COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 177

September 10, 2004

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	2004-2005 Training Opportunity on Abuse and Neglect of Students with Disabilities

The Virginia Department of Education is pleased to announce a training opportunity for five school divisions and their community partners about abuse and neglect of students with disabilities. This interdisciplinary training will be offered through funding provided by the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Department of Social Services, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, and the Virginia Commonwealth University Partnership for People with Disabilities. Participation in the training will fulfill the requirement for teachers needing to complete study in child abuse recognition and intervention for licensure renewal. Preference will be given to those school divisions that have not previously participated.

The training will address the following topics:

• Overview and prevalence of abuse and neglect of students with disabilities
• Risk factors for abuse and neglect
• Dynamics of abuse
• Indicators of abuse and neglect of students with disabilities
• Family and cultural issues
• Roles of school and community partners
• Use of community resources
• Recognition and response to abuse and neglect
• Resiliency skills in students with disabilities

Management of challenging behavior with positive behavioral support

The two-day training will be offered in a local setting by multi-disciplinary teams of trainers consisting of educators, child protective services workers, parents, and law enforcement personnel. Each training session can accommodate 45 participants, including 20 from the school division and 25 representatives from the community. School division staff should include special and regular educators, school administrators, and others responsible for identifying and reporting suspected child abuse or neglect, including school nurses and guidance counselors. Child protective services workers, foster care/adoption workers, law enforcement officers, school resource and D.A.R.E. officers, court appointed special advocates (CASA) volunteers, victim witness staff, and parents of children with disabilities may also be included as participants.

As a condition for approval, school division applicants must provide a letter of support from each of the following community partners: the local department of social services, the local police department, and the local sheriffs office. One letter of support from a parent of a child with disabilities, stating that he/she intends to participate in the training, must also be provided.

The dates of the training will be between December 1, 2004, and May 21, 2005, and will be determined by the chosen school divisions based on the availability of space and trainers. Each school division also must provide an accessible training facility and lunches for participants. The school division superintendent must sign the completed application form.

School divisions interested in being considered for this training opportunity must complete the attached application and return it to Myra Shook at the Department of Education by October 15, 2004. Notification of those divisions selected will be made by October 22, 2004. Questions and technical assistance requests may be directed to Myra Shook at mshook@mail.vak12ed.edu or (804) 371-7586.

JLD/ms

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