E139: How Will The IEP Lab Support You This Year?
From freebies to courses to summits, here is the plan to support you as a parent advocate this 2023-2024 school year! HAPPENING NOW The Ultimate Parent IEP Prep Course is open for fall enrollment until Thursday, August 24th, 2023! Go to https://TheIEPLab.com/COURSE to find out more!
Did you know that your state likely has a state parent center? I’ve heard from many parents that they are connected to theirs, and it’s a great way to connect to your local resources!
Join me on this week’s episode with Erin Camper from Colorado’s Peak Parent Center letting us know what State Parent Centers are all about!
Hurry and get 10% off your Parent Advocacy Club Membership prior to August 31st — just in time for our September theme: beginning of the school year advocacy!
E140: State Parent Centers
Find your parent center! https://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
Samson Q2U Microphone: [00:00:00] If you’ve listened to the Parent IEP Lab podcast before, then you already know that I’m able to help parents across the country get ready for the next IEP and feel like an informed parent advocate through our Parent Advocacy Club membership, no matter what state you’re in.
As a result, I have parents from California all the way to Massachusetts in our programs, but occasionally there is a question that is more specific to your state an expert in. And in this case, I’m helping that parent research their local parent center. What is a parent center?
I’m so glad you asked because Aaron Kamper from Colorado’s Peak Parent Center is on the show today to talk about what they do and how they can help you be a better informed advocate. So stick with me. We are talking state parent centers today.
You are listening to the Parent IUP Lab, the podcast that helps you become an informed parent advocate to get your child supported and learning in school. I’m Beth Liesenfeld, occupational therapist passionate about leveling the IUP information playing field for parent advocates. My [00:01:00] mission of the Parent IEP Lab podcast and also the online courses, workshops, and summit of the IEP Lab is to break down barriers to being able to advocate with collaboration, as it is the most effective advocacy approach I saw in over 400 IEP meetings.
We do this by providing you insider information from the school side so that you have context for what’s happening and create informed, thoughtful questions of your IEP team to have a clearer voice in your child’s plan. so let’s dive into the topic today and think about what we can change and tweak to get the right formula for success for your child to learn and grow in school.
Welcome to the lab.
Samson Q2U Microphone-2: Speaking of memberships,
we just did our fall promotions for the Ultimate Parent I e P prep course, which means I send out a lot of emails and it’s a necessary evil, but I still feel really bad. So as a thank you, I’m offering 10% off your parent advocacy club membership for just a few days this week, including today.
So for just 24 a month, you get an on demand parent training based on the theme and two downloadable tools or templates on [00:02:00] that theme.
You also get one live Q& A per month with me and a guided processing group Which is led by Teller Crossley, who is a parent advocate herself and professional facilitator.
So head over to the ieplab. com slash club, C L U B, to check out more information and join today using the code, 10off, that’s 1 0 0 F F, and I hope that you’re in before September when we start to talk about the beginning of the school year advocacy tricks and tips and actions you can take to start the year off right.
Now let’s get into the episode.
Beth: Hi, Erin. Welcome to the podcast. I’m so excited to have you on to talk about parent centers. I would just love to start before we get into our topic of the day to have you introduce yourself and tell us your connections to IEPs. And then we’ll, we’ll jump into talking about parent centers specifically.
Erin: Sounds great. Uh, thank you so much .For having me and for everything that you do for our community. I love your podcast and I’m excited to be a part of [00:03:00] it. Um, my name is Erin Camper. I’m a mother of three kiddos, um, two teenage girls and my son, um, who’s the one with disabilities. And like you said, I’m here today to talk a little bit about parent, centers and what I do as a parent advisor.
I really became involved in the world of IEPs, uh, special education and parent support because of my son Colton, who has an ultra rare genetic condition called BBS OAS, which results in him having significant support needs. And along my journey, um, some of the most helpful support and information has been from other parents, um, mostly moms who kind of tend to be.
The ones managing special ed and moms who have been a few steps ahead of me, have always been really helpful. Um, so it’s really important to me to help others on this journey. It’s my passion. [00:04:00] Um, there’s a favorite quote of mine that I’ve seen memes and different things, and it says, I love when those who have been through the inferno walk out of the flames carrying buckets of water.
