Compassionate Family Engagement
What does Compassionate Family Engagement Mean?
Watch and share the new video from VDOE's Family Engagement Network
"There is a growing consensus that compassion, defined as conscientious sympathy for others with a desire to alleviate their distress plays a crucial role in effective teaching and can be monumental in improving the relationships between school personnel, students, their families, and communities. Compassionate family engagement means acknowledging that families bring valuable assets and information about their child to the table. That educators and families are equal partners in student learning and their success. "
Family Engagement Resources
Click the arrow to the right to find amazing websites and resources.
The Technical Assistance Center for Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education, will bring together professionals and families from across the Commonwealth of Virginia to engage in dialogue, discussion, and learning methods to strengthen academic outcomes for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind, to increase the knowledge and skills of those who can have a positive impact on a student's educational process.
Register for ODUP 2024, a two-day training event that will be held at the Virginia Crossings Hotel in Glen Allen, Virginia on June 20, 2024, and June 21, 2024, from 9-5 p.m. There is a fee to attend, families may apply for scholarship opportunities.
Questions can be directed to Tracey Yurechko via email, at yurechkot@vcu.edu.
Join the Virginia Department of Education Office of Instructional Services and the Office of Special Education Family Support and Special Facilities for a live, virtual training event providing an overview of the new Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) Participation Decision-Making Tool. The overview will include background information regarding changes in the VAAP Participation Criteria Form, as well as information on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team's implementation of the new tool.
The training will be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
The VAAP Family Training Registration will be limited to 100 participants, on a first come, first served basis. The training will be provided by Virginia Department of Education staff members. Additional details regarding this training will be provided upon registration.
Questions regarding this event should be directed to Deb Johnson, Intellectual Disabilities Specialist, by phone at (804) 750-8645, or by email at Deborah.Johnson@doe.virginia.gov.
NEW Resource - Family Engagement Checklist
Resource - Referral to Eligibility Factsheet
Resource: The Next Steps to Independence Checklist (birth to 22)
Special Education Workshop Series - Spring Fling 2024
PEATC presents this virtual workshop series for parents and professionals who want to learn more about special education in Virginia. Register once to attend some or all of the informative workshops!
May 15 - Ins and Outs of IEP Meetings
May 24 - Dispute Resolution Options in Virginia
Each workshop will start at 6:30 p.m. and will last approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. These sessions will be presented on Zoom and will not be recorded.
The one-day conference features networking, workshops, panel discussions, keynote speakers, and activities to promote mental health wellness. NAMI Virginia will host the annual statewide Mental Health Conference and Youth Summit at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center on September 26th.
New Military Family Resources!
The Virginia Department of Education’s Family Engagement Network (FEN) is pleased to present three new documents to assist military personnel moving to Virginia who have family members enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member program! Watch the video above to learn more and check out the documents below:
MIC3 – Another Tool to Add to Your PCS Toolbox
The Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission or MIC3 focuses on the educational challenges that military children face as they transition from installation to installation with their active-duty parents. The MIC3 is an agreement between the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It provides for the uniform treatment of military children as they transfer from state to state. The regulations and expectations also apply to students that are transferring to and from DODEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) schools. This compact addresses the areas of enrollment, graduation, and placement.
For more information on how the MIC3 impacts your family, contact your local School Liaison Officer or visit the MIC3 website.
New Video on Military Families
Virginia is home to thousands of military-connected families, many of whom are impacted by mental health conditions. A brand new video produced by FFF for the Virginia Family Engagement Network highlights the strengths and challenges faced by military families. Featuring the voices and experiences of Virginia parents and caregivers, the 9-minute video offers personal insights and offers strategies for addressing trauma and strengthening mental wellness. View this new film and share!
New Resource for Military Families!
PCSing with an Exceptional Family Member (EFM) Checklist - for families relocating CONUS (Stateside). If you are PCSing with an exceptional family member (EFM), this checklist may be helpful to you. Not all of the items in the checklist will apply to all PCSing families.
Engaging Families in the Transition Planning Process
"This week's resource is a Fast Fact PDF on Engaging Families in the Transition Planning Process. Through this resource, you will learn about involvement vs. engagement, the importance of families in the transition planning process, strategies to better engage families in transition planning, and the process of engaging families."
