Bilingual Strategies for Parents/Caregivers to Advocate for At-Risk & System-Involved Youth in the Educational System

Nancy Acosta, PsyD

Training Description

The educational system can be intimidating. It can be a challenge for parents and caregivers to navigate. So, we want to equip you with the knowledge and skills to better advocate for at-risk and system-involved youth. The training will provide a description of student and parental rights, common challenges parents and caregivers face and how we can overcome those challenges. We will discuss Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504 plans, Title IX services. This training will be provided in English and Spanish to equip providers working with bilingual or Spanish speaking parents of at-risk and/or system-involved youth with these skills. 

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

· Identify at least one educational right of youth within the public school setting;

· Identify one type of disability that may qualify a student for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP); and

· Participants will be able to identify at least one way they can advocate for system-involved youth within the public school system.

Agenda

9:30-9:45am  Welcome and Introduction

9:45-11:00am  Emotional regulation overview

· Providing services and/or support in Spanish with parents and caregivers

· Challenges for parents advocating for system-involved youth

· Children with disabilities prevalence within school system

· Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) legislation

· Due process

11:00-11:15am  Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

11:15am-12:30pm  Engaging parents/caregivers

· Obtaining special educational services

· What to expect with assessments

· Overview of Individualized Educational Plans

· Rights parents have in the Individualized Educational Plans process

· What Individualized Educational Plans include

12:30-1:30pm  Lunch (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

1:30-3:00pm  Regulation skills

· Who is eligible for an Individualized Educational Plan

· Implementation and review of Individualized Educational Plans

· Overview of 504 plans

· Who is eligible for a 504 plan

· Title IX services overview

· Talking with parents of system-involved youth about Individualized Educational Plans and 504 plans in Spanish

3:00-3:15pm  Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

3:15-4:15pm

· Responsibility of the school with Title IX services

· What to do if student continues to be harassed

· Overview of Immigrant student rights

· Overview of rights for pregnant and parenting students

4:15-4:30pm  Wrap-up & Closing

Meet Our Trainer

Nancy Acosta is a bilingual therapist who has 7 years of experience working with trauma at a sexual assault center. She has provided services to children and adults in various settings including outpatient community mental health centers, college counseling centers, crisis centers, and in an integrated behavioral health setting. She has completed training in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy as well as Cognitive Processing Therapy. She has experience providing training and supervision to doctoral level graduate students in trauma related topics including crisis intervention, vicarious trauma, and grounding techniques. In addition to developing a training manual for a student training program at a rape and crisis center, she also has experience supervising practicum students and providing support to staff and advocates. Nancy has experience working as a behavioral health consultant with multidisciplinary staff to improve recognition, treatment and management of behavioral problems and conditions.

This course meets the qualifications for (5.5) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.