For those still consumed by the fire. And I just love that. And I just want to be one of those people carrying the buckets. You know, I’m, I’m not completely out of the fire. Things still come up that are challenging. But I really want to be able to help others. And I had always known about Peak Parent Center, um, and love the work that they do, um, which I’ll talk more about, um, later on, but.
I just felt like once I sort of had my feet under me on this journey, it was a natural fit to work for them, um, supporting parents all over the state.
Beth: Yeah, fantastic. So we, we should say Peak Parent Center is the parent center for Colorado. Um, and do you want to start by just telling us about parent centers and because there’s a lot of people that I don’t think [00:05:00] realize that they’re out there.
And then we’ll go from there. Okay.
Erin: Um, so every state has a parent center. Um, you might hear it referred to as a P. T. I. Parent Training and Information Center. Every state has at least one, and it’s designated and funded by the US Department of Education, office of Special Education Programs, um, which is called OSEP and it is a part of I D E A. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, um, actually mandates that each state has a parent training and information center. Beautiful. To serve families and children, um, ages birth to 26 across all disabilities, um, providing assistance and training now looks a little bit, different in each state.
I think we’ll talk a little bit more about that, but the main goal is to give parents or guardians support and free. That’s super important. It’s a free service, um, Information on how to make the most of their child’s [00:06:00] education.
Beth: Beautiful. Okay. Yeah. I, think, and going along with that too. So you’re federally mandated by IDEA, the parent center is, um, but then everyone is a little bit different.
And I have had people like through my courses say, Oh my gosh, I’ve connected with my parent center and they’re not very good. So I hop over to this other state and I, and I follow their webinars and stuff. So. So there’s got to be, you know, like some layout of what you provide across states, right? Like some sort of.
Education or about certain things, right? Can you speak a little bit to what you’re required to provide?
Erin: The main focus is really on special education, um, IEPs and so each center, um, should be focusing on that. How they do that varies from state to state and what that support looks like is a little bit different from state to state.
And, um, yeah, [00:07:00] I’m sure that some, centers are better than others. Um, and as far as like individual support, you probably kind of need to use the, uh, the center in your state. But as far as education, I actually receive the email newsletters from multiple parents centers and take advantage of their, education because everybody provides different education and it’s all virtual and free.
Beth: So, yeah, I would too. Okay. So, so if there’s things like online trainings and things like that, you can probably cross state lines, but I do think that there is probably a component. I know at least California, which California sometimes is different than other states, but they have like, you know, time where they can ask like a special education lawyer or access advocates sometimes.
And so that would be very helpful very state specific, correct?
Erin: Correct. Yeah. Um, as you know, um, IDEA is a federal law. And then underneath of that, each state has their own laws and regulations and they vary [00:08:00] from state to state. So as a parent advisor, we’re really familiar with Colorado state law, in addition to IDEA.
So we can really help people in our state with those specifics. Um, education, that’s really, you know, general to. IEPs and IDEA and things like that. Anybody can garner information from those types of things, even across state lines.
Beth: Yeah, and then the other thing that I’ve seen, I think you guys did, gosh, it was the last year that I was in school, so it’s been a year or two.
And it was conference. And it was open to people who worked in schools and parents. And the cool thing about it was there was an education. It was kind of like, Hey, this is open for so many days. You can go in and access it. And then there was also like a small group component to it too. And you guys put that on as well.
Is that right?
Erin: Correct. Every year we do, um, a conference on inclusive education. That’s kind [00:09:00] of our flagship event and it’s how I first became connected with peak, um, Peak is really passionate about inclusive education, and I am really passionate about inclusive education. So the conference we hold every year that we were back in person this year, which was great.
Um, and it’s for everyone. It’s for educators, it’s for parents, it’s for, you know, related service providers, like, um, occupational therapists, physical therapists, anybody who works with kids with disabilities and, you know, wants to see them included. In their general ed classroom as much as possible. Um, all kinds of research and information and tools to make that happen.
