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In a series of policy recommendations, advocates from a consortium made up of a dozen organizations including Autism Speaks and Easter Seals highlighted the needs of adults with autism when it comes to learning life skills, accessing qualified support providers and obtaining funding that’s flexible. Organizers of the advocacy effort known as Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism estimate that more than 500,000 individuals with the disorder will enter adulthood in the next 10 years. They are urging Congress to pass reforms within the next year to meet the needs they’ve identified.

Several years ago, I had a courteous, if troubling, e-mail exchange with the architect of a hugely popular instructional innovation. She had heard that I had been criticizing this approach. (I had.) In a series of e-mails, I explained my reasons, starting with the fact that there was no research or strong evidence to support its widespread adoption. I asked, with increasing importunity, for any such evidence. Only after multiple requests did I finally receive an answer: There was no solid research or school evidence.

About 300 people from across the state are expected to attend the Montana State Conference on Mental Illness on Oct. 27-29 in Billings. The theme of the conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel is “Recovery and Reform.” The conference will examine mental illness and recovery in a manner designed to help consumers, families, providers and advocates.

The Villers Fellowship for Health Care Justice was created in 2005 by Philippe Villers, Founder and President of Families USA. Each year, the Villers Fellow works in our health policy department and assists our organization's efforts to improve access to health coverage for all Americans, especially for low-income and other vulnerable communities. Specifically, the Villers Fellow will conduct research on a range of health care policy issues and write and contribute to publications that are relevant to health reform implementation and other health policy issues.

Click here to download the brochure and learn more information about sessions, speakers, the hotel, tentative schedules, and ideas about funding! We can’t wait to see you in February! Click here to register online. We've made your best value even better with REDUCED early rates! Rates haven't been this good since 2007! Register before January 14, 2011 and SAVE with early registration rates! Inclusive education is a process of school reform that creates equality in education and increases achievement for ALL students, including students with disabilities. PEAK Parent Center’s Conference on Inclusive Education holds the tools you need to reinvent schools to be places where all students can achieve success! With the most POWERFUL line up of speakers you’ll find at one conference, PEAK’s 2011 Conference on Inclusive Education is the place to be!

The $940 billion health-care overhaul will take nearly a decade to roll out in full. A look at the key parts of the bill and when they go into effect.

After years of debate, a health overhaul is finally becoming a reality. Now what?

Many big provisions don't kick in until 2014, including the mandate for most folks to have health insurance and many new requirements for health-plan designs. Before then, you'll see a mishmash of other things go into effect at various times—and of course some of the changes depend on the Senate passing the House's so-called sidecar, or reconciliation, bill of changes.

Here are some ways you can start dealing with the new health-care landscape.

For parents of children with multiple medical problems, keeping up with countless doctor's appointments, ongoing tests and a variety of medications can be overwhelming, especially for those in challenging socioeconomic situations. 

As a result, families often wind up using the emergency room, the country's most expensive form of care delivery, to get help for their kids.

But a growing concept in health care reform called the "medical home" offers parents a way to simplify, organize and coordinate the complexities of their medically fragile child's health care needs. The medical home is not a location but an approach to care coordination designed to provide a constant trusted source of care, typically by a general pediatrician.

This short summary describes the health coverage provisions contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, including the individual mandate requirements, expansion of public programs, health insurance exchanges, changes to private insurance, employer requirements and cost and coverage estimates.

Click here to download the full flyer (PDF) What: The public is invited to join a community conversation with a panel of health care, business and community leaders about the present and future of health care and health care reform; no jargon, politics or 'slick' presentations. When: Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 7:00-9:00pm Mountain Where: Helena Regional Airport, Upper Level Meeting Area

Today, the Obama Administration outlined how states can get relief from provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – or No Child Left Behind (NCLB) – in exchange for serious state-led efforts to close achievement gaps, promote rigorous accountability, and ensure that all students are on track to graduate college- and career-ready. “To help states, districts and schools that are ready to move forward with education reform, our administration will provide flexibility from the law in exchange for a real commitment to undertake change. The purpose is not to give states and districts a reprieve from accountability, but rather to unleash energy to improve our schools at the local level,” President Obama said. What this means for you:   For Teachers: A collaborative learning culture where teachers can target instruction towards the needs of students and offer a well-rounded curriculum. Fair and responsible evaluations that are based on multiple measures including peer review, principal observation, and classroom work.  For Principals: Greater flexibility to tailor solutions to the unique educational challenges of their students and recognition for progress and performance.  For Parents: Accurate and descriptive information about their children’s progress and honest accountability that recognizes and rewards success – where schools fall short – targeted and focused strategies for the students most at risk.  For Students: A system that measures student growth and critical thinking to inspire better teaching and greater student engagement across a well-rounded curriculum. For more information on how this flexibility package may affect you, read our blog post: What NCLB Flexibility Means for You

Click here to register for this event What: Ensuring School Readiness will explore how and why smooth transitions among early learning environments are critical for school readiness and are the first step toward preparing students for success in college and career. Presenters will focus on what it takes to foster continuity as children move from early learning programs to preschool to kindergarten, and will discuss the specific roles of early learning programs, schools, and families in preparing young children to enter school ready for success. This webinar will highlight innovative practices, explore the range of supports and services offered to young children and their families, and emphasize how to help families understand how to remain involved in their child’s education as the child moves into the early school grades. Jacqueline Jones from the U.S. Department of Education will discuss the importance of successful early transitions to education reform. Sharon Ritchie from FirstSchool, a research-based preK–3rd grade initiative, will discuss “seamless education” and how to use data to improve practice. Judith Jerald from Save the Children will talk about developing early childhood programming with an eye toward facilitating transitions. And Whitcomb Hayslip will discuss how a Los Angeles-based transitional kindergarten initiative uses deliberate collaboration between teachers and families to prepare children for school success. When: April 14, 2011 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Mountain Featured speakers include: Moderator: Tom Schultz, Project Director for Early Childhood Initiatives, Council of Chief State School Officers Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning, U.S. Department of Education Sharon Ritchie, Senior Scientist, FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Judith Jerald, Early Childhood Advisor, Save the Children Whitcomb Hayslip, Early Childhood Education Consultant and Former Assistant Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District Click here to view the webinar archive for this event series

Montana is on track to join 28 states and the District of Columbia by expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income people.