University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN Center to Provide Training for Parents
Advocating on Behalf of Their Disabled Children

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., March 23, 2007) — Cal State Northridge’s Family Focus Resource and Empowerment Center (FFREC) is joining with the North Los Angeles County Regional Center (NLACRC) to present a series of free workshops to assist, support, and empower parents to effectively advocate on behalf of their children. The series is available only to the more than 7,000 clients of NLACRC.

The collaboration between the NLACRC and FFREC is an opportunity for clients to draw upon the best and latest knowledge for disabled family members.

"The training is designed to bring all stakeholders together so that collaborative partnerships can evolve," said Ivor Weiner, executive director for the Family Focus Resource and Empowerment Center. "School districts, SELPA directors, special education attorneys, advocates, and regional center personnel will join forces to provide high quality parent training."

The first workshop, "Introduction to Educational Advocacy," is scheduled to take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, at the San Fernando Valley office of the North Los Angeles County Regional Center at 15400 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. The workshop will be repeated on April 14 at the Santa Clarita Valley office of the regional center at 28470 Avenue Stanford in Santa Clarita, and again on May 12 at the Antelope Valley office of the regional center at 43210 Gingham Ave. in Lancaster.

The workshop, "IDEA 2004 Statutes and Regulations, Case Law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB)," will review the laws, regulations and applicable case laws from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on June 30 at the San Fernando Valley office of the regional center and July 28 at the Santa Clarita Valley office of the regional center. The workshop will be repeated from noon to 2 p.m. on Aug. 18 at the Lancaster Regional Library at 601 W. Lancaster Blvd.

The workshop, "Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Defined," will present an analysis of case law and how to determine what constitutes an "appropriate" education. The SFV regional center will host this workshop on Sept. 8, at the SCV regional center on Oct. 20 and the AV regional center on Nov. 17.

The workshop, "Individual Educational Program Process/Applicable Procedural Safeguards," which explains the statutory/regulatory requirements for content, development, implementation and review of IEPs, will meet at the SFV regional center on Dec. 8, SCV regional center on Jan. 26, 2008, and AV regional center on Feb. 9, 2008.

A two-week registration prior to the training is strongly encouraged. To register, call (818) 756-6472 and leave a message with the following required information: the training session name and date, your first and last name with your day and evening phone numbers in case of cancellation and the names of the persons who will be attending. Interested people can also register by sending the above information via e-mail to RSVP@nlacrc.org. To fax a registration, visit the Web site http://www.nlacrc.org/pdfs/Educ_Trainings.pdf and print out the form.

For more information, please call (818) 756-6472 or visit the Web sites http://www.csunfamilyfocus.com and http://www.nlacrc.org.

The Family Focus Resource and Empowerment Center (FFREC), housed in Cal State Northridge’s Michael D. Eisner College of Education, is an information, referral, support and education organization serving families of infants at-risk for developmental delays, children and adults with developmental disabilities, and professionals that care for them in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope valleys.

The FFREC’s staff works with Northridge faculty and students to promote awareness in the community and education system of children and adults with special needs. The center collaborates with the North Los Angeles County Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, LAUSD and the Special Education Local Planning Area of the Santa Clarita Valley to provide timely referrals for assessments or resources.