And it’s really fantastic. And it’s great because it’s a collaboration between educators and parents. you know, sitting at the same table, listening to the same information and being able to work together to help provide that inclusive education for
Beth: our kids. Yeah, it was really cool to listen to [00:10:00] log into those small group settings and just kind of shut my mouth and just.
Listen and just kind of be there and, and know the frustrations on the parent side. And I think that was when I was just starting the IEP lab and I was like, okay, yeah. Like there is some major frustrations. Like what can I do to kind of bridge the gap? And that was just a really cool experience. I don’t think I could have gone in person at that time.
So I was very grateful that it was, it was virtual, but I can see a lot more connections being made if you’re actually in person, which is nice.
Erin: Yeah. There’s pros and cons. Yes. For sure. But it was, it was nice to be in person again after all those years of everything being virtual. Yes.
Beth: Yes. Oh my gosh. I’m sure.
So do you want to tell us a little bit more about your role within Peak Parent Center? Like what does your job look like when you support parents?
Erin: So my specific title is parent advisor, and I’m also a nurse and I kind of equate it to being like a phone triage nurse. So when people have an issue or a [00:11:00] question or need a resource, um, they give us a call and they ask for the parent advisor on duty and there’s Five of us, um, to our bilingual Spanish English, which is awesome.
And we all live in different areas of the state and all have different experience. And, um, so if we don’t know the answer or the resource, we can call on our colleagues and see if they might know and listen to people and their frustrations. Um, that’s a big part of our job and all of us have kids with disabilities.
So we get it. We’ve been there and then we try to offer ideas for next steps. Like You know, we suggest, okay, maybe try putting your request in writing. Um, that’s the next step you should take and kind of understanding their rights. Um, we are not lawyers, so we can’t offer legal advice or interpret the law.
You know all about that. Yes. Um, but, but we can say there’s this section of IDEA and this is exactly what it says and it applies to your situation. So, [00:12:00] become familiar with this. And we also, um, we don’t know all the answers. We’re human and there’s so many questions and so many things to know about, but we’re really good at finding the people who do know the answers.
Yeah. Um, we, we get a lot of questions about Medicaid and Medicaid is like a beast of its own. Um, but I know some really great organizations who that’s what they do. And so I refer to them. So, yeah. Basically, any question, any resource you’re looking for, give us a call, send us an email. If we don’t know the answer, we will find it or we will find somebody who, who can help you with that.
Beth: What an amazing resource. Yeah. From a parent who’s been there, which is just amazing. Cool. Um, so when I, I do have a question though. So when, when I was talking to your colleague about, Um, perhaps doing like a training through peak. She kind of mentioned that the trainings that you guys provide are somehow [00:13:00] regulated or mandated or something like that.
Do you want to explain a little bit about your trainings?
Erin: Yes. And I don’t know as much about that as she does because she’s the director, but it has to do with where. Um, funded by federal grants. And so whatever we write into our grants, um, we kind of have to stick to that, but we’re pretty responsive to the, what, you know, the hot topics are and what’s going on in the community.
For example, um, I also sit on the state, um, special ed advisory committee. And, you know, we, we talk about what’s going on around the state and there’s people from all over the state and there’s professionals and parents and. And from, you know, my phone calls at peak, there’s trends and we talk a lot about the trends.
And I said to, Pam, who’s the director of our parent center, you know, behavior is such a hot topic right now. I get so many calls about behavior and kids getting sent home from [00:14:00] school and all of this. And so she, um, she went to somebody at CDE that that’s their, that’s their area of expertise. And we’re going to be offering webinars on behavior and behavior plans.
So, we are somewhat limited, um, just because of grants, um, but we’re also super responsive and every year, um, you know, she rewrites, I don’t know if it’s every year, there’s cycles, but she’s able to add things in, um, as needed. And a lot of things truly fit in with, you know, what we’re already doing so we’re, we are able to provide education on this just has to fit within our grant is how that works.
