Family & Community Resources

  

The new Parent Handbook is now available for download. The handbooks will be distributed to all parents of children receiving special education services.
Parent Handbook (pdf) (English) (Spanish)
Thank you to the parents of the Community Advisory Committee for all of their hard work in revising this handbook!! We hope it will be informative and easy to use.

Training opportunities for families and the community.

In addition to trainings listed below, there are many more trainings included in North Santa Cruz County SELPA Staff Development page, most of these are open to ALL STAFF, PARENTS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS within North Santa Cruz County SELPA.

 
Also family trainings are available through other community agencies.
Check the links below to for availability.
 
Health Services Agency of Santa Cruz County - 1020 Emeline Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. (831) 454-4134; Watsonville - (831) 763-8500. There are various financial assistance programs available to assist people who are in need of medical services and cannot afford to pay for them. To receive most of the following benefits you must apply and be certified eligible. Call the contact numbers in the "Where to Apply" section of each program to see if you are eligible. The most commonly utilized programs are Medi-Cruz, Healthy Families (special funds available to pay for first year of coverage), and Medi-Cal.
Northern California Diagnostic Center
- provides trainings to districts, and parents, including online trainings on Transitioning (Is My Child Too Young?), and Understanding Section 504. Also available is Ask a Specialist Forum, which offer monthly forums featuring Assistive Technology, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Behavior, School Related Medical Issues and Transition suggestions and advice. During the last week of each month, the specialists will select and respond to one question from those submitted in each of the three areas. Additional resources for parents and educators--Middle School Transition Portfolio and Guide, and High School Transition Portfolio and Guide.
Special Parents Information Network
- Supporting Families who have Children with Special Needs. Offers information on and referral to local resources for children with special needs, mentor program for parents who want support and information from another parent who has a child with a similar disability or has experience navigating the system of services, educational workshops and training on various topics to educate parents and professionals to better meet and advocate for a child's needs at home, school and in the community, networking opportunities through support groups, events, workshops and training, and parent-to-parent support, resource library of books, periodicals, journals, brochures and videos on various special needs topics.
GCF Global Learning - Offers free on-line self-paced and instructor supported classes on wide variety of topics including; computer basics, basic math, internet basics, Office 2000, Word 2000, and much more. A good resource for students who feel they need a little extra support.
 

It's hard to learn when you don't feel good!!!
Health problems can plague anyone, but they pose particular risks for children without health insurance. Experts are learning what teachers have understood for a long time - that success in school is linked to regular attendance, and that attendance improves with access to health care.
 

Find out more about low-cost health insurance at the web-sites below.

  

State of California Medical Home Page - includes frequently asked questions, Medi-Cal mail-in application forms, and more.

Children's Health Access and Medi-Cal Program Network- CHAMP NET
"Champ Net provides information to those helping low-income families find free or low cost health coverage for children and pregnant women." Includes Parent Handouts, Eligibility Calculator, and Healthcare programs.

100% Campaign health insurance for every child in California.

School Lunch Programs Express Enrollment "toolbox" One-stop shop for implementing Express Enrollment through the school lunch program. "Express Enrollment is the process that California developed to implement Express Lane Eligibility through the School Lunch Program. Under the program, children can apply for Medi-Cal at the same time they complete a school lunch application and receive temporary coverage while the state collects additional information to make a complete Medi-Cal determination."

Healthy Kids Project "The Healthy Kids, Healthy Schools project is an effort to enroll children into the State sponsored Healthy Families and Medi-Cal for Children health insurance programs."

Teachers for Healthy Kids - contains many links to information for getting kids connected to health insurance, including flyers and posters for the classroom.

Healthy Families - state website with information on Healthy Families a low-cost health insurance program for children and teens. It provides health, dental and vision coverage for children who do not have insurance and do not qualify for Medi-Cal.