EIFA Members,
We enjoyed meeting with many
of you at the 2011 OSEP Mega Conference!
It was a very busy four days.
Whether you were in D.C., or still back home, we wanted to share with you
some updates from the meeting.
ICC PreConference Meeting:
Many EIFA members
attended the ICC PreConference Meeting.
Sharon Ringwalt, Darla Gundler and Maureen Casey facilitated the day of
meetings. We reviewed the role of the
ICC and then broke into four Open Space Groups:
ICC Operations, Using Technology, Collaborating with Others and
Connecting with OSEP. We want to thank
Sheila Zickfoose and Kurt Kondrich who facilitated their groups and reported
out on their activites, and to Julie Broski
and Julie Hahn for typing up all the notes.
Don’t forget to visit the ICC Ning site, operated by NECTAC and
moderated by Sharon Ringwalt. The notes from
the PreConference Session will be uploaded to that site and converstions can
continue online. At the close of the
meeting we discussed plans for next year’s conference. Those in attendance requested that the ICC
overview powerpoint be reworked into a narrated webinar that could be viewed by
participants prior to the conference so that the meeting can focus on networking,
sharing and discussing how to operate effective ICCs.
 |
| Sharon Walsh gave the Washington Update, while Congress debated the debt-ceiling... |
EIFA/ICC/ITCA/619 Joint Meeting:
As we have done in
the past, EIFA members, ICC preconference participants, the IDEA Infant Toddler
Coordinator’s Association members (ITCA—Part C coordinators) and the 619 Coordinators members(PreSchool
Special Education Coordinators) held a joint meeting during the afternoon
portion of the PreConference Day. Once
again Sharon Walsh shared invaluable information about the current state of
legislative affairs in Washington, D.C.
It was of course a momentous day as Congress was in session on and off
that weekend to deal with the debt ceiling.
We are attaching, for your review, Sharon Walsh’s presentation to the
group—some information about the nation’s financial affairs have changed—but
most of the information remains true.
EIFA and ITCA Awards Ceremonies:
ITCA awarded a
Regional Parent Leadership Award to Malia Corde from New Jersy and a National
Parent Leadership Award to to Julie
Kingsley-Widman from California. The
EIFA was also proud to award our first Cassie Johnston Memorial Scholarship to
Tiffany Wheeler from Washington State.
As many of you remember Cassie Johnston was a founding member in the creation
of the EIFA. As a parent leader in
Washington State Cassie mentored many parents from diverse communities in
Washington and the scholarship (of up to $200) is intended to continue that
work by providing families who attend the OSEP Mega Conference with additional
funds to help defray such costs as childcare or meals that are not always
reimbursed for parents attending this important conference. The EIFA also awarded its Family Involvement
Advocacy Award to a very deserving Ron Benham, Part C Director of
Massachusetts. Massachusetts, like many
other states has been grappling with very difficult budgets these past couple
of years. Grappling with budgetary
constraints, legislative mandates and differing views from a variety of
stakeholders is no small feat. The
Massachusetts ICC, and in particular, its parent members wished to highlight
Ron’s pivotal role as Part C Coordinator for 25 years, his long-standing
commitment to Parent Leadership through sponsorship of the Massachusetts Early
Intervention Parent Leadership Project and his ability to create an opportunity
for all stakeholders to share their perspectives—even when they are
opposing—while continuing to insure that infants and toddlers with disabilities
and their families have access to high quality early intervention supports and
services. The EIFA once again
congratulates Ron, we want him to know we have his back!
IDEA Part D
Your EIFA Board prepared comments for presentation
to OSEP staff regarding the early childhood section of Part D of IDEA. Part D is the investments portion of the law. Part D funds projects, like TACSEI, Tots-
n-Tech and the Parent Training and Information Centers, just to name a few. See attached comments which participants from
the ICC Preconference also used as the basis for the comments at the hearing
held that day. We have attached a pdf
copy of the comments submitted by EIFA and EIFA members, which you may use to
write your own comments. Comments are
being accepted until August 25, 2011 at OSEPPartDsuggestions@ed.gov.
Meetings
with OSEP and NECTAC staff
Your EIFA Board also met with various OSEP staff
and NECTAC staff in a collaborative effort to insure continued and enhanced family
involvement in OSEP activities. We
discussed the ongoing need to support family leaders to attend national
conferences like the OSEP Mega Conference and the ECO Outcomes conference. We also discussed ways in which family
leaders can be supported to have the knowledge and skills necessary to fully
participate during Continuous Improvement Visits (formerly Verification Visits
or Continuous Monitoring & Improvement Visits) between OSEP and State Part
C offices, ICCs and PTIs.
Part C
Regulations
We know you have all been waiting for Part C
regulations, and we had all expected that those regulations would be issued
during the 2011 OSEP Mega Conference. It
is our understanding from OSEP that the regulations will be published sometime
after Labor Day. In the meantime a
number of EIFA members have indicated a willingness to work with the EIFA Board
to review the final regulations for their impacts on families. If you are interested in participating in
what we think will be one or two conference calls along with email mark-up of
comments and perhaps the drafting of a letter please let us know. It is our understanding that ITCA will also
be having similar discussions and we will have some dialogue about any
questions or concerns that remain after the regulations are issued.
EIFA
Membership Update Meeting
On Wednesday morning, the EIFA held a Membership
update meeting. We discussed everything
you have already read in this memo and shared our Year in a Glance Letter and a
copy of the Zero to Three Article on Family Involvement in Part C of IDEA. As you can see it was a busy few days. If you were not in attendance we missed
you! We hope you followed our tweets and
Facebook posts. And we look forward to
another exciting year. Your Board has
made a commitment to sending you a monthly newsletter, and we hope to hear from
you on what matters to you most!
ECO
Conference
Don’t forget that NECTAC and the ECO center are
sponsoring the Measuring & Improving Child & Family Outcomes, September
18-21, 2011 in New Orleans, LA. Please
visit their website
for more information about the Draft Agenda, Registration and Hotel and Travel.
One More
Thing
At the conference, Larry Wexler of OSEP shared a
wonderful video. And—we wish we had photos or videos, but we
don’t—Ruth Ryder actually did a great
dance to show that, like Larry, she wants to be more than a “lone nut”. We at EIFA appreciate all of the hard work
from OSEP, NECTAC and TACC staff to put on the conference and their continuing
work to identify new tools, tips and technologies to support children with
disabilities and their families. We also appreciate their willingness to
recognize us as their equals as we become their “first followers”! Again, we hope that EIFA can help you as you
partner with professionals in your community and state on behalf of infants and
toddlers with disabilities.
