January 27, 2016 | By: Stephania WIlliams
Categories: Family Support
The PEN Project works to empower parents of children and youth with disabilities in their roles as parents, decision makers, and advocates for their children.
PEN helps parents to understand their child’s disability. They also help parents understand their rights and responsibilities under IDEA. To do this, they offer a variety of services including individual assistance over the phone and in person. The PEN Project offers workshops for parents and professionals. All services are provided at no cost to parents of children with disabilities.
The PEN Project serves west and north Texas from the Concho Valley and Permian Basin to El Paso to the panhandle. Take a look at their map to get more information about the area they serve.
PEN has a monthly E-newsletter that provides the scoop on training and workshops in your area. You can subscribe or check out the latest newsletter. Workshops and trainings on local, state and federal laws, disabilities, policies and procedures are geared toward helping parents and caregivers access the resources their children need.
If your passion is helping other parents understand the ARD Process you may want to learn more about their Parent Leadership Training. Parent Leader candidates must have a strong foundational knowledge of IDEA. Parent Leaders are volunteers for Partners Resource Network (PRN). The role of the Parent Leader is to help parents prepare for their child’s ARD meeting. They can help the parent prepare for the meeting and plan an agenda. They help to identify the issues and support the collaborative process of the meeting. This also means assisting the parent and school reach a consensus where possible. Parent Leaders are not advocates, but rather partners in the ARD process. Parent Leaders attend a two day training program to prepare them for this role.
Call 877-762-1435 to contact them or email them. PEN’s office is located at 1001 Main Street, Suite 701, in Lubbock.
Don’t forget to check out our page on Find Services, Groups and Events.
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