Family Participation Fund

The Family Participation Fund (FPF) was developed to meet the need for fiscal resources to help encourage and support meaningful family/consumer involvement in local, regional, or statewide decision-making activities, events, and groups. The intent of this activity is to build partnerships that reflect the diversity of our population and that are aligned with state reform mandates and initiatives. Between 2000 and 2007, nearly 7,400 requests for financial support were funded.

The FPF is administered through the California Association of Family Empowerment Centers (CAFEC), which works as a center of information, technical assistance, and systems change advocacy for the statewide network of local FECs. FECs work directly with families of children with disabilities to provide family education and empowerment and regularly refer families they work with to the FPF when they show interest in participating as a member of a decision-making body.

Ethnic minorities and low-income families are often underrepresented in the membership of decision-making bodies. The FPF implements outreach activities targeting these underrepresented groups to encourage their participation.

Family Participation Fund Participants by Ethnicity
Jul 2000-Aug 2007 ~ 6,900* Recipients
	Recipients	Percent
African American	4,215	62%
Asian/Pacific Islander	148	2%
Caucasian/White	910	13%
Hispanic/Latino	1,463	21%
Native American	164	2%

*499 recipients did not specify their ethnicity

The vast majority of recipients were African American (62%).
The FPF successfully facilitated the participation of ethnic minorities, increasing the percent of recipients identifying themselves as ethnic minorities to 87%.

Family Participation Fund Participants by Income
Jul 2000-Aug 2007 ~ 6,696* Recipients
	Recipients	Percent
Under $10,000	3,978	59%
$10,000-19,999	1,017	15%
$20,000-29,999	669	10%
$30,000-39,999	303	5%
$40,000-49,999	273	4%
$50,000 or More	456	7%

*703 recipients did not specify their income

The FPF was also successful at reaching out to low-income families. Out of the 6,696 recipients who responded to the survey, 5,664 (84%) were family members earning less than $30,000 annually, with 59% earning under $10,000 per year.

Another goal of the FPF is to increase awareness and build collaborative partnerships between special education (SE) and general education (GE) by encouraging family members of children with disabilities to join decision-making bodies focused on GE issues.

Family Participation Fund Reimbursements by Focus of Meeting
Feb 2005-Aug 2007 ~ 3,883 Event Reimbursements
	Percent
Special Education	59%
General Education	41%

Of the 3,883 event reimbursements since 2005, 41% were requested in order to attend a decision making meeting at which general education issues were the focus.

Family Participation Fund Participant Evaluation Responses
Jul 2000-Aug 2007 ~ 7,399 Recipients
	Average Response
I learned valuable, useful information at the meeting	4.7
The meeting will make a positive difference in the lives of children with disabilities	4.6
I felt that I was an effective participant at the meeting	4.6
I felt that other people at the meeting valued my participation	4.5
The financial support of attending the meeting met my needs	4.4

The recipients responded with high ratings regarding their experience at the meetings they participated in, with a 4.4 (on a 5-point scale) or higher in every category.
When asked whether they felt they were an effective participant at the meeting, the average response was a 4.6 on a 5-point scale.

Comments from Family Members

At this meeting we as parents were welcomed, and our input into policies affecting our children’s education was valued and utilized. Our concerns were responded to, and we saw results.

There is a lot of information to learn and share!

This meeting presented an opportunity for parents to speak directly to the School Board members and for them to hear and understand a parent’s perspective on the current state of affairs.

This stipend is a great help!

Family Participation Fund: 2006-07

Family Participation Fund Participants by Ethnicity
Feb 2006-Aug 2007 ~ 2,480* Recipients
	Recipients	Percent
African American	1,252	51%
Asian/Pacific Islander	89	4%
Caucasian/White	506	20%
Hispanic/Latino	627	25%
Native American	6	1%

*126 recipients did not specify their ethnicity

Fewer African Americans received FPF stipends in recent years, with 51% since 2006 compared to a historic average of 64% This trend deepened in 2007.
The ratio of Caucasian and Latino recipients appears to be increasing.

Family Participation Fund Participants by Income
Feb 2006-Aug 2007 ~ 2,472* Recipients
	Recipients	Percent
Under $10,000	1,444	57%
$10,000-19,999	385	16%
$20,000-29,999	217	9%
$30,000-39,999	120	5%
$40,000-49,999	114	5%
$50,000 or More	192	8%

*134 recipients did not specify their income

FPF recipients have continued to be from predominantly low-income households. Since February 2006, 82% of stipends went to households making less than $30,000 per year.

