Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act
TATRA Navigation Menu
Abstracts: RSA Projects
Exceptional Parents Unlimited
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida
Family Resource Center on Disabilities
Maine Parent Federation
Missouri Parents Act (MPACT)
PACER's Rehabilitation Act Information and Disability Education (PRIDE) Project
Parent Educational Advocate Training Center
Technical Assistance on Transition & the Rehabilitation Act Project (TATRA)
Exceptional Parents Unlimited
SOAR! is a collaborative program between, Exceptional Parents Unlimited (EPU) and the Center for Independent Living-Fresno (CIL). For nearly 20 years, EPU has served as a rural and multicultural Parent Training and Information Center funded under Section 682 (a) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The proposed program represents a continuation of successful efforts going back 12 years. SOAR! begins at age 14 and continues to provide follow up support to young adults for three years after they leave their educational programs and seek community based independent working and living situations based on their interests and choices.
SOAR is an acronym for: Self awareness, Overcoming obstacles, Achieving goals and Reaching for the stars. The approach is four pronged:
- to extend the reach of the BRIDGES program developed by CIL to teens and young adults with disabilities who live in Central California and who have been traditionally unserved and underserved,
- to engage teens and young adults in active SOAR! groups at EPU focusing on peer interaction, socialization, training, planning and recreation;
- to develop a parallel curriculum for parents, guardians, family members, and advocates which will enable them to participate more fully in meeting the vocational, independent living and rehabilitation needs; and
- to make all SOAR! services available to Spanish speaking students and families living throughout the region. The program seeks to address the unique needs of teens and young adults and their families who are non-English speaking.
The SOAR! program includes a very active and successful program for parents and family members in which parents are guided through learning processes that enable them to promote independence while they face the emotional challenges of letting go. A unique feature of the collaborative program is the Mentors who serve as age appropriate role models for the youth in the program.
Contact Information
Bobbie Coulbourne
Exceptional Parents Unlimited
4440 N. First St.
Fresno, CA 93726;
559-229-2000; 559-229-2956 FAX
E-mail: bcoulbourne@exceptionalparents.org
Website: www.exceptionalparents.org
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, inc.
Transition, Independent Living, Employment, Supports (TILES)
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc. (FND) is a family-driven statewide organization. The mission of FND is to provide support, training, information, and advocacy to individuals with disabilities of all ages, special needs, or at-risk for academic failure and their families.
The purpose of the TILES Project will be to provide training and information to enable individuals with disabilities, and the parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or other authorized representatives of the individuals, to participate more effectively with professionals in meeting the vocational, independent living, and rehabilitation needs of individuals with disabilities in Florida. The TILES Project will be implemented statewide and the target population will be both youth with disabilities receiving special education and related services, and adults with disabilities.
FND has a demonstrated commitment to improving post-school outcomes for individuals with disabilities at the local, state, and national levels. The TILES staff will collaborate with multiple Florida agencies and organizations to assist family members or other authorized representatives to: Better understand Vocational Rehabilitation and independent living programs and services; provide follow-up support for transition and employment programs; communicate more effectively with transition and rehabilitation personnel and other relevant professionals; participate in the development of the individualized employment plan; obtain information about rehabilitation and independent living programs, services, and resources that are appropriate; and to understand the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act and its impact in Florida.
These outcomes will be achieved through the dissemination of workshops, including presentations at regional and statewide conferences; tip sheets; articles in FND regional newsletters, and a quarterly electronic newsletter, disseminated statewide; regular informational updates on the FND web page; direct one-on-one assistance; and collaborative promotion and support of the services and activities of the Centers for Independent Living in Florida, as well as the services and activities of the other partners. All material produced will be available in multiple languages and formats to ensure equal access by all interested stakeholders.
Contact Information:
Richard La Belle, Executive Director
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc.
2735 Whitney Road
Clearwater, FL 33760-1610
727-523-1130; 727-523-8687 FAX
E-mail: popin@fndfl.org
Website: http://www.fndfl.org/
Family Resource Center on Disabilities
The WIN-MILL (Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois) Project for individuals with disabilities, parents, family members, and advocates is designed to utilize the successful decades of training experience of four Parent Centers in the Midwest: The Family Resource Center on Disabilities (FRCD), in Illinois; Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs (IN*SOURCE), in Indiana; Citizens Alliance to Uphold Special Education (CAUSE), in Michigan; and Family Assistance Center for Education, Training, and Support, Inc. (FACETS), in Wisconsin.
