State/National Organizations
This section accesses a multitude of State and National Organizations that provide information, support and research on a wide range of disabilities and medical conditions.
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Description: As the Virginia Department of Education is working to issue formal guidance in response to Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order 28: Parental Notification, Law Enforcement Collaboration, and Student Education to Prevent Student Overdoses, the department is sharing best practices to support decision-making protocols that school leaders are grappling with when developing parent notification protocols and also re-enforcing best practices for law enforcement collaboration. Parent Notification:...
Description: We recognize the impact of violence and trauma on our students, families, and school staff as we all struggle to process the lives lost, continuing violence and current world events, including the recent outbreak of war in Israel and antisemitic demonstrations around the world. School staff and parents may find themselves fielding questions from students and supporting them in processing what they have heard and seen. CONSIDERATION ONE: How can we best support students and families that are...
Description: Moms In Motion (Moms)/At Home Your Way (AHYW) is a Consumer-DirectedServices where the person using them is allowed to select, hire, fire, and train their particular caregiver(s). More Service Facilitation provider for Virginia Medicaid waivers: CCC PlusA Virginia Medicaid waiver program that provides services to elders and people with physical disabilities in the community (as opposed to in a nursing home) to prevent the premature institutionalization of these groups. Services available...
Description: The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit provides comprehensive and preventive health care services for children under age 21 who are enrolled in Medicaid. EPSDT is key to ensuring that children and adolescents receive appropriate preventive, dental, mental health, and developmental, and specialty services. Early: Assessing and identifying problems early. Periodic: Checking children’s health at periodic, age-appropriate intervals. Screening: Providing...
Description: Search for Virginia Post-Adoption Support - Adoption is a pathway to a permanent, safe and loving family for many children. As an adoptive family, there may be times when you experience highs and lows and could use a helping hand. There are five regional post-adoption consortiums operating in Virginia. If you're not sure what region you live in, that's okay - each consortium can direct you to the right agency. All regional consortiums offer the same services, regardless of where you...
Description: The School-Based Services (SBS) Comprehensive Guide to Medicaid Services and Administrative Claiming was released in May 2023. The HHS's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched the SBS Technical Assistance (TA) Center. This center will continue to be developed in conjunction with the Department of Education (ED). It will: Support State Medicaid agencies, local education agencies (LEAs), and school-based entities seeking to expand their capacity for providing Medicaid...
Description: Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV) is a statewide, primary source of information and personal support for individuals, families, and professionals whose lives have been impacted by brain injury. Community Resource Directory Looking for a brain injury service or program in your area? Search our database for support groups, therapists, rehabilitation providers, attorneys and more. You can search by keyword, category, and/or address. Self-Paced Online Courses The Brain Injury...
Description: Complete DBHDS Survey: How to Improve DD Services and Supports in VA - The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) is seeking your input and participation in determining actions that can be taken to improve the DD system of supports and services in Virginia. We are asking individuals and families to answer the questions in the survey link below. If you are interested in being on a workgroup, please complete question 10 in the survey. DBHDS will select 50 participants...
Description: Brain Injury Connections of the Shenandoah Valley (BICSV) enhances the lives of individuals affected by brain injury through cultivating connections with information, services, and resources. BICSV provides no-cost case management services for children, youth, and adults who have sustained a traumatic and/or acquired brain injury. BICSV serves the following counties: Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Page, and Shenandoah, and the cities within.
Description: Easterseals UCP provides meaningful and exceptional services so that children, adults and families living with disabilities, behavioral health challenges and autism can live, learn, work and play in their communities. Easterseals UCP’s Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) services provide home and community-based supports that help children and adults be engaged and contributing members of their family and community. Our Behavioral Health programs are evidenced-based and...
Description: For 57 years and counting, the Autism Society, including our nationwide network of affiliates, connects people to the resources they need through education, advocacy, support, information and referral, and community programming. Mission: We create connections, empowering everyone in the Autism community with the resources needed to live fully. Vision: Creating a world where everyone in the Autism community is connected to the support they need, when they need it.
Description: The U.S. Department of Education announced the release of new guidance from its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to help public elementary and secondary schools fulfill their responsibilities to meet the needs of students with disabilities and avoid the discriminatory use of student discipline. These newly released resources are the most comprehensive guidance on the civil rights of students with disabilities concerning student...
Description: Ready Regions will bring unprecedented levels of coordination, accountability, and family engagement to early education programs in every community in the Commonwealth. Starting in 2022, Ready Regions will help every Virginia community to be: Accountable. Virginia’s early education system must prepare children for success. Parent-centered. Families must be engaged in designing a system that works for them. Responsive. Parents must be able to choose the child care they want and need....
Description: Virginia Higher Education Accessibility Partners, or VHEAP, a member-driven organization was established in 2018 to promote collaboration and partnership between accessibility-focused professionals throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Looking at accessibility from a holistic perspective, events and resources supported and offered by VHEAP are broad, encouraging collaborative solutions. Our focus is on offering shared opportunities for those who are tasked with improving access to...
