1. Baseline/Trend Data:
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

2. Targets
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

• 100 percent of parents will have information on special education programs and services available to them.

• 100 percent of parents will receive the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" and " A Parent's Guide."

• There will be a 10 percent increase in the number of parents who respond to the parent satisfaction survey of the impartial hearing process.

• 100 percent of VESID's advisory groups will have parents as required members (e.g. CAP, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Steering committee and Quality Assurance Advisory Group).

• "A Parent's Guide" and the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" will be available for families who are non-native speakers, in the top five languages other than English.

3. Explanation of Progress or Slippage
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

• Nineteen new special education publications were developed in 2003-2004.

• 100 percent of the nineteen new special education publications were placed on VESID’s web site and e-mailed to all constituent groups. These represented parents, advocacy groups, schools, teachers, professional development networks, State agencies, etc.

• "A Parent's Guide" and the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" which provide information to parents on special education programs and services and due process rights were provided in English, as well as four different languages for parents whose primary language is not English.

• VESID has greatly increased the amount and kinds of information available on its web site. Updates and additional information are available weekly.

• VESID currently funds five parent centers, three in New York City, one on Long Island, and one in the Western New York area. The Centers provide ongoing outreach, training and information dissemination for parents. Staff members reflect the diverse culture of and languages spoken in the community in order to encourage parent access to services. VESID Parent Centers also provide training and information dissemination to teachers, school administrators, and staff members from a broad spectrum of agencies and community-based organizations.

• VESID’s 15 ECDCs provide training and technical assistance to parents of preschool children suspected of having a disability. In 2003-04, ECDCs assisted 24,084 parents of children ages 0-5, and 2,908 parents were trained.

4. Projected Targets
   (for NEXT reporting period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and on going):

• Parents will have information on special education programs and services available to them, including the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" and "A Parent's Guide."

• There will be a 10 percent increase in the number of parents who respond to the parent satisfaction survey of the impartial hearing process.

• 100 percent of VESID's advisory groups (such as CAP, and Quality Assurance Advisory Group) will have parents as required members.

• "A Parent's Guide" and the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" will be available in the top five languages for families who are non-English speakers. Bengali and Urdu will be added.

• A statewide consortium of organizations and resources will be developed in order to support families through provision of technical assistance, training and information dissemination.

• There will be Improved communication and fewer gaps in services to parents and families.

• Strategies will be developed to increase outreach to/and involvement of marginal families.

• A plan will be developed to expand consumer use of the VESID web site in order to offset the effect of diminishing resources for the support of production and distribution of printed materials.

• VESID staff will participate on a SED committee to revise the Regents Policy Statement on Parent Involvement.

5. Future Activities
6. Projected Timelines and Resources
   (for NEXT reporting period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and on going):

(Note: All activities will be completed by VESID staff except where noted.)

• Continue to develop and disseminate information on special education and the due process rights of parents, as required by law.

• Update the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" and "A Parent's Guide" to be consistent with any State or federal regulatory or statutory changes.

• Continue to update the Parent's Guide and translate into languages other than English.

• Continue to ensure that parents are represented on all advisory committees.

1. Baseline/Trend Data:
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

2. Targets
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

3. Explanation of Progress or Slippage
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

• VESID-SEQA has implemented two types of Parent Forums as one component of the Quality Assurance (QA) focused review process. These meetings are designed to seek input from parents of students with disabilities on various aspects of their experiences with their school district and special education programs. The forums are designed to elicit statements from the parents on both positive aspects of special education within their district and/or areas in need of some improvement. These statements are then included in the district’s QA Review Final Report.

• Parent surveys continue to be included in all QA reviews. At present, four parents of children with disabilities are members of the Statewide Quality Assurance Advisory Group, which has advised SEQA throughout the multi-year development of the QA system.

• Of the 17 impartial hearing satisfaction surveys returned from parents, 15 (or 88%) responded that they were treated in a respectful and fair manner.

• The Transition Coordination Sites (TCS) piloted a survey focused on the initiation of transition services which will now be included in the VESID Data Collection Process. Parent involvement in the individualized education program (IEP) process was one area of focus.

• Findings from the New York State Longitudinal Post School Indicator Study (NYSLPSI) indicate that some students are not receiving information in the timely manner that is necessary for planning a smooth transition to post school life. In an effort to improve this process, the TCS piloted a survey with 18 districts focused on the initiation of the transition process for students at the age of 14. Questions regarding parent involvement in the Committee on Special Education (CSE) process were included in that survey. The purpose of the survey was to determine if the survey tool and the process were manageable and informative. Revisions were made to the survey based on the feedback provided by the pilots. The survey is now known as the Transition Beginnings Survey. It was released in the winter of 2003 in a Request for Proposal (RFP) that includes 7 other VESID points of data collection. Parent involvement in the IEP process for transition age students remains a part of the survey.

4. Projected Targets
   (for NEXT reporting period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and on going):

• Increase the involvement of parents in Special Education Quality Assurance (SEQA) Reviews.

• Parents will continue to be members of the Quality Assurance Advisory Group.

5. Future Activities
6. Projected Timelines and Resources
   (for NEXT reporting period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and on going):

• The Parent Forums are being continued in 2004-05 and will be continued in future years. VESID will investigate additional strategies to encourage parent participation in the Parent Forums, and will also pilot other methods for getting input such as “piggybacking” small group interviews onto already successful parent functions.

• SED will randomly select school districts and up to 2500 students will participate in the Transition Beginnings Survey, which has a parent involvement component.

1. Baseline/Trend Data:
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

2. Targets
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

3. Explanation of Progress or Slippage
   (for reporting period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004):

• Parents are engaged in VESID advisory groups, work groups and committees. They are involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of special education policies. Parents are required members of the CAP, Quality Assurance Advisory Group, and other advisory groups who provide feedback to SED on issues relative to students with disabilities.

