The Family Partnership Community of Practice is a place for family members of young children with disabilities and professionals in the field to exchange knowledge and information to affirm the expertise of both family members and professionals. Our purpose is to focus on family-centered topics, share resources, and increase family and professional engagement to increase both groups' knowledge and practice around collaborative supports for young children.

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Community members will be empowered to bridge the gap between families and professionals by influencing each other in a way that supports full community participation and desired outcomes for young children with disabilities. Resources and learning opportunities will be available. 

 

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Webinars & Events

Please Note: DEC CoP meetings do not include certificates of attendance.

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Family Partnership CoP: A Joint Discussion on Partnership and Advocacy 

Thursday, June 13th, 2024, 1:00 - 2:00 PM Eastern Time  Register here.

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Family Partnership CoP: A Joint Discussion on Partnership and Advocacy 

Tuesday, April 9th, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30 PM Eastern Time  Register here.

Friday, April 12th, 2024, 1:00 - 230 PM Eastern Time 

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Family Partnership CoP: A Joint Discussion on Partnership and Advocacy 

Thursday, June 29th, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time  

The DEC Family Partnership CoP, in collaboration with the Policy and Advocacy CoP, invites you to our June Community of Practice event on Thursday, June 29 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM EST. The discussion will be centered around practitioner and families working together to increase leadership and advocacy opportunities. This is the third session in our series of events focused on creating a network of support across practitioners and families who both have a shared interest in supporting young children with disabilities and their families. 

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IFSP and IEP Outcomes/Goals 

Thursday, April 27th, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time   
The DEC Family Partnership CoP invites you to our April Community of Practice event on Thursday, April 27 from 7:00 to 8 PM EST. The topic will be "IFSP and IEP Outcomes/Goals". This is the second session in our series of events focused on creating a network of support across practitioners and families who both have a shared interest in supporting young children with disabilities and their families. All are welcome to join as we discuss how practitioners and families can work together to develop great outcomes and goals for children! 

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DEC Family Partnership Community of Practice: Laying the Foundation for Family Engagement

Tuesday, February 21st, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time      Download the recording.

Facilitators: Demetres Thomas and Cori Mohr, DEC FPCoP Co-Facilitators

The DEC Family Partnership CoP invites you to our first event of the year on Tuesday, February 21st from 7:00 to 8:00 PM Eastern Time. The topic will be "Laying the Foundation for Family Engagement". This will be the first of a series of events focused on creating a network of support across practitioners and families who both have a shared interest in supporting young children with disabilities and their families. All are welcome to join! 

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Writing Functional Outcomes on the IFSP - A Joint Webinar from Division for Early Childhood's Early Intervention, Service Coordination, and Family Partnership Communities of Practice

Download the recording. Access the handouts.

Monday, November 7th, 2022, 3:00 - 4:30 PM Eastern Time

Presenters: Kimberly Travers, Demetres Thomas, Melanie Batista and Kimberly Morse     Read presenter bios

The DEC EICoP is joining with the DEC Service Coordination CoP and the DEC Family Partnership CoP to bring to our members a 90 minute webinar on writing functional IFSP Outcomes (both family and child). We will have an overview of what it means to have a functional outcome and then hear from a family member, a provider and a service coordinator on how they approach writing functional outcomes from their perspective. 

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Family Partnership Community of Practice Virtual Kick-Off Event   

Download the recording and handout

Wednesday, October 5th, 2022, 12:30 - 1:15 PM Eastern Time 

Presenters: Cori Mohr - CoP Facilitator; Demetres Thomas - Cop Facilitator; Peggy Kemp - DEC Executive Director; Melissa Schnurr - Service Coordination CoP Facilitator 

The Family Partnership CoP is a new Community of Practice looking to engage families of children with disabilities and professionals that work in Early Intervention or Early Childhood Special Education field. A face-to-face kick-off event will take place during the DEC/ISEI Joint Conference this year. In order to include the voice from stakeholders that aren't able to attend the conference, the Family Partnership CoP is hosting a virtual kick-off. The purpose of the kick-off is to bring awareness to this new CoP and garner feedback on how the Family Partnership CoP can meet the needs of both families and professionals.

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Family Partnership Community of Practice In-Person Kick-Off Event   

Wednesday, September 28th, 2022, 8:00 - 9:00 PM Central Time 
Salon A1 - Hilton Chicago - Chicago, IL

Presented by: Cori Mohr - CoP Facilitator; Demetres Thomas - CoP Facilitator; Toni Miguel - DEC Family Committee Chair; Beth Cole - Early Intervention CoP Facilitator 

The newly formed Family Professional Partnership Community of Practice kick-off meeting is a chance to learn more about the COP, meet other family members and professionals who want to become more involved and knowledgeable about family and professional partnerships and engagement, and give input on the inaugural priorities of the COP. Family and COP leaders will speak to connect the work to the lived experiences. 
This event will take place at the DEC/ISEI Joint Conference in Chicago, IL.