Purpose

Human Resources Agency of New Britain, Inc. supports the Special Education Parents Council as an advocacy and peer support group to make a difference in the lives of children with special needs.

Description

Human Resources Agency of New Britain, Inc. (HRA) is involved with the Special Education Parents Council (SEPC) as an advocacy and support group of parents, caregivers, and friends of children with special needs.  The founder of SEPC was a parent of children, including one with special needs, in the local school system.

SEPC is open to parents and friends of children with special needs of all ages.  The group meets 12 times a year from 6:45 – 8:00 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.  SEPC promotes peer support and serves as a forum for discussion, information, education, and advocacy.  Activity updates are used to keep parents informed.

Specific emphasis is in the following areas:

• Education – SEPC builds partnerships with local schools
  • Developed the “Excellence in Special Education” award
  • Participated in Board of Education sponsored training on differences in individualized learning styles
• Recreation – SEPC secures and helps fund slots in existing recreational programs and helps build new programs
  • Two camp programs
  • Motion to Music Program with Dept. of Parks and Recreation
  • Annual Family Fun Day picnic
• Support, Information and Advocacy – SEPC creates a network of support & information for families
  • Monthly meetings
  • Family support
  • Building community support
• Partners – SEPC builds partnerships with community leaders
  • City of New Britain
  • HRA of New Britain
  • Kiwanis/Lions Clubs
  • Dept. of Parks and Recreation
  • ARC
  • YWCA and YMCA

Outcomes

Outcomes for FY ’04 included:

• Members of the Special Education Parents Council represented the group at the City's Youth Services Board meetings and other governmental/community meetings (for a total of nine sessions)
• The group held three special events, which involved 35 individual participants
• 27 participants (children with special needs) obtained recreational services with the assistance of the Council, through the Special Needs Recreation program. This program provided tuition subsidies and transportation to area recreational programs already in existence during school vacations.
• The Special Needs Recreation served 24 families with children in the program ranging in age from 6-12.