The Project will train individuals with disabilities, parents, family members, guardians, professionals and advocates from 8 participating organizations, to become trainers for members of their communities– with a special emphasis on serving underserved populations.
The Program will:
- Recruit and train individuals from each participating organization, each participant then will then provide training and assistance to a target number of additional individuals;
- Provide consultation and technical assistance to participants during and after the training period;
- Provide monitoring and evaluation of trainer/training activities to assure quality training and services.
- Implement an intensive outreach program designed to reach underserved and rural populations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Participants will learn how to:
- Conduct training on rights and services guaranteed under the Rehabilitation Act and its Amendments;
- Provide information, linkage, individual assistance and support for their members and others in their communities;
- Conduct training on transition to post-secondary programs, vocational and rehabilitation training, and employment;
- Conduct training on advocacy, communication, policymaking, and systems change skills;
- Conduct outreach and publicity activities, to reach underserved and rural populations to publicize their services;
- Become effective trainers in problem-solving strategies.
e four Centers will also conduct quarterly training seminars on the Rehabilitation Act, Section 504, Transition, and the Olmstead Act to provide continual opportunities for training, information and assistance; and for practicum experiences. The training curriculum will include empowering strategies and training approaches which acknowledge the expertise of consumers themselves – as trainers and positive role models.
Contact Information:
Charlotte DesJardins, Executive Director
Family Resource Center on Disabilities
20 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 300
Chicago, IL 60604
312-939-3513 voice / 312-939-3519 TTY; 312-939-7297 FAX; 1-800-952-4199 in IL
E-mail: frcdptiil@ameritech.net
Website: www.frcd.org
ADDITIONAL WINMILL STATE CONTACT INFORMATION
WI Contact:
Charlotte Price
Wisconsin FACETS
2714 North Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
414-374-4645 / 414-374-4635 TTD; 414-374-4655 FAX; 877-374-4677 in WI
E-mail: wifacets@execpc.com
Website: www.wifacets.org
IN Contact:
Sally Hamburg
IN*SOURCE
1703 S. Ironwood Drive
South Bend, IN 46613
574-234-7101; 219-239-7275 TDD 574-234-7279 FAX, 1-800-332-4433 in IN
E-mail: insource@insource.org
Website: www.insource.org
MI Contact:
Mary Suurmeyer
CAUSE
6412 Centurion Dr. Suite 130
Lansing, MI 48917
517-886-9167 Voice & TDD; 517-886-9366 FAX; 1-800-221-9105 in MI
E-mail: info@causeonline.org
Website: www.causeonline.org
IL Contact:
Myra Christian
Family Resource Center on Disabilities
20 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 300
Chicago, IL 60604
312-939-3513 voice / 312-939-3519 TTY; 312-939-7297 FAX; 1-800-952-4199 in IL
E-mail: frcdptiil@ameritech.net
Website: www.frcd.org
Maine Parent Federation
The Maine Parent Federation (MPF) is Maine’s statewide cross disability parent (of children with disabilities) run service organization. Project PRIME builds upon a generation of expertise and resources in providing information, education, training and support to persons with disabilities, families and professionals. Project focus is on assisting Maine’s estimated 27,000 youth with disabilities in transition, their parents, family members, advocates and authorized others to access and fully utilize vocational, rehabilitation, independent living and other transitional services and supports.
Project objectives are to: a) double the statewide availability of relevant information, training and resource materials; b) increase the numbers of individuals receiving transition focused information, education, training and skills development; c) support youth, parents and family members in leadership roles throughout the services system; 4) identify, adopt and disseminate promising practices and models; and 5) sponsor consumer professional partnerships in Project planning, needs assessment and evaluation.
Services are provided through six regional offices, a statewide information and referral network, over 100 information and training workshops and various distance learning options. Project partners include key stakeholders within Maine’s rehabilitation community, education system, disability and family groups and health and human services providers. In kind support exceeds 50% of requested federal support.
