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July 13, 2020 
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WE'RE HERE!
Please reach out for support and assistance!

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On behalf of the SD Parent Connection’s Board of Directors, in response to the events of the past several weeks, we are here to support families – all families.  We stand for inclusivity and against social inequality.  We stand with those affected by bigotry and injustice. Our mission is to empower individuals and families and we remain committed to that mission.

Additionally, SDPC cosigned the Family Voices National, Inc.’s statement of solidarity and commitment to action, along with 49 organizations in the national network of Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2Fs) and Family Voices Affiliate Organizations (FVAOs).  Click here to read the full statement

Additional Resources on talking with children about racism:
SUPPORTING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
 
Articles

Webinars
· July 16:   How to mix OT into summer fun
· July 21:   Supporting mental health during summer fun
· July 30:   How to mix speech therapy into summer fun
All webinars will be held on Thursdays at 10 AM MT/11:00 CT. Each session will be 15-20 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes for Q&A.
 

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS–
Guidance on Returning to School and COVID-19
 
This guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics supports education, public health, local leadership, and pediatricians collaborating with schools in creating policies for school re-entry that foster the overall health of children, adolescents, staff, and communities and are based on available evidence.
211 HELPLINE CENTER NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL RESIDENTS OF SOUTH DAKOTA
 
The Helpline Center began offering the 211 Helpline in South Dakota in 2001. Since that time 211 has worked with many communities throughout the state to expand the service to additional locations, but until now weren't able to offer a statewide service.
Thanks to the passing of Senate Bill 2 through the South Dakota Legislature this year, 211 is thrilled to announce that the 211 Helpline phone number is now available to everyone in our state. The 211 Helpline can be called 24/7 by anyone needing information or support - whether financial, family, mental health, or disaster-related.
Each year our professionally trained staff respond to more than 45,000 calls, texts and emails, providing help for simple and complex questions. 
SD STATEWIDE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT CENTER SUMMER SURVEY

Schools, organizations and community partners want to hear from families throughout SD about how learning from home went and what supports families might need as we start to think about reopening schools in the fall.

Parents and those who helped with home learning during COVID, please share your input: https://sdsfec.org/survey-summer2020
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

-Do you care for a child with a serious illness?
The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) would like to invite past and current caregivers of children with a serious illness to participate in a study entitled “Needs Assessment to Develop a Guidebook for Families and Caregivers of Children with Serious Illnesses". For more information on this study and eligibility, contact study@caregiving.org .

-GotTransition.org
www.GotTransition.org offers an interactive experience to youth/young adults, parent/caregivers, clinicians, and researchers/ policymakers. The site includes toolkits, Six Core Elements samples, online quizzes, one-pagers, and other health care transition related resources and information.

-Webinar Series featuring Philip Schweigert
Session 1: Recognizing the Communication Abilities of Learners with Significant Disabilities
This session will focus on assessing levels of communication for learners at the non-symbolic or early symbolic level of communication. The Communication Matrix (Rowland,C., 2006) will be used to review the assessment process and how to target levels for instruction and programming.

Session 2: Promoting the Communicative Competence of Learners with Significant Disabilities
This session will present participants with a variety of examples of learners at various pre-symbolic stages and intervention strategies to further their communicative abilities. It will also discuss the transition from pre-symbolic to emerging symbolic communication and describe interventions designed to promote the learner’s continued progress at this stage of expressive communication development.

August 10 th and 12 th from 10:30-12:30 CT/9:30-11:30 MT. Please view the details and registration information at this link: https://conta.cc/3gIHlo2  and/or on the attached flyer .
WE'RE HERE!
Please reach out for
support and assistance!
This e-publication was developed under grants from the U.S. Department of Education Project Grant H328M140021 and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Grant H84MC07994, Family to Family Health Information Center, $96,750; and approximately 5% financed with non-governmental resources. The contents should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by US Department of Education, HRSA, HHS or the Federal Government.