Special Topics

What You Need to Know to Help Your Child in School: A Guide for Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers (PDF, 4 pages)
This brochure from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Homeless Education explains the educational rights of children and youth who are experiencing homelessness and informs parents about ways in which they can support their children's education during times of mobility.

Walking the Walk with Families

Facility Toolkit for Engaging Families in Their Child’s Education at a Juvenile Justice Facility (PDF, 40 pages)
This toolkit is designed for juvenile justice facility and school administrators to promote family involvement in a facility school. The tools are intended to be used to help encourage families get more involved and to encourage staff to persist in their efforts to engage families. This toolkit serves as a companion to the guides: Working with Families of Children in the Juvenile Justice and Corrections Systems: A Guide for Education Program Leaders, Principals, and Building Administrators (PDF, 24 pages), and Family Guide to Getting Involved in Your Child’s Education at a Juvenile Justice Facility (PDF, 28 pages).

Family Guide to Getting Involved in Your Child's Education at a Juvenile Justice Facility (PDF, 28 pages)
When youth are placed into an out-of-home justice facility, that facility becomes responsible for carrying out their education for the duration of the youth’s placement. This guide - from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk—is written for parents and family members of youth who have been placed in such juvenile justice correctional facilities. It provides evidence-based recommendations and insights to help parents stay involved in their child’s educational career, as much research has shown familial involvement is critically important to a child’s educational success.

Literature Review: Family Engagement in Juvenile Justice (PDF, 15 pages)
This literature review of current evidence and research provides a foundation of knowledge and information regarding the importance of family engagement in the juvenile justice system. It synthesizes findings on the role of family engagement, describes specific policies that jurisdictions have implemented to enhance engagement, and presents outcome evidence on recommended approaches toward improving familial involvement with youth in the juvenile justice system.

The Family Engagement Inventory: A Brief Cross-Disciplinary Synthesis 
This document takes a cross-disciplinary approach to defining and implementing family engagement. The brief provides professionals in juvenile justice, child welfare, behavioral health, education, and early childhood education with information on best practices to improve family engagement in their respective fields and across disciplines.

Children of Incarcerated Parents: Services and Supports for Children and Families
This section of a larger article about children of incarcerated parents discusses the importance for communities to create a coordinated system of supports for children of prisoners and their incarcerated parents and provides resources for addressing engagement. The full article and subsection are from the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs.

Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents (PDF, 63 pages)
This report summarizes the research and stakeholder input from the Listening Session on Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents held by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office Of Juvenile Justice And Delinquency Prevention and the White House Domestic Policy Council And Office Of Public Engagement in September 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Family Rights, Privacy, Procedural Safeguards and Complaint Resolution under IDEA
This online section of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs’ Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center describes the procedural safeguards required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that art intended to protect the interests of families and children with special needs, as well as the special education and early intervention systems.

The Short-and-Sweet IEP Overview
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement of an educational program designed to meet a child’s individual needs. Every child who receives special education services must have an IEP. This web page — developed by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs’ Center for Parent Information and Resources — provides an overview for educators, administrators, and families on the process of developing this vital document.