Description: This information is for school professionals who may teach or provide therapy, counseling, and/or other services to children with disabilities. It outlines the kinds of evidence that the Social Security Administration (SSA) needs to determine disability for a child under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The SSI program can provide valuable monthly cash payments to children who are disabled under SSA rules and whose families have little income or resources. Determining...
Description: Respite is defined as a short period of rest or relief from something difficult. Caring for a loved one can be very difficult on a caregiver. Respite Care provides temporary relief to a primary caregiver from the continuous support and care of a loved one who has a disability or medical condition. Respite will be most helpful if you use it before you become exhausted, isolated, and overwhelmed by your responsibilities. Respite services can be beneficial, meaningful, and enjoyable to both the...
Description: The Association for Positive Behavior Support is a multidisciplinary organization made up of professionals (teachers, researchers, university professors, and administrators), family members, and consumers who are committed to the application of positive behavior support within the context of the school, family, and community including across systems (e.g., entire schools, organizations), for small groups, and for individuals with complex needs for support.
Description: SSA Outreach Materials for People Facing Barriers The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose hardships, especially on people who face barriers to accessing services and benefits. These include people with low-income, limited English proficiency, facing homelessness, or with mental illness, who have historically relied on meeting with us face-to-face to get the help they need. You will find an up-to-date list of resources and materials that you can use to learn about the Supplemental Security...
Description: Social Security benefits provide resources that can enable students with disabilities to successfully transition to adult life. The following tips will help guide teachers, families, and students with the process of applying for and managing benefits.
Description: PACER Center enhances the quality of life and expands opportunities for children, youth, and young adults with all disabilities and their families so each person can reach his or her highest potential. PACER operates on the principles of parents helping parents, supporting families, promoting a safe environment for all children, and working in collaboration with others. With assistance to individual families, workshops, materials for parents and professionals, and leadership in securing a free...
Description: Ready is a National public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement. Ready asks that individuals: stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses make a family emergency plan and build an emergency supply kit, and get involved in your...
Description: CA Human Services (formerly Commonwealth Autism/The Founders Center) is home to various programs which help adults transition smoothly from their family home to an apartment or home of their own and to maintain their independence. The majority of our young adults have an autism spectrum diagnosis or a similar developmental disability, and they have the capacity to live independently with some training and support. Our Readiness Program supports young adults who live at home with...
Description: Unfortunately, students with disabilities are often not fully considered in SEL initiatives. NCLD has been working hard to change the course of SEL to ensure it is developed in a way that is inclusive and equitable. We are excited to announce the release of these resources to help ensure more inclusive and equitable SEL. This work builds on the previous report co-authored with 7 other organizations: Exploring Intersectionality: Understanding Student Identity to Promote Equitable Social Emotional...
Description: CVI stands for Cortical Visual Impairment/Cerebral Visual Impairment. CVI is a brain-based visual impairment caused by damage to the visual pathways or visual processing areas of the brain. Learners struggle with visual attention and visual recognition resulting in a lack of access for understanding the world around them. CVI is known to be the leading cause of visual impairment in children in the United States. With CVI, the eye’s connection to and in the brain doesn’t work...
Description: CDC HEADS UP - Keeping children and teens healthy and safe is always a top priority. Whether you are a parent, youth sports coach, school coach, school professional, or health care provider, this site will help you recognize, respond to, and minimize the risk of concussion or other serious brain injury. What is a Concussion? Concussion Danger Signs, Concussion Signs and Symptoms, Recovery from a Concussion, Returning to School, Returning to Sports and Activities, Learn More, HEADS UP for...
Description: LEND program provides interdisciplinary training to professionals, family members and self-advocates with an aim to provide integrated services to families and children with disabilities. The purpose of the LEND training program is to prepare trainees from diverse professional disciplines to assume leadership roles in their respective fields and by ensuring high levels of interdisciplinary clinical competence. Providing an interdisciplinary training the...
Description: The mission of the American Institute of Stress is to improve the mental and physical health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence of stress management in education, research, clinical care, home life and the workplace. We educate and credential health care professionals and offer products and educational tools for everyone. They are a clearinghouse that gathers evidence based stress solutions.
Description: CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) CARES is an initiative that connects the SEL community with experts to address how SEL can be most helpful in response to today’s circumstances. The first opportunity in this series features Dr. Marc Brackett, CASEL board member and director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Key Takeaways: Give yourself and others the permission to feel all emotions. Accept all feelings and use them wisely. Strive to become an...
Description: Virginia school divisions are required to have a special education advisory committee. The purpose of the committee is to provide an opportunity for parents and other school board appointees to have a voice in the way that school divisions provide services to students with disabilities. LSEAC members are appointed by local school boards. The committees provide reports and recommendations to their school boards. The purpose of the SEACs Guide: A Guide for Local Special Education...
Description: SHAPE America is dedicated to supporting health education and physical education teachers across the country as schools implement reopening plans and continue effective instruction through the school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. PE goes hand-in-hand with social and emotional learning as it’s a learning environment where SEL socialization occurs naturally through active play, teamwork, and motor skill development. Students learn resilience, problem-solving skills, collaboration,...
