National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness

Practice Partnerships | Underserved Families

Underserved Families

Partners

   State deaf-blind projects
   State Parent Training & Info Projects
   New Jersey PTI ~ NJ SPAN
   New Jersey DB Project ~ DB FACES

Activities

• Identify collaborative partners for a pilot project designed to improve services to underserved populations
• Develop a process for identifying needs and TA strategies for the population
• Pilot a focus group process with NJ SPAN and DB FACES to learn how Spanish speaking families of children and youth with deaf-blindness prefer to access needed information and support
• Develop customized TA and dissemination strategies for families based on the input of the focus group participants
• Replicate the focus group and outreach process with another Spanish speaking population in a different state
• Replicate the focus group process with a different underserved population
• Share results of the activities with other state and national TA & D projects
• Develop and disseminate outreach materials to other state and national TA & D projects

Projected Outcomes

• Increased knowledge of the meaning of the term underserved population
• Increased use of effective TA strategies to determine needs and provide culturally competent services for diverse populations.
• Increased diversity in families receiving TA and support through the state projects
• Development of a community of interest/practice with other agencies, organizations and projects for future collaboration with underserved populations

Impact

• An increased number of families will have the knowledge and skills to advocate for appropriate services for their child and family.

Products

• Toolkit for TA -Culturally Competent Outreach & Support
• Juntos Podemos - Together We Can: Culturally Competent Outreach and Support -Webinar for state DB projects
• Proceedings of the NCDB Topical Workshop, May 2007 – Underserved and Underserved Families
• TA Alliance Conference – January 2006, January 2008
• Project Directors Conference – August 2006, July 2007
• Regional PTI conferences – August 2007