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RAISE Center

Information updated on Tuesday, February 20th 2024, 11:32
How to Contact the Provider
Contact email
[email protected]
Address
Newark, NJ, 07102
Phone
973-642-8100
Web
https://raisecenter.org/
Services
Disability Awareness and Advocacy
Government Agencies
Online Learning - blogs, resources, webinars, apps, telehealth
Transition

National Resources for Access, Independence, Self-determination and Employment (RAISE)

PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES DURING TRANSITION

In 2014, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), a parent-led and family-centered non-profit parent training and information center (PTI), was funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to provide support to individuals with disabilities through the transition from secondary school and into competitive employment and independent living.

RAISE was funded by a national grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to provide technical assistance and support to eight (8) RSA PTIs.

What We Do for Individuals with Disabilities and Their Families

Besides the RSA-PCs, the RAISE audience includes youth/young adults with disabilities and their families. For them we provide resources and information to help them:

  • Better understand vocational rehabilitation (VR) and independent living programs and services;
  • Communicate more effectively with transition, rehabilitation, and other professionals; and
  • Understand the Rehabilitation Act, particularly focusing on employment, supported employment, and independent living.

RAISE also provides these individuals with

  • Follow-up support for transition and employment programs;
  • Support in obtaining information about rehabilitation and independent living programs, services, and appropriate resources;
  • Support in the development of the Individualized Plan for Employment.

Resources

Search our Transition Database, find resources by topic, read our newsletters and more.

RAISE partners with the Center for Parent Center Information and Resources (CPIR) to provide information on a variety of Transition-related topics. Parent Centers, families, and youth can search the Resource Database, courtesy of the CPIR.

What are Parent Centers?

Parent Centers help families with children from birth to age 26 who have a disability. The main goal of Parent Centers is to provide families with support and free information about special education topics, state and federal laws, trainings and local resources.

There are nearly 100 Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) in the US and Territories.

“RSA Parent Centers” are funded by the Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA) under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), which is part of the US Department of Education.

There are eight (8) RSA Parent Centers (PTI’s and CPRC’s) throughout the US that provide various training and programming to youth/young adults with disabilities and their families, professionals, and other PTIs and CPRCs on the issues surrounding Youth Transition, the period of time between adolescence and adulthood.

The RSA Parent Centers support these various entities across the country.

REAL Transition Partners (Federation)

REAL Transition Partners, a collaboration between all 26 Region A parent centers will provide innovative services that involve diverse youth/young adults with disabilities and their families, highlight the region’s strengths and collaborative spirit, and through a regional Community of Practice,  enhance participating parent center capacity around transition and adult service systems. FCSN is the lead partner in Region A-1 for parent centers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Learn more here about REAL Transition Partners (Federation)

REAL Transition Partners (SPAN)

REAL Transition Partners, a collaboration between all 26 Region A parent centers will provide innovative services that involve diverse youth/young adults with disabilities and their families, highlight the region’s strengths and collaborative spirit, and through a regional Community of Practice,  enhance participating parent center capacity around transition and adult service systems. SPAN Parent Advocacy network is  the lead partner in Region A-2 for parent centers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Learn more here about REAL Transition Partners (SPAN)

Waze to Adulthood (PEATC)

WAZE to Adulthood is an RSA-funded project of Virginia’s Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) aimed at providing youth/young adults with disabilities, their families and those professionals who serve them up-to-date, high-quality resources, information and training to meet their diverse needs. PEATC, as the Region B1 RSA Parent Center, works in collaboration with parent training centers and other disability organizations throughout the 6 state region that includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida to identify and to address state-specific gaps in services and systems to help improve long term outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Independent Futures That Work (APEC)

“Independent Futures That Work” is a joint project of Parent Centers across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.  This center will provide training and information that will empower and support youth in transition to access independent living and employment as they transition to adult lives.  This project supports youth, their families, and professionals to improve their capacity to support youth with disabilities on their journey.

Project Launch (PACER)

PACER Center’s “Project Launch” will partner with other parent centers to improve employment and independent living goals of individuals with disabilities in an 8-state region (Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Illinois, and Michigan.) PACER will coordinate joint activities with parent centers in these states to share expertise among centers and support training and information activities that meet the needs of transition-age youth with disabilities and their family members.  The project will include focused activities to ensure it meets the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse and other underserved families.

Midwestern Collaborative
(Pathfinder of ND)

The Midwestern Collaborative brings a unique opportunity for 8 Parent Training and Information Centers (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) to explore, create, and celebrate statewide services that focus on the development of self-advocacy, self-discovery, and independence for youth with disabilities. Working closely with professionals from both Vocational Rehabilitation Centers and Centers for Independent Living will bring collaborative and innovative services to guide youth with disabilities and their families to services centering on secondary transition and life after high school.

Multi-Cultural Transition TA Project (Open Doors for Multi-Cultural Families)

Open Doors for Multicultural Families (WA) has established a Multicultural Parent Training and Information Center that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate information about transition to adult services, post-secondary resources and services for culturally & linguistically diverse (CLD) youth with developmental & intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) and their families in states in the northwestern region of the US. Technical Assistance is provided through the RSA Multicultural Technical Assistance Project to professionals working with transition age youths and their families in the Region D1 states comprised of Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam and Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

Project POWER Project (PEAK)

The Region D2 RSA Project POWER Project assists young people with disabilities and their families in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah to meet their transition needs by collaborating with and providing technical assistance to the OSEP-funded PTIs and CPRCs located within the area served. The project links youth and families to current, cutting edge resources, tools and support through a range of activities and products, including: an interactive, fully accessible project webpage, online and print tools, youth guides, topical webinars, virtual and in-person training curricula, and technical assistance to parent centers designed to assist them in providing successful transition outreach, training and support to the youth and families in their state or area.
RAISE Center
c/o SPAN
35 Halsey St., 4th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102