The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation is seeking outstanding professionals working in the field of inclusive services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and parents or close family members of a person with intellectual and developmental disabilities for an intensive one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington, D.C.
During this year-long Fellowship, the successful applicant will learn how legislation is initiated, developed, and passed by the Congress, or how programs are administered and regulations promulgated by federal agencies. Fellows will also participate in an advocacy training workshop, national disability policy seminars and the intensive week-long Bioethics course at Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Former Public Policy Fellows describe the Fellowship as a major turning point in their lives, not just careers.
The coming year offers exciting opportunities to contribute to policy and program or legislative development in key areas such as special education, health and mental health care for persons with mental retardation, child care, housing, justice, child welfare and other areas related to improving the quality of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
We seek professionals, parents, and other family members with outstanding experience in:
State or national level advocacy for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families;
vocational rehabilitation, education, child care, child welfare, law, employment, community organizing, housing or development of inclusive community supports and services;
health or mental health care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; or
development of family training or family support services.
Application deadline: September 14, 2007
Anticipated start date: January 2008
Please go to www.jpkf.org for more information.
HOW COMMON ARE MARITAL DIFFICULTIES IN FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME?
LARGE POPULATION-BASED STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE AMERICAN JOURNAL ON MENTAL RETARDATION TAKES A LOOK AT DIVORCE AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN BORN WITH DOWN SYNDROME-While Down syndrome is well-studied, there have been gaps in research, on the focus on families. A large-scale population study-one of the first with an epidemiological approach-studied families of 647 children with Down Syndrome and 361,154 of comparison children who did not have any disabilities, and found that divorce in families of children born with Down Syndrome is not as common as thought of, but is higher in cases of less educated parents and those living in rural areas. The findings from the study can be used to counsel parents of newborns about the risks and timing of possible marital discord during the first few years of the child's birth, as well as to develop special programs for families in rural areas.
Click to read "Divorce in Families of Children with Down Syndrome: A Population-Based Study" by Richard C. Urbano and Robert M. Hodapp in the American Journal on Mental Retardation (Volume 112, No. 4).
Click to learn more about AJMR.
Self-Advocacy: Know Yourself, Know What You Need, Know How to Get It-Link:
Self-advocacy is the ability to understand and effectively communicate one's needs to other individuals. Learning to become an effective self-advocate, especially for individuals with a hidden handicap such as dyslexia, is all about educating the people around you.
"Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons from Five Parental Information and Resource Centers" is a new publication of the US Department of Education, the second to be published in its "Innovations in Education" series. Its purpose is to explain "how to" strategies used by Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs)* to improve or expand their parental involvement programs in public schools. Topics addressed in the publication include:
Making Education-related Information Available and Understandable
Getting in Touch with Parents Statewide
Connecting With Hard-to-Reach Parents
Promoting Cross-stakeholder Communication
Moving From Information to Action
Assessing Local Needs Related to Parent Involvement
Training Parent Liaisons
Training Parents for Leadership
Training Parents and Educators to Function in Teams
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