• Regional plans have been developed for each Joint Management Team (JMT) area to provide required training for parents on a variety of topics. The SETRC network’s ten regional trainers are available to provide regional training to parents on a variety of topics based on regional needs.

• The mandated procedural safeguards form was developed by SED and is revised on an on-going basis. It is required to be provided to parents as per regulatory requirements. Eight parents from across the State were part of the advisory group that assisted in the development of the original procedural safeguards. This form was also reviewed by numerous other parent groups.

• VESID’s five parent centers (see Table PI.I - Information Dissemination) also provide training and information dissemination to teachers, school administrators, and staff members from a broad spectrum of agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs). By providing information and access through CBOs, capacity is built, and knowledge about special education is greatly increased in the wider community. This brings information to parents in community settings, and increases outreach to families who are homeless, to foster parents, to teen parents, and to others who cannot be assisted through traditional “in-school” events and services.

• SED has funded, in collaboration with the OMH, Department of Health (DOH) and Families Together in New York, Inc. (FTNYS), the Mental Health SSP to provide services in approximately 40 targeted schools to address the needs of children with significant emotional/behavioral issues. The four components of the project are: integration of mental health services, development or enhancement of family support, training for families and education personnel, and the development of community linkages. Two new components were added in the third phase of the SSP: coordination of health and mental health services and training in and supervision of evidence-based clinical protocols. Evaluation of the three phases of the SSPs was completed in 2004. Results and lessons learned were shared with the Board of Regents, public, state agency partners and the schools involved in the projects. An essential element in the evaluation protocol is family satisfaction with services. The results of family surveys completed in 2003 were analyzed, with results shared in 2004. In addition, two additional projects that combine the integrated mental health components, family supports, and positive behavioral interventions and supports were funded.

• Parent involvement/home-school collaboration is a key component of SIG. The SIG was designed to stimulate systems change in the Big 5 City School Districts and selected districts in need of improvement based on key performance measures and disproportionality data. In addition to the requirement that each targeted local educational agency (LEA) allocate at least 5% of the award ($2,500) to support “Family Engagement” activities, additional SIG funds (up to $15,000) are available to school districts seeking more in-depth home-school collaboration initiatives.

• As part of a collaborative effort with OSEP, CADRE, a federal technical assistance provider worked with VESID, parent representatives and other stakeholders in order to develop a written document and training materials designed to assist districts and parents in improving school/family relationships, and in building effective school/family/community involvement. See Educating Our Children Together: A Sourcebook for Effective Family-School-Community Partnerships.

• The FTNYS Statewide Director of School-based Family Support is responsible for the coordination of family involvement within the context of PBIS, and for providing support and leadership to the PBIS Family Coordinators. Six PBIS Family Coordinators work with the Regional PBIS Specialists and are responsible for increasing and supporting family involvement and support in schools implementing PBIS. (See Table FAPE.III - Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.)

4. Projected Targets
   (for NEXT reporting period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and on going):

• Department capacity and activities will continue to be enhanced in order to increase parent participation and knowledge in all aspects of special education.

5. Future Activities
6. Projected Timelines and Resources
   (for NEXT reporting period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and on going):

• VESID will ensure that parents are engaged in VESID advisory groups, work groups and committees and other advisory groups who provide feedback to the Department on issues relative to students with disabilities.

• VESID will work to fuse partnerships with parents within SED in order to assure that leadership and key personnel have the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to effectively involve parents.

• VESID will recommend that through the Higher Education Support Center, colleges and universities include training on outreach to parents and on parent involvement in their training programs in special education. The CAP on Special Education, 50 percent of who are parents of students with disabilities, will review certification requirements for administrators, psychologists and social workers, assess the adequacy of professional development regarding parent outreach, and make specific recommendations to the Commissioner.

• VESID has developed a comprehensive set of principles (see Executive Summary, VESID’s Family Principles) in order to engage parents of students with disabilities in a meaningful way in policy development, implementation and evaluation. These family principles will be integrated into all publications, IDEA discretionary funded activities, technical assistance, training and correspondence.

• CCSI is an interagency effort to plan and implement services designed to maintain children who have complex emotional and behavioral service needs in their homes, schools and communities. State agencies including SED, jointly fund seed grant in order to support local creation of CCSI teams. CCSI uses an interagency structure to coordinate planning, and to address barriers to effective service delivery at three levels — local (municipality, community, family and school), regional, and statewide. CCSI uses a family focused and strength-based approach in working with families across all service systems. The CCSI process involves families as equal partners at all levels of service delivery and planning. CCSI will provide training to parents and family members in order to improve their advocacy skills and to increase their knowledge of service systems, treatment modalities, procedural rules and regulations, and other areas identified by the parent-led planning committee.

• Funding/supports for formal parent support structures that enhance parent involvement are being established. SED and OMH are collaborating on establishing parent support structures and a technical assistance structure for implementing a “system of care” approach that will enhance the level and effectiveness of parental involvement. FTNYS is an equal partner in both the SSP and the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) projects. Families Together participates both in the statewide project leadership team and in regional and local teams, providing technical assistance to assure parental involvement in service delivery and planning.

• In 2004-05 Families Together will work with the National Network of Partnership schools (NNPS) to develop a training curriculum integrating research-based practices of family involvement and support into NYS's PBIS initiative.

• The technical assistance networks administered by VESID - 15 ECDC, 5 Parent Centers, and 42 SETRCs – are funded for 2004-05 and will continue to build capacity through training and professional development activities. The TCS have been reconfigured, and seven such sites will be funded beginning January 1, 2005 and continuing through June 30, 2009.

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