More than 85% of people to be served are from under represented populations including those who are educationally or economically disadvantaged, live in isolated rural areas and have serious and/or multiple disabilities. Approximately 17,000 individuals annually will receive one or more project services.
Contact Information:
Janice LaChance, Executive Director
Maine Parent Federation
P.O. Box 2067
Augusta, ME 04338-2067
207-623-2144
207-623-2148 FAX
1-800-870-7746
E-mail: parentconnect@mpf.org
Website: www.mpf.org
Missouri Parents Act (MPACT)
The overall goal of the STELLAR (Supporting Transition to Engaged Lives by Linking Agency Resources) project is to develop the capabilities of families to be informed and effective partners in their children with disabilities transition to adult life; and to facilitate system change that supports all children and young adults with special needs to achieve the realization of their personal goals in education, employment, living outcomes and community integration. STELLAR will address the need for increased involvement of families both during the planning stages of transition and across school and community systems. This project will provide training and information to enable individuals with disabilities and their families (including parents, adult siblings, and extended family members, as well as guardians and advocates) to participate more effectively with professionals from educational, vocational, independent living and rehabilitation systems through a collaborative partnership between Missouri Parents ACT (MPACT) and the Transition Coalition.
Goal 1: Identify and train Transition Mentors throughout the state in coordination with Missouri Centers for Independent Living.
Goal 2: Develop new online training sessions on transition planning, employment, and independently living.
Goal 3: Ongoing coordination and collaboration among employment, independent living, and other rehabilitation systems through the development of a Statewide Coordinating Council (SCC).
Goal 4: Add to existing online resources currently providing statewide information and training to help families better understand employment systems and CIL programs and services
Goal 5: Provide focused outreach and training to family members from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds by working with cultural groups and community organizations.
Contact Information:
Mary Kay Savage, Executive Director
Missouri Parents Act (MPACT)
8301 State Line Road, Suite 204
Kansas City, MO 64114
816-531-7070 (V) 816-931-2992 (TDD)
816-531-4777 fax
E-mail: msavage@ptimpact.com
Website: www.ptimpact.com
PACER's Rehabilitation Act Information and Disability Education (PRIDE) Project
PACER Center, Inc. (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) is a coalition of 18 Minnesota disability groups concerned with services for children and adults with the full range of disabilities. PACER’s staff and Board of Directors are composed primarily of parents of children with disabilities and individuals with disabilities. PACER, through information and training, has served families since 1977.
Purpose: PACER’s Project PRIDE will develop, implement and evaluate an innovative statewide project to provide rural and urban training and information to enable youth and adults with disabilities, their family members, and advocates to collaborate more effectively with education, social security, workforce center and rehabilitation professionals. Project PRIDE will focus on transition and adult services that support the Rehabilitation Act’s goal of meaningful employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities including successful transition to adult services, post secondary education and training, drop out prevention, integrated and supported employment, independent living and full community inclusion. Trainings will be in collaboration with other disability organizations including the Minnesota Centers for Independent Living (MCIL). Research based strategies will be used to prepare curriculums, materials, gather data and to evaluate results.
Audience: Youth and young adults with disabilities, their family members, advocates and guardians with emphasis on un-served and underserved populations including individuals from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds and rural areas.
Goal 1: Develope Basic and Special Topic Workshops.
Project PRIDE will develop new or updated workshops to help family members and consumers become more knowledgeable about the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other disability focused legislation, the Client Assistant Program (CAP), Workforce Investment Act & One-Stop Career Centers, self advocacy, independent living and housing, workplace skills and accommodations, and other employment focused topics.
Goal 2: Training and Assistance to Individuals from Racially and Culturally Diverse Backgrounds.
Project PRIDE will provide culturally appropriate outreach to individuals from diverse backgrounds on all basic and specialized workshops topics. PRIDE staff will facilitate small discussion groups, provide individual assistance, and collaborate with organizations that serve underserved diverse communities.
Goal 3: Information Dissemination and Assistance to Individuals.
Project PRIDE will provide information and individual assistance to consumers, parents and professionals on disability related issues, disseminate information to individuals with disabilities, family members, professionals and the general public via mass media and the Internet, and develop family friendly handouts.