Parent Powered’s Basic Needs Guide
This guide helps families get connected to essential services — like food and housing assistance, mental health services, and job programs (available in English and Spanish).
Resource on Centers for Independent Living
Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are an underutilized community resource for many people with disabilities. Our resource this week on the theme of independent living is a Fast Facts that summarizes how CILs can be used in transition planning. Check out the PDF today to see how you can better tap into this community resource!
"Getting a job is an exciting experience that takes planning. There are important documents you may need before you can get a job. There are skills you will need to prepare you for employment, and actions that you may need to take to be successful. This checklist can help you prepare for employment. This list below does not include every item needed and some of these may not apply to you since your employment goals are unique to you. "
NAMI’s Youth and Young Adult Task Force, including NAMI Next Gen, released some useful resources for back to school that can be used locally with your school staff, families and students.
Macy’s launched their campaign in support of mental health for back to school, featuring two of our very own NAMI Next Gen members – Bruny Kenou and Imaan Siddiqi
New and improved College Guide site was launched in English and Spanish, in partnership with The JED Foundation
Youth and Young Adult resources page was launched with resources for young people, their caregivers and school staff, with easy to follow categories
Specific back to school resources were shared that were created with Dr. Crawford, in Spanish TOO!
NAMI Virginia & VFN Resources for Families
Advanced Parent Leadership Training (APLT) This training will teach parents/caregivers of children and youth with mental health needs the skills and competencies relevant to Providing individual support and making a difference for other families and local communities. More information on the next training coming soon. Register here
Virtual Parent Meetup - We invite you to our informal group where parents/caregivers of children with mental health challenges meet to discuss challenges, successes, offer tips, and gain support and connection. Contact Nicole Anjum with questions!
Fridays On Zoom Here!
Family Support Group Meeting for parents of children under 18, 7:00 PM On Zoom-Click Here to Join! This support group is held every first and third Wednesday of the month.
VFN Book Club/2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month at 7:00 PM. Contact Nicole Anjum with questions or for the link to join us at our next book club.
VFN Virtual Lunch & Learn Tuesdays at 12:00 PM. You can join the event here on our Facebook Page! Contact Nicole Anjum at nanjum@namivirginia.org with questions.
Coffee Chat & Self-Care Thursday, April 20th at 9:00 a.m. Join on Zoom here!
"Did you know you can view all our support groups open statewide on our website? Check out the full list now! There are many on different days and times and multiple for family members of youth."
Affiliates work in local communities to provide support, education, and advocacy. Affiliates are often made up of volunteers who are personally connected to mental health conditions that use that lived expertise to provide support, information and advocacy to promote mental wellness and awareness in their local communities. Affiliates offer a variety of free services including support groups, educational courses, helpline and educational presentations and meetings. Affiliates are created based on the coordinated efforts of local volunteers with NAMI Virginia’s assistance.
"The Virginia CCP is called Virginia C.O.P.E.S. which stands for compassionate, optimistic, person-centered, empowering support. Crisis Counselors are available during the following times to take calls. Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. and on Saturday-Sunday from 5-9 p.m. VA C.O.P.E.S can be reached by phone or text at 877-349-6428. Spanish speaking counselors are available.
POWER and Raising and Working with Children and Youth in Foster Care or Living with Kin:
Your Guide to Resources in Virginia. VAFamily-POWER-FosterCare Handout
Formed Families Forward - Knowledge is Power!
In case you missed them, FFF presented two back-to-school webinars in September. Recordings and slides from Back to School with ADHD: Out of the Box Approaches and Back to What?! Coping Strategies to Successfully Manage the Transition Back to School webinar. are available on the FFF website.
Enroll in our FREE online learning portal, Learning Your Way! Designed for parents and caregivers raising children and youth with special needs, the self-paced and interactive Special Education 101 course offers a variety of topical lesson modules including referral and eligibility, individualized education programs (IEPs) and transition planning through and beyond high school. Learning Your Way course access is free and certificates of completion for foster care training hours and other needs are available at the end of each lesson. REGISTER HERE.
What You Might Not Know: LGBTQ Training for Families recordings and materials from both sessions will be available at our Webinar webpage.
Formed Families Forward has many resources including a set of trauma videos at our trauma webpage HERE.
Find more FFF and others' trainings and events on the EVENTS calendar HERE.