AUGUST 31, 2016

With the new grants, the Department now funds 87 information centers for parents of children and youth with disabilities. Every state has at least one Parent Training and Information Center that assists parents as they work to ensure their children receive a free, appropriate public education as guaranteed by federal law. In addition, the centers provide services to underserved parents of children with disabilities in targeted communities throughout the country.

“Parent centers empower families who have children with disabilities by helping them understand their rights and the services to which their children are entitled under the law,” U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said. “These community parent resource centers are powerful levers for ensuring equity in diverse communities across the country.”

The training center and many resource centers work closely with state and local school systems to engage parents in working collaboratively to improve outcomes for their children. Community Parent Resource Centers receive grants to assist underserved families of children with disabilities in metropolitan areas like Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, while others work in rural areas in Alaska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, for example. For a list of Department-funded parent training and information centers, visit www.parentcenterhub.org.

 

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

 

The following is a list of grantees and the contacts for Community Parent Resource Centers, which will receive $100,000 annually for five years. The Parent Training and Information Center serving the Pacific is getting $200,000 annually for four years.

 

City State Organization Contacts Email
Wasilla AK LINKS Mat-Su Eric Wade eric@linksprc.org
Springdale AR Arkansas Support Network, Inc. Candia Nicholas cnicholas@supports.org
Berkeley CA Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Susan Henderson shenderson@dredf.org
Napa CA Napa Valley Child Advocacy Network, Inc.—Parents CAN Marlena Garcia marlenag@parentscan.org
San Francisco CA Support for Families of Children with Disabilities Joe Goyos jgoyos@supportforfamilies.org
Denver CO THRIVE Resource Center Yvette Burkhalter Yvette@thrivectr.org
Hartford CT African Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities Ann Smith asmith@afcamp.org
Miami FL Parent to Parent Isabel Garcia igarcia@ptopmiami.org
Gulf Breeze FL Project Empower of Northwest Florida Gary Walby gwalby@comsysinn.com
Hewitt NJ Association for Special Children & Families Angela Abdul
Julie Rikon
ascfamily@hotmail.com
Albuquerque NM EPICS Alvino Sandoval asandoval@epicsnm.org
Buffalo NY Parent Network of Western New York Kim Walek kmw@parentnetworkwny.org
Queens NY United We Stand of New York Lourdes Rivera-Putz lriveraputz@uwsofny.org
Asheville NC FIRST Gaile Osborne gaile@firstparentcenter.org
Morganton NC Family Support Network HOPE Vickie Dieter vbdieter@fsnhope.org
Panama OK Pervasive Parenting Kodey Toney kodeytoney@hotmail.com
Philadelphia PA HUNE Luz Hernandez lhernandez@huneinc.org
Erie PA Mission Empower Jill Hrinda-Patten advocate@missionempower.org
Charleston SC Family Resource Center for Disabilities and Special Needs Bev McCarty bevmccarty@frcdsn.org
El Paso TX Children’s Disabilities Information Coalition Patricia Santibáñez patricia.santibanez@cdicelpaso.org
Fairfax VA Formed Families Forward Kelly Henderson formedfamiliesforward@verizon.net
Tacoma WA Open Doors for Multicultural Families Ginger Kwan gingerk@multiculturalfamilies.org
Milwaukee WI Alianza Latina Aplicando Soluciones Elsa Diaz-Bautista elsa@alianzalatinawi.org
Honolulu HI Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii Michael Moore MMoore@LDAHawaii.org