PAVE – Washington State PTI
Our mission
PAVE provides support, training, information and resources to empower and give voice to individuals, youth and families impacted by disabilities.
Our vision
We envision an inclusive community that values the unique abilities, cultures, voices, contributions and potential of all individuals.
The vision of PAVE began in 1979 when Pierce County was identified as one of six (6) locations in the United States to receive training regarding Special Education rights of children and parents. Thirty parents received this training. Their goal was for a parent-directed organization to provide peer training to families throughout Washington State. They forged the path with their hopes for their children and for all children within Washington who had disabilities. To help this movement, a clearinghouse named Closer Look (later known as NICHCY) provided intense training for these pioneering parents on the laws. This was the beginning of the PAVE parent movement within Washington State.
Programs of PAVE
The Family to Family Health & Information Center (F2FHIC), helps families of children and youth with special health care needs, and the professionals who serve them, to find healthcare funding. Because children with special health care needs issues are chronic and complex, parents and caregivers are often challenged with finding the resources to finance health care for their children. The Family-to-Family Health Information Center understands the issues that families face; they provide advice, offer a multitude of resources, and tap into a network of other families and professionals for support and information. Family Voices, through the National Center for Family / Professional Partnerships, provides technical assistance, training, and connections to other Family-to-Family partnering organizations.
Person Centered Planning Program (PCP), Focused on Pierce County, this program provides ongoing training for facilitators, as well as support for parents and self-advocate mentors through person centered plans utilizing maps and graphics. We work in partnership with school districts and can contract privately for individual plans.
Parent Training and Information (PTI) helps Washingtonians support students with disabilities. PTI does this by providing information, training, resources, and technical assistance to help family caregivers, students and professionals understand rights and responsibilities within education systems. Examples of technical assistance include guidance about how to seek an evaluation for special education services or how to organize concerns for a meeting with the school. PTI empowers families with basic principles and vocabulary from federal and state disability laws to further understanding about how students access their right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
Pierce County Parent to Parent (P2P), provides emotional support and information on community resources for parents who have a child with a disability or chronic health need. Helping Parent Volunteers and staff assist families in coping with many challenging experiences and feelings and can contact families by phone, home visits, or hospital visits.
Spark Pierce County was established in 2018 through partnership with Pierce County Human Services to teach people with developmental and intellectual disabilities the value of leadership within their communities while enhancing their lives and launching future possibilities. Opportunities include: Self-Advocacy groups, trainings, and workshops, “Train the Trainer” workshops to further excel existing knowledge and leadership skills, Involvement in community events, Learning about local government; how it effects it has on people with disabilities and how people with disabilities can affect it, and finally becoming involved and informed in decisions that impact the individual!
Specialized Training of Military Parents (STOMP), provides one and two-day in-person workshops and one-hour webinars throughout the United States and overseas for military families and military personnel. Topics include: Rights and Responsibilities (IDEA, IEP), Advocacy, SSI/Medicaid, TRICARE/ECHO/ABA, WILLs, Guardianships & Special Needs Trusts, Networking, IEP and 504 Breakouts. STOMP training provides families with federal information to gain a a better understanding of how to navigate through educational and medical systems when they have a child who has exceptional/special needs. STOMP workshops and webinars are funded by the Army, Navy and Air Force who determine the locations and workshop or webinar topics per installation.
School to Adulthood: Transition Planning Toolkit for High School, Life, and Work