Program Quality Assurance Services Program Quality Assurance Services (PQA) implements the Department's compliance monitoring and complaint management procedures for school districts, charter schools, educational collaboratives, and approved public and private day and residential special education schools and provides technical assistance to school personnel and the public regarding the implementation of laws and regulations.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health - Bureau of Family and Community Health: Early Intervention - Part C Early Intervention in Massachusetts is a statewide, integrated, developmental service available to families of children between birth and three years of age. Children may be eligible for early intervention (EI) if they have developmental difficulties due to identified disabilities, or if typical development is at risk due to certain birth or environmental circumstances. EI provides family-centered services that facilitate the developmental progress of eligible children. EI helps children acquire the skills they will need to continue to grow into happy and healthy members of the community.
Department of Early Education and Care - 619 The department is a state-funded, family education and support program for families with children prenatal through age three. Programs, under the guidance of a local parent and provider coalition, provide several components: home visits, developmental screening, adult education, family education, parent support groups and playgroups, and family literacy activities. The 42 MFN programs are available in 164 cities and towns.
Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change We are a statewide, grassroots coalition of individuals with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses and their families. We believe that supports for individuals and families can be more flexible and better designed to respond to the actual needs people have. We are actively organizing families and individuals to use the power of our numbers to effect positive change. Members of MFOFC have written and passed legislation to create statewide policy and practice for individual and family support. We have sponsored various conferences, workshops and forums to inform and educate individuals, families and community members about advocacy, services and local, state and federal resources.
Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Massachusetts PTA was organized in 1910 and incorporated in 1913. The Massachusetts PTA has approximately 19,000 members in 130 local units throughout the state, which is divided into six (6) regions, to better support and strengthen the local PTA. Each local PTA unit plans it programs and activities to meet the needs of children and youth in its own community.
Parent-To-Parent Family TIES of Massachusetts Family TIES of Massachusetts is a statewide information and parent-to-parent support project for families of children with special needs and chronic illness. It is administered by parent coordinators housed in each of the regional offices of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The organization helps parents and providers share up-to-date information on services, supports and personal experiences from early intervention through the transition into adult services.
Additional Resources
Centers for Independent Living We create opportunities for independence for people with disabilities through research, education, and consultation. This page includes a list of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs) and is updated weekly by the Independent Research Living Utilization (IRLU).
Disability Info.org for Massachusetts Welcome to DisabilityInfo.org maintained by New England INDEX. Contained within this site is a wealth of information for people with disabilities, their friends, families and the people who serve them. Information within this site focuses primarily on Massachusetts. Services available:
Search Our Databases - for disability programs and services in Massachusetts.
Locate an Information Specialist in Your Area - for help finding disability programs & services.
Open Our Fact Sheet Library -with information on disabilities, laws, working-the-system, etc.
Locate Emergency Services for all people in Massachusetts, including those with disabilities
Read Disability News related to Massachusetts, the United States, etc.
State Agencies Serving People with Disabilities who live in Massachusetts
Easter Seals Massachusetts Easter Seals' mission is to help children and adults with disabilities expand their independence. Easter Seals responds to unmet needs through rehabilitation services, recreational activities, technological assistance, vocational services, advocacy and public education programs. Easter Seals services help people of all ages with all kinds of disabilities -- individuals disabled through illness, accident or aging, as well as people born with disabilities. Easter Seals serves people at more than 100 sites in communities all over Massachusetts, including Technical and Training Centers in Boston and Worcester. The goal of all Easter Seals services is to help people live as full and independent lives as possible, right in their own communities. Easter Seals' supporters in Massachusetts include nearly 110,000 individuals, foundations, corporations, small businesses and service clubs. 84% of all money raised for Easter Seals in Massachusetts goes directly to serve people with disabilities in the Commonwealth.
Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE) ASE is the lead association representing the special education administrators in Massachusetts. ASE provides a variety of services to its members - conferences, newsletters, information briefs, and representation of the membership at the federal and state levels. More specifically, ASE provides leadership in advocating for appropriate provision of services to all children and youth in Massachusetts. ASE offers professional development opportunities for special education administrators and others interested in important issues in special education. ASE has joined forces with other state leadership organizations in order to better serve and represent the ASE membership.
Massachusetts Association of Special Education Parent Advisory Councils (MASSPAC) The mission of MASSPAC is to maintain a state-wide network of parents, professionals, and school-based councils in a shared effort to understand, respect, and support appropriate education for all children with special needs in our respective communities. We need you to make this work.
Massachusetts Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities We designed the Massachusetts Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities so people who love and work with our children can get reliable information, support -- and connect with one another.
Parent's Guide to Special Education - a Joint Publication of the Federation for Children with Special Needs and the Massachusetts Department of Education Topics include:
Introduction
Principles Of Special Education Laws And Regulations
Parent And Student Participation
Appropriate Evaluation
Individualized Education Program (Iep)
Free And Appropriate Public Education (Fape)
Least Restrictive Environment (Lre)
Procedural Safeguards
Conclusion
Resources
VSA arts of Massachusetts The mission guiding VSA arts of Massachusetts is to serve individuals with disabilities by creating opportunities for participation in the arts and integration into the cultural and educational mainstream of our communities. Through collaborative and proactive advocacy, VSA arts of Massachusetts helps people with and without disabilities make systemic change influencing the quality and accessibility of cultural and educational resources throughout the state and across the nation.
A Note about These Resources The resources posted on this website contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for the user's convenience. NERRC does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to particular items in hypertext is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.
