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INCLUDEnyc’s Work with Youth with Disabilities Expands into the Northeast

Published
October 19, 2020
Type
Press Release
Smiling young man with arm around his friend at INCLUDEnyc Fair

New York, NY, October 19, 2020—INCLUDEnyc has been awarded over $200,000 annually for three, five-year federal grants from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), which the organization applied for as a collaborative partner. 

Through the USDOE’s Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), INCLUDEnyc will now work with young people with disabilities on their vocational training, employment, and independent living goals in a region spanning 11 states, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. INCLUDEnyc is among the five core partners of this collaborative, which includes 26 parent centers in the Northeast and Caribbean. “Expanding our work regionally means many more young people with disabilities and their families will have access to our resources and information so that they can plan for a successful future,” said Executive Director Barbara Glassman. 

Without adequate skill building and preparation for adulthood, young people with disabilities face unemployment or underemployment leading to poverty, overrepresentation in the shelter and prison systems, and other bleak consequences. The RSA collaborative will directly address these issues by providing materials and support regionally to prepare youth with disabilities for life after high school and their transition to adult life. 

Through the USDOE’s Office of Special Education, INCLUDEnyc also will continue its work as a Parent Training and Information Center (PTIC) collaborative for all five boroughs which provides training and assistance to families of children from birth to 26 with known or suspected disabilities. “We are so proud that INCLUDEnyc’s work continues to be recognized at the federal level for its excellence. INCLUDEnyc has been a parent center for nearly 30 years, and this new grant affirms our role as a leading provider of information and resources for the disability community in New York City,” Ms. Glassman added. INCLUDEnyc partners with Advocates for Children, Sinergia, and the Long Island Advocacy Center on this collaborative project. 

Additionally, INCLUDEnyc has USDOE funding to operate a Community Parent Resource Center (CPRC) in the South Bronx and northern Manhattan offering direct support and training to young adults, families, and organizations primarily for Spanish-speaking communities. This project was initially developed specifically to improve and expand support for families who face significant barriers to early intervention, quality education and special education, disability services, healthcare, and family support due to language, immigration status, or poverty in NYC communities.