The Volunteer Advocacy Project
The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
Chattanooga Area Resource and Education (CARE)
East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
East Tennessee State University
Support and Training for Exceptional Parents (STEP)
Susan Gray School
The Arc of Davidson County
The Arc of the Mid-South
The Arc of Williamson County
The University of Tennessee-Boling Center
The University of Tennessee at Martin
West Tennessee Healthcare
Fall 2010 Advocacy Project Application
kc.vanderbilt.edu/kennedy/vap/The purpose of this project is to train volunteer advocates to provide instrumental and affective support to parents of children with disabilities. In this training, participants will learn more about special education law and advocacy strategies. At the end of the training, each participant will shadow an advocate at a special education meeting. Following graduation from the program, you will be linked with a family of a child with a disability. Each volunteer advocate is expected to work with, at least, four families, at the discretion of The Arc and STEP.
This is a comprehensive 6-week training to be held in the fall of 2010 (September 11th, September 18th, October 2nd, October 16th, October 30th and November 13th). Each training session will last 6 hours (beginning at 9AM (CST) and ending at 3PM (CST) and, in Eastern Tennessee, the training begins at 10AM and ends at 4PM, EST). The training will include a binder of materials including passages from: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, No Child Left Behind, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Additionally, the participants will be given copies of each training session’s powerpoints along with relevant materials. For each training session, the participant will be expected to read pertinent materials. The training will be held on the Vanderbilt campus in The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. The training will also be video-conferenced to other sites across the state.
Furthermore, there is a $30 charge to cover the cost of materials for the training.
We look forward to receiving your application to the Advocacy Project. You may e-mail your application to meghan.m.burke@vanderbilt.edu. The application is due by August, 15, 2010. If we receive applications, which outnumber the available spots, we will encourage those not participating in this training session to attend a future training session.
Thank you,
Meghan Burke
meghan.m.burke@vanderbilt.edu
The Volunteer Advocacy Project
Meghan Burke
Meghan.m.burke@vanderbilt.edu
(615) 585-1420
Fall 2010 Advocacy Project Application
Name:________________________________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________________________
City:_________________State:_______ County:______________ Zip:__________________
Day Phone:________________________ Evening Phone:_____________________________
E-mail:_______________________________________________________________________
Present Occupation:____________________________________________________________
Please list your children’s names and ages:________________________________________
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Which area of the state would you like to attend the sessions?
East (Knoxville): ___________
East (Johnson City): _________
East (Chattanooga): __________
Middle (Nashville):_________
West (Martin):_____________
West (Memphis):______________
Please answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability.
1. What interests you about becoming an advocate for families of children with disabilities? Why do you want to participate in this project?
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2. What is your personal connection to the disability field?
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3. Have you had any experience advocating for families of children with disabilities?
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4. What do you think are necessary attributes to be a successful advocate?
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5. How would you describe yourself and your family?
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6.What would you like to get out of participating in this project? How do you think you will apply the skills and knowledge you will have gained from this project?
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7.How did you learn about this Advocacy Project?
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Letter of Commitment
The Advocacy Project lasts for 6 weeks and requires participation at each session. The rigor of this curriculum requires energy and commitment from its participants. Along with these 6 sessions, the participants will shadow an advocate from The Arc or STEP to understand the proceedings of special education meetings. After completing this training, each participant will work as a volunteer advocate with, at least, four families. The Arc or STEP will link the volunteer advocate with these families. Please mark your responses to the following questions.
1. I will attend all of the 6 sessions.
Yes____ No____
2. I will be on time to all of the sessions.
Yes____ No____
3. I will complete all of the homework and readings prior to the training session.
Yes____ No____
4. I will participate on the Project website.
Yes____ No____
5. I will shadow one IEP meeting with an advocate.
Yes____ No____
6. Under the guidance of The Arc and STEP, I will voluntarily serve as an advocate for, at least, four families.
Yes____ No____
7. I will attend at least one STEP workshop (3 hours) each year to stay current on Special Education Law. (Workshops are Free)
Yes____ No____
I commit to all of these requirements.
Name