Educational Advocacy

 

The Putnam County Educational Advocacy Program provides free assistance with school-related questions and concerns to families of children with developmental disabilities who reside in Putnam County.The New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Family Support Services has provided a grant for this program. The grant is administered by PARC. There is no charge to you for our services.

CONTACT:

Nadine Ziegler: (845) 225-5650 ext. 172 or Nadine_Ziegler@putnamarc.org

Direct CASE SUPPORT SERVICES: 

  • Group discussions and Parent Groups

iNFORMATION AND REFERRAL:

  • Information about education law, due process rights, CSE/CPSE committees, evaluations, and record keeping
  • Guidance with transition from early intervention to CPSE, as well as CPSE to CSE
  • Guidance with transition planning for post high school programs, jobs, vocational training, and other related services
  • Referral to other parent resources/networks and agencies for on-going support and services
 

Group discussions and parent groups:

The Educational Advocate is available to speak at parents groups and advocacy meetings. She can share with your group a specialized Traveling Book Fair. This Book Fair has resources and information about developmental disabilities and advocacy issues, as well as other educational topics. You will discover literature appropiate for children, adolescents and teens, as well as adults.

DIRECT CASE SUPPORT SERVICES:

  • Review of the child’s records, evaluations, services and educational placement
  • Clarification of terms used by evaluators, school personnel and education law
  • Assistance with communicating your concerns and requests to appropriate school personnel
  • Providing information/preparation to families for all school-related meetings
  • Help with accessing assistive technology when necessary
  • Assisting with transition planning from early intervention to school age and post high school
  • Providing referrals to other resources and agencies as needed

LINKS:

Organizations

Parent to Parent of New York State
http://www.parenttoparentnys.org

Autism Resource Center
http://www.autismresourcecenter.info

Job Accommodation Network
http://www.jan.wvu.edu

Office for People with Disabilities, Putnam County
http://www.putnamcountyny.com/disabilities/about.htm

LD On-line, Learning Disabilities Information & Resources
http://ldonline.org

New York State Commission on Quality Care
http://cqc.state.ny.us

Learning Disabilities Resources
http://www.dldcec.org

National Center for Learning Disabilities
http://ncld.org

Learning Disabilities Association of America
http://ldaamerica.org

The New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
http://www.omr.state.ny.us

Schwab Learning Center
http://schwablearning.org

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
http://nichcy.org

Putnam Independent Living Services, Putnam County
http://parenttip.org

Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights
http://pacer.org

Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers
http://www.taaliance.org

Education Law

          U.S. Department of Education
          http://idea.ed.gov

University of the State of New York, State Education Department
http://www.nysed.gov

Vocational & Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID)
http://www.vesid.nysed.gov

Wrights Law
http://www.wrightslaw.com