Description: The National Training & Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, & Family Mental Health (NTTAC) works to ensure all young people and families get the support they need to thrive. NTTAC is a SAMHSA-funded initiative to increase the access to, effectiveness of, and dissemination of evidence-based mental health services for young people (ages 0-21) and their families, including young people experiencing serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance (SMI/SED). NTTAC supports a...
Description: Apply for Grants/Awards: Two mini-grants (up to $500 each), an award for the Special Educator of the Year and an award for the Early Career Special Educator of the Year The Virginia Counil for Learning Disabilities (VCLD) is a statewide organization that promotes evidence-based teaching, collaboration, research, leadership, and advocacy within the Commonwealth. VCLD is composed of professionals who represent diverse disciplines and are committed to enhancing the education and quality of life for...
Description: This Northern Virginia Family Resource Directory is provided as a free service to families and professionals by Formed Families Forward with financial support of SCAN of Northern Virginia. The Directory provides information and contact information for organizations, agencies and private practices offering programs, services and other resources for children, youth and families. There is a special focus on providers who serve families formed by adoption, foster care and kinship care who are...
Description: The Reading League is a national not for profit that promotes knowledge to reimagine the future of literacy education and accelerate the global movement toward reading instruction rooted in science. How do our brains learn to read? What are the underlying causes when students have difficulty? How do we prevent those difficulties? How do we remediate those difficulties? The scientific evidence base has converged to answer all of these questions. By leveraging the existing research in ways that...
Description: VCU-ACE has resources for families about raising and supporting young children with ASD. They also have resources for educators and providers as they learn more about ASD and how to use evidence-based practices. For Parents: Raising a child diagnosed with ASD can be confusing and overwhelming. Many times, parents and family members struggle to understand the diagnosis, how to support their child's success, and how to problem-solve through challenges. Information from our seminars, webcasts, and...
Description: Research shows that engaging families in education is critical not only to a child’s success, but to the entire family’s economic and social well-being. The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) promotes family education solutions across three approaches by engaging families, educators, administrators, and advocates to drive results and ultimately reduce education inequities. Our work supports multigenerational learning for families from early childhood through adult...
Description: Accessible educational materials, or AEM, are materials and technologies usable for learning across the widest range of individual variability, regardless of format or features. Whether a material or technology is designed from the start to be accessible for all learners or is made accessible for learners with disabilities, it is considered AEM. AEM Center Activities Accessibility Practices for Teachers Access to Materials for Qualifying Students U.S. Department of Education Guidance Your...
Description: This series includes video examples and tip sheets to help educators and families in using the NCII reading and mathematics sample lessons to support students with intensive needs. These lessons provide short instructional routines to encourage multiple practice opportunities using explicit instruction principles. The videos and tip sheets describe how educators can use the sample lessons to support instruction in a virtual setting, how educators can share these lessons with...
Description: The video series includes: What's New for School This Year? COLA- Return to School: What Role will Trauma Play in School and How Will You Respond What is an AB Schedule? Returning to School Wearing a Mask Returning to School Physical Distancing
Description: The mission of NCIL is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia. This website includes resources for Parents & Families, Schools & Districts and State Agencies.
Description: The Virginia Department of Education’s social emotional learning (SEL) efforts are driven by our commitment to ensure that every student in Virginia attends a school that maximizes their potential and prepares them for the future: academically, socially, and emotionally).
Description: The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5. The Promoting Social and Emotional Competence training modules available on this site provide evidence-based practices for promoting children's social and emotional development and preventing challenging behaviors.
Description: ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 204,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat...
Description: The National School Climate Center promotes safe, supportive learning environments that nurture social and emotional, civic, and academic growth for all students.
Description: The Loop Center for Social & Emotional Development helps parents, caregivers, teachers, and administrators understand children experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. We provide proactive techniques for handling tough situations to reduce or eliminate challenging behavior.
Description: NCII is housed at the American Institutes for Research, and works in conjunction with many of our nation's most distinguished data-based individualization (DBI) experts. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and is part of OSEP's Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network (TA&D). The Mission of the NCII is to build capacity of state and local education agencies, universities, practitioners, and other stakeholders to support...
Description: TTAC Online User Guide Includes: Introduction to the Home Page, How to Register, How to Log in, When you are Logged in, How to Search the Entire Site, How to Search Particular Topic Area, Search Tips, Events Calendar The TTAC Online Site Map includes links to each section of the website. (It is also located at the bottom of each page of the website.)
Description: VAAEYC serves Virginia early educators with local public policy support, accreditation support, professional development, and connections. Our Mission VAAEYC acts and speaks on behalf of all young children in Virginia. Our Vision All children will grow up valued, respected and provided with the nurturing and resources necessary to ensure their optimal development.
Description: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives. Mental Health/Social-Emotional-Behavioral...
Description: CADRE's major emphasis is on encouraging the use of mediation, facilitation, and other collaborative processes as strategies for resolving disagreements between parents and schools about children's educational programs and support services. CADRE supports parents, educators, administrators, attorneys and advocates to benefit from the full continuum of dispute resolution options that can prevent and resolve conflict and ultimately lead to informed partnerships that focus on results for...