Special Education Parent Centers

A release from the US Department of Education:

Department Awards Over $5 Million to 19 Special Education Parent Centers
AUGUST 12, 2011

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


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