Purpose
The OSEP Parent Training and Information Center (Parent) program is a source of support for families of children with disabilities and youth with disabilities under Sections 1470-1473 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The purpose of the Parent program is to:
- Provide parents with training, information and resources that assists families in:
- making informed decisions when choosing educational and early learning options that best meet the needs of their children
- helping their children meet developmental and academic goals
- helping their children meet challenging expectations established for all children
- preparing their children to achieve positive postsecondary outcomes that lead to lives that are as productive and independent as possible
- Provide youth with disabilities with training, information, and resources that helps them to understand their rights and responsibilities and learn self-advocacy skills to prepare them to lead productive lives as independently as possible
Current Investments
OSEPs current Parent program investments are comprised of:
- Parent Training and Information Centers in every State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Pacific entities
- Community Parent Resource Centers in underserved communities
- Parent Technical Assistance Centers that provide regional and national technical assistance to parent centers in order to effectively reach and serve as many families as possible
Performance Measurement Information and Resources
The Department of Education has established a set of performance measures that are designed to yield information on various aspects of the effectiveness and quality of the program. Learn More
Additional Resources for Grantees
The Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs is pleased to provide additional resources to support your work with individuals with disabilities. Learn More
Engage OSEP Site Information
The following resources are presented by the Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to support grantees in collaborating with one another. Learn More
Performance Measurement Information and Resources
The OSEP Government Performance and Results Act performance measures for the Parent Training and Information Program are:
- Program Performance Measure #1: The percentage of materials used by projects that are deemed to be of high quality.
- Program Performance Measure #2: The percentage of products and services deemed to be of high relevance to educational and early intervention policy and practice.
- Program Performance Measure #3: The percentage of all products and services deemed to be useful to improve educational or early intervention policy or practice.
- Program Performance Measure #4: An index of the federal cost per unit of output provided by the Parent Training and Information Center Program.
- Program Performance Measure #5: The percentage of parents receiving Special Education Parent Information Centers services who report enhanced knowledge of IDEA rights and responsibilities.
- Program Performance Measure #6: The percentage of parents receiving Special Education Parent Information Centers services who report having enhanced capacity to work with schools and service providers effectively in meeting the needs of their children.
Performance Measurement Resources
Full 2022 Annual Performance Report Package for the Parent Training and Information Program (CFDA 84.328)
OSEP holds informational webinars for the Parent Centers on a quarterly and as-needed basis, and uses the webinars to communicate important information to Parent Centers. An archive of these webinars can be found on the Center for Parent Information and Resources website.
Additional Resources for Grantees
This webpage is a hub of information focused on families of young children.
This website includes numerous tools and supports specifically for parents and families, schools and educators, and communities. The page also includes ED’s framework for building greater support and capacity in schools, homes, and communities, so all students have the chance to succeed.
This website is a hub of information focused on Family Engagement. Sections of the site include information on: how to support families from diverse backgrounds and create a program that supports families' needs; implementation strategies to get to know families and to engage families in the program in creative ways; how to coach staff to create a culture in your program that enables you to get to know families of the students you serve, and ready-to-use and customizable tools that can help you in your efforts to engage families.
Parent Tool Kit resources pertaining to assessment.
Full 2021 Annual Performance Report (APR) Package for the Parent Training and Information Program (CFDA 84.328).
This paper presents a new framework for designing family engagement initiatives that build capacity among educators and families to partner with one another around student success. Based in existing research and best practices, the “Dual CapacityBuilding Framework for Family–School Partnerships” is designed to act as a scaffold for the development of family engagement strategies, policies, and programs. This is not a blueprint for engagement initiatives, which must be designed to fit the particular contexts in which they are carried out.
This framework supports building greater support and capacity in schools, homes, and communities, so all students have the chance to succeed.
Engage
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education has instituted a new strategy to enhance collaboration opportunities with grantees and other stakeholders. This Engage OSEP site will enable OSEP to virtually bring together a variety of stakeholders to share information and to work together to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. This site has been designed to give OSEP staff, grantees, and stakeholders a place to work together to solve complicated issues, facilitate informal knowledge sharing, exchange thoughts and ideas, and share resources, while also providing a place for collaborative creation of new knowledge.
Visit the new Engage OSEP Site at: https://engage.osepideasthatwork.org/