May 27, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Holmquist
952-838-9000
julie.holmquist@PACER.org
PACER develops new FAST curricula to support underserved families of children with disabilities
Almost 200 Parent Center staff members from every state in the U.S. and its territories gathered in Washington, D.C. on May 18-19 to learn about PACER Center’s National Family Advocacy and Support Training (FAST) Project.
The goal of the FAST Project, funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is to help families of youth with developmental disabilities become aware of and advocate for family support services as well as influence systems change. A primary emphasis is on reaching underserved families from all geographic regions in the U.S. and its territories.
To meet this goal, PACER Center developed four FAST curricula for parents in collaboration with other Parent Centers and the FAST Partnership Board. After the curricula were developed, PACER presented the May “train the trainer” conference so Parent Center participants could learn about curricula and then return to their home states with a commitment to conduct at least two of the curricula for parents.
“The FAST project gives us an incredible opportunity to help families nationwide,” says Shauna McDonald, PACER’s director of community resource development who is coordinating the project. “That’s important because the more we help youth with disabilities reach their full potential and be included in the workplace and community, the more we strengthen families and society.”
The new curricula were developed after information was gathered from nine focus groups with 57 parents of racially and culturally diverse backgrounds in New York and Minnesota. The four curricula were also piloted in eight states with 200 underserved parents of children with disabilities to ensure the content was valuable to parents, and Sinergia, a parent center in New York, translated the PowerPoints, handouts, and evaluations into Spanish. The curricula are: “Getting and Keeping the First Job” (employment), “The Journey to Adulthood: What Parents Need to Know,” (sexuality), “Skills for Effective Parent Advocates,” (advocating for one’s family), and “Working for Change: The Power of the Personal Story” (strategies for systems change).
“It was a unique and exciting process to develop these curricula and have them reflect the needs of underserved parents,” says Virginia Richardson, Parent Training manager at PACER Center. “Through the use of focus groups and piloting the curricula, families directly impacted the development of this information.”
As the curricula are disseminated through Parent Centers, families of children with disabilities from diverse racial and linguistic groups, families in poverty, those living in rural and urban settings, military families, and other underserved families will increase their ability to advocate for family support services and influence systems change.
Many Parent Center trainers stated that they learned much from the May conference. “I’ve been a trainer for 20 years, and I learned something new to share with parents,” said one. Another trainer, who is a parent of a child with a disability as many trainers are, commented about the curriculum addressing sexuality. “This is something we must start talking about, and this curriculum will help me with my own child.”
Learn more about FAST at www.fastfamilysupport.org.
PACER Center is a National Parent Center for families of children and youth with any disability or special health need. PACER is located at 8161 Normandale Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55437-1044. For information, call 952-838-9000 (voice); 952-838-0190 (TTY) or 888-248-0822 (toll-free) PACER.org or email PACER@PACER.org.
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