Goal 4: National and State Collaborative Activities.
Project PRIDE will offer in-service training to secondary and post secondary educators, professionals and community groups on topics such as disability awareness and employment; and participate in state interagency transition initiatives.
Contact Information:
Paul F. Goldberg, Executive Director
Judy Moses, Project Coordinator
PACER Center, Inc.
8161 Normandale Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55437-1044
952-838-9000 (Voice); 952-838-0190 (TTY); 952-838-0199 FAX
E-mail: pacer@pacer.org
Website: www.pacer.org
Parent Educational Advocate Training Center
Purpose: To build the capacity of self-advocates, families, friends, rehabilitation professionals and educators to forge partnerships that will lead to positive employment and independent living outcomes for people with disabilities.
Audience: Individuals with a full range of disabilities, family members, advocates, chosen friends, educators and adult services/rehabilitation professionals interested in building the capacity of secondary education students with disabilities and their families to plan and create the realities of their own choosing that begin when secondary education ends.
Objective 1: Provide telephone, electronic and print assistance and information about rights, opportunities and options for transition planning that is responsive to the informational and planning needs of self advocates, their families and those who will work with them.
Objective 2: Support and establish four regional NEXT STEPS Transition Teams who will provide person-centered and culturally competent training and information to self-advocates families, professionals and others in their respective regions.
Objective 3: Collaborate with the a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center to develop a for-credit distance learning program reaching an audience of students with disabilities and their families, special education professionals, and community rehabilitation professionals, statewide and beyond.
Objective 4: Plan for a sustained NEXT STEPS effort that builds the capacity of self - advocates, families, friends, rehabilitation professionals and educators to forge partnerships that will lead to positive employment and independent living outcomes.
Contact Information:
Cathy Healy, Project Director
Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center
100 North Washington Street, Suite 234
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-923-0010 Voice & TTY; 1-800-869-6782 VA only; 703-923-0030 FAX
E-mail: partners@peatc.org
Website: www.peatc.org
Technical Assistance on Transition & the Rehabilitation Act Project (TATRA)
PACER Center’s TATRA Project has served RSA parent information and training programs since 1994. Proposed activities build on this experience, incorporate innovative new strategies, and work in concert with related technical assistance initiatives
Expected outcomes: Parent centers will expand their capacity to provide families, including culturally and racially diverse populations, with training and information on effective VR, transition and independent living practices. Parent center leadership and achievement in areas that promote improved post-school outcomes will be recognized and encouraged. Professionals will become more aware of family contributions to employment outcomes, and models of effective parent center, VR and special education collaborations. TATRA assessment and evaluation activities will assist in the development and coordination of RSA-funded parent programs
Goal 1: Expand the capacity of RSA parent programs to provide information and training to youth and families, including youth from culturally and racially diverse populations, reflecting the most current research-based strategies.
Strategies: Technical assistance activities will address the collective and individual needs of RSA parent-training programs through regular, coordinated community of practice activities among the RSA parent information and training programs; an annual conference; and individualized technical assistance to each RSA parent training program grantee.
Goal 2: Foster the development of expertise in VR, career development, transition, and related fields, and build the capacity OSERS-funded parent centers in these areas.
Strategies: Increase awareness of research-based best practices and promote achievement within the national parent center network through a variety of staff development opportunities and publications.
Goal 3: Increase the capacity of parent training projects and other stakeholder groups through information dissemination and collaborative activities with partners.
Strategies: Disseminate information via traditional and electronic media and collaborative activities to increase awareness of family contributions to successful employment outcomes and promote youth and family participation in state cross-systems transition initiatives.
Goal 4: Produce data documenting the national technical assistance needs of parent training projects and the impact of parent training on youth and family outcomes.
Strategies: Conduct national needs assessment and data collection activities.
Contact Information:
Paul F. Goldberg, Executive Director
Deborah Leuchovius, Project Director
PACER Center, Inc.
8161 Normandale Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55437-1044
952-838-9000 (Voice); 952-838-0190 (TTY); 952-838-0199 FAX
E-mail: PACER@PACER.org
Website: www.PACER.org
PACER's site offers many PDF files for download, which require 
