Iowa Family & Educator Partnership/FEP

Family & Educator Partnership/FEP works to develop and sustain effective partnerships between families, educators, and community providers to promote the success for all children and youth with disabilities.

FEP coordinators work with parents, educators, and local school districts to provide FEP programs, services, and activities; they are also parents of children or young adults with special needs. Please call your coordinator for more information about what the FEP can do for you.

For more information on the services and materials that the FEP program can assist families and educators with, please watch this short video.

Annette Clarahan
Family & Educator Coordinator
641-682-8591 or 800-622-0027 Ext. 5517
annette.clarahan@gpaea.org

Districts Covered: Albia, Cardinal, Centerville , Chariton, Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Fairfield, Keota, Maharishi, Moravia, Moulton - Udell, North Mahaska, Oskaloosa Christian, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Ottumwa Christian, Ottumwa Seton Catholic School, Pekin, Seymour, Sigourney, Tri County, Van Buren, Wayne.

Kelly Wallace
Family & Educator Coordinator
319-753-6561 or 800-382-8970 Ext. 3034
kelly.wallace@gpaea.org

Districts Covered: Burlington, Burlington Notre Dame, Central Lee, Danville, Ft. Madison, Holy Trinity, Keokuk, Keokuk Catholic, Mediapolis, Morning Sun, Mt. Pleasant, New London, Waco, Wapello, West Burlington, Winfield/Mt. Union.

The Iowa Department of Education, AEAs, and districts have developed the Iowa IDEA Information (i3) website to provide parents, families, educators, and partner agencies with a one-stop-shop for procedures, guidance, and resources for both early intervention and special education. To access these additional resources, please visit the Resources page within i3.

Upcoming ASK Each Other Virtual Support Groups

Join us for these FREE virtual support groups open to family members of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We will take a Deep Dive into a topic at the beginning of each group followed by open time for sharing solutions and support with each other. Click on the dates below to pre-register!

March 25th at Noon
March 25th at 6:30 PM

Parents of Super Stars	Young Iowa Entrepreneurs
2^nd Thursday each month starting January 14, 2021 6-7pm	3^rd Thursday each month starting January 21, 2021 6-7pm
Join by ZOOM or phone Click on the link to Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/92004351957 or call 312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 920 0435 1957	Join by ZOOM or phone Click on the link to Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/96092225122 or call 312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 960 9222 5122
The topic that we will cover will depend on who shows up. We will do a poll at the beginning to determine hot topics for the evening. That way we can meet your immediate needs. Please come prepared to ask questions or email them ahead of the event to suzanne.paulson@iowa.gov. 1. All Things Social Security Related 2. Guardianship/Conservatorship 3. Medicaid/Medicare 4. Parent’s choice For more information visit: https://ivrs.iowa.gov	This event will feature young Iowa entrepreneurs who, with the assistance of family and friends, have started their own small business. What we hope to learn: 1. How the idea was developed. 2. How it matches the talents, skills and abilities or each entrepreneur. 3. Understand how supported self-employment works. 4. Different ways to leverage funds to get started. For more information visit: https://ivrs.iowa.gov/event/young-iowa-entrepreneurs-families

NAMI Basics OnDemand is a free, six-session online education program for parents, caregivers and other family who provide care for youth aged 22 or younger who are experiencing mental health symptoms. NAMI Basics OnDemand is an adaptation of the in-person course offered in 43 states by NAMI affiliates.

Free Support for Children with Disabilities

Rent or respite care? Groceries or adaptive clothing? For parents of children with disabilities, choosing between their family’s basic needs and disability-related items can often be difficult. Many services, devices and equipment are available to aid in development and improve a child’s quality of life. Unfortunately, insurance and other programs may only cover a portion of the cost, or perhaps not at all.

The Children at Home (CaH) Program may be able to help families with some of these expenses. *

Children at Home (CaH) is a non-profit program of the Iowa Family Support Network and can help families caring for a child (up to age 22) with a disability by providing financial assistance for items or services not covered by other programs.

Examples may include: special adaptive devices, out-of-area travel expenses, respite care or educational seminars for caregivers, special camps and items to make your home safe or more accessible for a child. If an item or service provides a direct benefit to a child and is related to the child’s disability, families may qualify for a minimum of $700 in assistance per child annually.

FUNDING IS AVAILABLE! CONTACT US TODAY! If you have questions about this program or to refer someone to apply for assistance, please contact the Iowa Family Support Network:

· 1-888-IAKIDS1 (1-888-425-4371)

· IAFamilySupportNetwork@Everystep.org (email)

· IAFamilySupportNetwork.org (website)

*Income guidelines apply

Check out the Iowa Secondary Transition Learning Community site. There is some great content here including an informational video where you will learn about Iowa programs for young adults with special needs. Some of the topics covered are; Medicaid, HCBS waivers, supported employment, and much more. All of the resources covered in the video have also been posted to the site for easy access. We have created a shortcut document for this webinar to help viewers easily locate information within the video to share with families, educators and others. Click here for the document.

Are you interested in learning more about Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services? As an educator, would you like to know how to refer families and what services they can provide? Click here to watch a short video featuring Jaime Claywell-Herrera, IVRS Counselor, describing Voc Rehab's services available to all LEAs and identified students in Iowa.

This informational video will help families and educators
understand the guardianship/conservatorship process.

Free Online Learning Opportunities for Families and Educators

For free online educational opportunities from the PACER Center please visit http://www.pacer.org/workshops/

Look for the live streaming symbol below, to find classes offered on the web.

Understanding the Special Education Process

See the materials below to help families and educators better understand the special education process.

Universal Support Material	Suggested time for Distribution	Link to Order Document
FEP Brochure	With Initial and Re-Evaluation Meeting Notices Anytime families need additional information or support	FEP Brochure
Procedural Safeguards Part B Bookmark	Distributed with Procedural Safeguards When there are changes in team members	Bookmark for Regions 1-4 Bookmark for Regions 5-7
Early ACCESS Procedural Safeguards Bookmark	Distributed with Procedural Safeguards When there are changes in team members	Bookmark For Early ACCESS
Planning for Your Child's IEP Meeting	With Re-evaluation Meeting Notice Share as needed	Planning Your Child’s IEP Meeting
Special Education: Child Find Process	With Suspicion of Disability Meeting Notice Share as needed	Special Education: Child Find Document
Functional Behavior Assessment	Distributed when a Functional Behavior Assessment is discussed with families	Functional Behavior Assessment
Behavior Intervention Plan	Distributed when a Behavior Intervention Plan is considered.	Behavior Intervention Plan

All of these documents and more are available at:
Special Education Resources for Families and Educators

Transition Related Resources

Transition Related Websites

Parent Support Groups

Newsletters

Other Newsletters

Procedural Safeguards for Parents

Parents have rights, known as procedural safeguards, which apply to every aspect of the special education process. State and federal laws and regulations outline what needs to happen to ensure that children with identified disabilities and on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).