Family Participation Fund Participant Evaluation Responses
Jul 2000-Jan 2006 (4,793 Recipients) and Feb 2006-Aug2007 (2,606 Recipients)
	Jul 2000- Jan 2006	Feb 2006- Aug 2007
I learned valuable, useful information at the meeting	4.7	4.7
The meeting will make a positive difference in the lives of children with disabilities	4.6	4.5
I felt that I was an effective participant at the meeting	4.6	4.5
I felt that other people at the meeting valued my participation	4.5	4.4
The financial support of attending the meeting met my needs	4.4	4.4

In 2006-07, the average responses of FPF recipients to all five survey questions declined slightly, by up to 0.1 (on a 5-point scale). These changes are smaller than 3%.
These declines were pervasive, but too small to impact historic averages.

Feb 2006-Aug 2007 ~ 2,606 Event Reimbursements
	Percent
Special Education	60%
General Education	40%

Roughly 40% of reimbursements continue to support attendees of general education events.

Please describe what discussions and/or decisions you influenced at this meeting:
Number of Comments	Comments made in 2006-07
44	Plans, ideas, and recommendations to improve outcomes at the local level "Discussed math intervention and algebra intervention and how special education students can utilize them." "Ideas for activities at school." "Closing the achievement gap.
36	Information about laws and policies, rights, and parent empowerment "Asking questions about AAA, IEP and moderate to severe interventions." "How to get services not available in district." "Reviewed local plan."
35	Committee budgets, by laws, guidelines, and/or protocols "How to influence committee to help our children."
16	Discussion of and information about legislative issues and processes "Network with other parents and talk about legislation." "Reauthorization of NCLB"
15	Arranging guest speakers, workshops and activities "Planning recognition dinner."
14	Planning of upcoming events, meetings for next year "Future parent symposium"
14	How to involve other parents and community members "Encouraged parents to participate at local school sites"
12	Topics related to IEP meetings and rights "Importance of district respecting decisions made at IEP." "IEP advice."
11	Networking with other parents, teachers, administrators and community members "Recommended book list for parents; a lending library." "Networking with other parents."
9	CAC activities, attendance and effectiveness "How CAC can work with other agencies." "Parents were introduced at CAC meeting."
9	Program deficiencies and program cancelation "Working with superintendant not to cut programs like speech and tutoring."
8	Behavior and discipline issues "Explained how ZERO tolerance policy for behavior cannot apply to Special Education students." "Impact of substance abuse on special education students."
7	Assessment, testing and placement "Discussed placement procedures."
7	California High School Exit Exam and other graduation issues "How to determine if a child is passed or not, if they are just pushed through." "CAHSEE and English language learners."
6	Transitions "Colleges are not doing enough to help students with disabilities stay in school after parents and schools have worked so hard to get them there"

What kind of additional support/training would help you participate more effectively?
Number of Comments	Comments made in 2006-07
36	Updates and clarification on IDEA 2004, special education laws, and rights "Updates on all new SE related laws and regulations." "Always need updates on IDEA and LEP."
30	Translation services for meetings and materials "Need better translators for Chinese to English." "Provide more info in Chinese."
28	More parent participation and training "More parent training opportunities at local schools, add a funding component to IDEA for parent training as with Title I." "Parent training academies." "Legal training."
22	Continued stipend and support to attend meetings "Funds to pay for time away from home—this stipend is a great help!" "More stipends for parents."
21	Leadership and advocacy training "Training in leadership and controlling flow of meetings." "More advocacy training."
9	Information on specific disorders "More about Down Syndrome." "More info regarding epilepsy." "More speakers on autism."
8	More workshops and ideas for guest speakers "More workshops and information." "Suggestions for future speakers, presentations, and topics."
8	Proactive recruitment of parents for meetings and other advocacy activities "I am always willing to put in my input as a mother of three children with autism but unfortunately I do not have the time to seek out where to be—I need the agencies to seek me out!" "More information on how to reach parents so that they participate."
6	Information on committee guidelines, by laws, and protocols "More information about federal guidelines and requirements for this committee." "Would like to know more about how these committees work."
5	More information and training in legislative issues and process "More information on SE state legislation." "Training on assembly bills."
5	More information on IEPs "More IEP information." "Online IEP training."
4	More involvement and training for teachers and community "More teacher training." "Community education."
4	Support for the CACs "The CAC needs a paid clerical worker to help." "Copies of the CAC guidelines manual available."

This report was developed for CalSTAT by the SIG Evaluation Team of Cheryl "Li" Walter, PhD, and Alan Wood.

CalSTAT (California Services for Technical Assistance and Training), at Napa County Office of Education, is a special project of the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Visit CalSTAT at http://www.calstat.org.

"Funds for this project come in part from federal funds awarded as a State Program Improvement Grant to California (CFDA 84.323A) allowed in Part D of Public Law 108-447, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004. These dollars are considered local assistance funds and will assist individuals serving children birth to 22 years of age and their families."