Beth: Yeah, that makes a lot more sense because she was like, Oh, we can’t really do that. And I was like, I don’t, I don’t care you tell me what to provide but that makes sense that it has to be approved in the green. Awesome. So if somebody is listening to this, like Oh my gosh, I didn’t even know there was a parent center.
Where is [00:15:00] mine? Where would they go to figure out where their parent center
Erin: is?
So there is a link, um, if you can provide that to parents would be super great. But basically, um, there’s a, a parent center for the parent centers, um, called the parent center hub. And if you Google. Find my parent center. Um, it’ll usually come up and it’s called the parent center hub and they actually have like a grid With which state you live in where your parent center is and a few states are so big that they have a couple like, California And so it’ll show you like if you live in this area, this is your parent center It’s pretty easy to find once you know To look for it.
It’s pretty easy to find. Yes,
Beth: exactly. Awesome. Well, I think it you sent me the link. So it’s parent center hub. org. And I will have that link below this podcast as well as in the show notes as well. So thank you so much for coming on. Is there anything else that you want to share before we hop off? [00:16:00]
Erin: Um, I would just add that, um, Parent Center
we have advisors. That’s what I do. And that’s one of our main services. But we also have a branch that works directly with youth and self advocates. So, um, individuals who are a little older and are learning to advocate for themselves. It’s called project power. And then we also have a project, that is working with helping, um, Um, adults who are transitioning out of the school life into adulthood, how to create personal networks, um, to kind of surround yourself with people and they don’t have to be professionals.
You know, they can be your friend or your friend’s brother who’s an accountant. Um, and that’s a really great project too. So we have quite a few things going on. Of course, all of it. On our website and we have great social media, we share our own stuff, but we also share a lot of resources [00:17:00] and things that are going on in the community.
So I would recommend following our social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook. I think we’re on Twitter. I don’t Twitter. I don’t tweet, but I think we’re on there.
Beth: Yeah. Fantastic. I think one of the first connections I had with you guys was you shared some social media stuff about the summit. So yeah. Yeah. Great resources. Right? Yes,
Erin: exactly. And I, I, my best friend does our social media and she does a super great job and I send her stuff all the time.
Like, can you share this? So we share a lot of, of resources and just knowing what is out there is so hard to keep track of everything. So we try to make sure that we share as much as possible.
Beth: Yeah. Yeah. I agree. There’s a lot of out of, there’s a lot out there and then there’s a lot to sift through to say, Oh, do I, do I need this?
Is this, is this worth my time? So that’s just a great place to, um, kind of cut out the searching and just start with your social media and see what’s out there. So that’s amazing. Awesome. [00:18:00] Well, thank you so much for coming on the show, Aaron, and just in sharing about your experience. Experience, but also experie about parent centers.
I know we’ve, I’ve wanted to talk about this for a long time, but didn’t know enough about it to do it myself, so thank you so much for spending time with me and, and letting us know about
Erin: them. You’re welcome. Thanks for having us. And yeah, definitely want people to know about us and, um, utilize what we’re able to do.
It’s a great
Beth: service. Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much. Thank
Erin: you.
Samson Q2U Microphone-1: I hope you got so much out of that interview with Erin and I hope if you’re not connected to your parent center that you will definitely find them on social media or figure out how to connect with them because they are so helpful for those state specific questions and just generally connecting with other people in your community as well.
I also think it’s so helpful as a parent to have a parent who’s in a similar situation to you in a place where you can ask questions and bounce ideas off of them and just have that support there. That’s actually why we brought Chellar Crossley into our Parent Advocacy Club [00:19:00] membership to do the guided processing group, because
we felt it was so important to have somebody who was actually living that experience in the membership, as well as the training about IEPs as an insider too. So thank you so much for listening. And just as a reminder, you get 10% off of your parent advocacy club membership when you join in the next day or two.
So check out the link below this podcast. It’s just the IUPLAB. com slash club, C L U B and enter in the code 10 off 1 0 0 F F in order to get 10% off your membership moving forward. I can’t wait to support more of you guys through your journey in learning more about parent advocacy from the inside in that parent advocacy club.
Thank you so much for listening and we’ll see you same time, same place next week. Thanks so much.