Over $5 Million to 19 Special Education Parent Centers Awarded : U.S. Department of Education August 12, 2011

Press Releases August 12, 2011
U.S. Department of Education Awards Over $5 Million to 19 Special Education Parent Centers


The U.S. Department of Education today announced the award of more than $5 million in grants to operate 19 special education Parent Training and Information (PTI) Centers in 13 states and Puerto Rico.

With the new grants, the Department now funds 91 information centers for parents of students with disabilities. Every state has at least one Parent Training and Information Center, which assists parents as they work to ensure their children receive a free, appropriate public education as guaranteed by federal law.

“Parent Centers help families better understand their child’s disability and can often connect them to important local, state and national resources,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “These centers will play a vital role in empowering parents and families to learn about appropriate early interventions and special education services.”

Parent information centers provide parents with the training and information they need to work with special education professionals in meeting the early intervention and special needs of children with disabilities. Many parent information centers work closely with state and local school systems to engage parents in working collaboratively to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

For a list of Education Department-funded special education parent information and training centers, visit www.parentcenternetwork.org.

The following is a list of the grants the Department announced and the states or audience that they will serve, including the contact information for the local project directors and the amount of each award:

Parent Training and Information Centers:
•AK – Stone Soup Group, Kelly Donnelly, kellyd@stonesoupgroup.org, $263,115
•AL – Alabama Parent Education Center, Jeana Winter, jwinter@alabamaparentcenter.com, $291,281
•CO – PEAK Parent Center, Julie Harmon, Jharmon@peakparent.org, $279,445
•FL Region 1 – Florida Network on Disabilities, Nicole Brown, Nicole@fndfl.org, $169,645
•FL Region 2 – Central Florida Parent Center, Eileen Gilley, Eileen@cflparents.org, $491,973
•FL Region 3 – Florida Network on Disabilities, Margarita Montalvo, margarita@fndfl.org, $330,801
•KY – Kentucky Special Parent Involvement Network, Paulette Logsdon, paulette@kyspin.com, $258,607
•MD – The Parents’ Place of Maryland, Josie Thomas, josie@ppmd.org, $319,295
•ME – Maine Parent Federation, Janice LaChance, jlachance@mpf.org, $188,545
•ND – Pathfinder Parent Center, Cathy Haarstad, ptidirector@srt.com, $204,947
•NE – PTI Nebraska, Glenda Davis,gdavis@pti-nebraska.org, $224,894
•NV – Nevada P.E.P., Karen Taycher, ktaycher@nvpep.org, $202,813
•NY Region 1 – Advocates for Children of New York, Anna Espada, aespada@advocatesforchildren.org, $210,813
•NY Region 1 – Resources for Children with Special Needs, Rachel Howard, rhoward@resourcesnyc.org, $210,813
•NY Region 1 – Singeria, Godfrey Rivera, grivera@sinergiany.org, $210,813
•NY Region 2 – The Advocacy Center, Barb Klein, klein@advocacycenter.com, $524,874
•PR – APNI, Mariel Cabrera, mcabrera@apnipr.org, $271,950
•VT – Vermont Family Network, Christine Kilpatrick, christine.kilpatrick@vtfn.org, $189,052
•WI – Wisconsin FACETS, Jan Serak, jserak@wifacets.org, $438,408

#Contact: David Thomas, (202) 401-1579, david.thomas@ed.gov

# Find a Parent Network Center In Your State, visit: http://www.parentcenternetwork.org/parentcenterlisting.html