INCLUDEnyc Named Exclusive FACE Center for NYC

New York, NY, Dec. 17, 2019—INCLUDEnyc, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children with disabilities, has been awarded contracts by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to serve as the comprehensive Family and Community Engagement Center (FACE) for all five boroughs of New York City. The award of approximately $2.8 million granted by the Office of Special Education is to improve outcomes for students with disabilities throughout the five boroughs.

As the Early Childhood and School-Age Family and Community Engagement Center (FACE) for all five boroughs, INCLUDEnyc will provide direct assistance and training to young people with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who support them in schools and community-based organizations. INCLUDEnyc’s 36-year history of serving parents and families, its broad professional network, and its long history of collaborative city, statewide, and national partnerships made it the ideal choice for the new contracts.

“INCLUDEnyc is a homegrown, New York City organization that was started by parents of children with disabilities and now serves thousands of families from decades of supporting young people with disabilities,” said Executive Director Barbara Glassman of INCLUDEnyc.

“Becoming the exclusive, citywide FACE Center is a huge honor for INCLUDEnyc. As we reach and engage even more families and professionals citywide, our goal is for students with disabilities to have opportunities on par with their peers without disabilities to learn, grow, and thrive in our schools and ultimately our workplaces and communities,” she added.

INCLUDEnyc’s FACE Center will partner with a newly formed Regional Partnership Center (RPC) to build the capacity of the NYC Department of Education and its schools in family engagement. “The goal of the network is to work with early childhood programs, pre-schools, schools, and other community-based organizations to help them more effectively engage with families in support of students with disabilities,” added Ms. Glassman.

“Over the past 36 years, INCLUDEnyc has become a go-to source for special education and disability information. I’m glad to see that New York City families have incredibly valuable resources that are free, at their fingertips,” said Senator John C. Liu, Chairman of the New York City Education Committee of the New York State Senate.

“INCLUDEnyc has developed many strong partnerships with both early childhood and school-age programs citywide. The organization will bring valuable information and training to families and professionals working with students with disabilities in our community,” said Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, Chair of the Committee on Education of the New York State Assembly.

“INCLUDEnyc has long been committed to helping students with disabilities and their families. I’m pleased to hear that INCLUDEnyc is now New York City’s FACE Center. About 20% of our 1.1 million student population require special education services. This program will serve as an excellent resource for students and their families on how to access services and emotional and social supports. I look forward to continuing our work with INCLUDEnyc on closing the achievement gap between general education students and students with disabilities,” said Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education of the New York City Council.

There are approximately 340,000 students with disabilities in New York City. Currently, half of those students do not graduate high school on time and nearly 30,000 school-aged students with disabilities are receiving none or only some of their related services such as occupational, physical, or speech therapy, or counseling that can help keep them on track for graduation.

INCLUDEnyc has previously been recognized by the United States Department of Education, New York State Education Department, and New York City Council with grants for its expertise in special education and disability-related services. It also has significant experience developing school, family, and community partnerships with an active network of over 350 partners. INCLUDEnyc’s central office is in Manhattan with satellite offices in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens, and plans to open an office in Staten Island. The NYSED contracts started on July 1, 2019 for a five-year term and were awarded following a competitive process.

Since 2014, INCLUDEnyc served as NYSED’s Special Education Parent Center for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. INCLUDEnyc is a member of the federally-funded Parent Training and Information Center Collaborative for New York City and Long Island and a Community Parent Resource Center for the South Bronx and northern Manhattan serving primarily Spanish-speaking communities. INCLUDEnyc also is a lead organization of NYS Transition Partners, collaborating with state partners to improve post-secondary outcomes for youth with disabilities entering the workforce.To learn more about INCLUDEnyc and its services, including workshops throughout the five boroughs, Help Line with interpretation in 200 languages, and digital resources in English and Spanish, visit www.includenyc.org or www.incluyenyc.org.