Ask A Parent Advisor: Resources for Military Families

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Photo of Father in the Military with Son

Question:

My husband is being stationed in the Colorado Spring area, and we are a military family. Our 7 year-old son has an Individualized Education Plan. Where do I start?

Answer:

Welcome to Colorado Springs! It can be a challenge to figure out where you want to live, and what services are available in a new community, especially when a child has special needs. A good starting place is the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) at your new duty station.

Information that the EFMP can provide to you includes available government funding, what Tricare and Extended Care Health Option offer, how to work with a school district on an Individual Education Plan (IEP), how to set up a trust and guardianship for the child, and how to transition a child with special needs to adulthood.

PEAK Parent Center is the federally designated Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) for the State of Colorado. PEAK Parent Center connects families of children with disabilities to information and resources to help build bright futures for their children with disabilities in school and other areas of their child’s life. PEAK collaborates with EFMP and STOMP in efforts to provide customized outreach to military families.

Military Husband and Wife with ComputerAnother great resource for military families is the Specialized Training of Military Parents, or STOMP, a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center (PTI). STOMP was established to assist military families, stationed worldwide, who have children with special education or health care needs. STOMP will also help connect you with the PTI stateside.

Also, be sure to check out the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities’ (sometimes called NICHCY) Resources Especially for Military Families website. There you will find links to several other great organizations and services.

As you make your transition to the Colorado Springs community, it is important to remember that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) helps to protect your child’s rights through an IEP. IDEA states that:

“If a child with a disability (who had an IEP that was in effect in a previous public agency in another State) transfers to a public agency in a new State, and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new public agency (in consultation with the parents) must provide the child with FAPE [Free Appropriate Public Education] (including services comparable to those described in the child’s IEP from the previous public agency), until the new public agency:

  • Conducts an evaluation pursuant to 34 CFR 300.304 through 300.306 (if determined to be necessary by the new public agency); and
  • Develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP, if appropriate, that meets the applicable requirements in 34 CFR 300.320 through 300.324.[34 CFR 300.323(f)] [20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(2)(C)(i)(II)]


In other words, the IEP from the old state counts in the new state until a new IEP can be developed with the new IEP team (parents included) or until the new IEP team adopts the current IEP.
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Here are a few specific EFMP contacts in the Colorado Springs area:

And, PEAK’s Parent Advisors are always happy to help! Please feel free to contact a PEAK Parent Advisor today by phone at 719-531-9400 or 800-284-0251, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I wish you the best of luck to you and your family during this transition!

 

PEAK Parent Center www.peakparent.org - Fall 2011 SPEAKout Newsletter

Copyright 2011 © by PEAK Parent Center, Inc.  All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce may be obtained from PEAK Parent Center.

Photo of the American Flag included under Creative Commons License by Carissa GoodNCrazy's.