Programs

Parent to Parent Program
Our Parent-to-Parent Program was created to provide parents with a supportive network of peers. This program offers parents an opportunity to develop leadership skills and offer parents in similar situations with support. Peer supporters are provided a comprehensive six-week training that focuses on educational advocacy, the laws supporting special education and related services, and leadership training.

Parent Training and Information Center
The Parent Training and Information Center is a comprehensive resource library and training center. The Center offers parents information on the laws of special education, specific disabilities, the latest research on treatment and interventions, and adaptive technology. This resource center is especially critical to our work, as it is located in a low-income community that traditionally would not have had access to this information. Our training and advocacy sessions are specifically designed to: clarify legal obligations and rights; assist parents and advocates in the preparing for educational meetings and conferences; and to orient the individual on the various services available for children with special needs.

Transition Advocacy Project
The Transition Advocacy Project provides youth ages 13-18 with support, advocacy, information, and training in order to improve their involvement in their educational planning. This program provides parents with guidance on the role of the child in transition planning. AJE serves as a mediator between parent and young person when disagreements arise in goal planning sessions. In order for this program to reach greater numbers of youth, we have developed a comprehensive outreach and engagement strategy for the youth involved. In addition, we have chosen to have a special emphasis on children suffering from emotional, anti-social, and mental disorders who are truant, most at risk for dropping out, or becoming involved in the delinquency system.

Direct Services/Individual Advocacy
Unlike other organizations in the community, A.J.E. provides direct services to parents in the form of individual representation in situations when the intervention of third party is necessary to ensure that appropriate services are being made available to a family in need.

Community Education
Parents of children with special needs have a desire to know more about their child's disability, its impact on their family, and the support that is necessary for the child to thrive and grow - physically and intellectually. We provide community education through our workshops and seminars which are free to the families we serve.