Napa Valley Register: Napa County nonprofit ParentsCAN gets $500,000 federal grant for families with special needs children

Napa-based nonprofit ParentsCAN will receive $100,000 a year for five years from U.S. Department of Education as part of the Community Parent Resource Center grant to equip parents with the information, knowledge and skills they need to work with professionals to meet the early intervention, educational and transitional needs of children with disabilities.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, presented ParentsCan members with the check on Wednesday.

“All children, regardless of their challenges, deserve a quality education,” Thompson said. “ParentsCAN helps parents who have children with disabilities understand their rights and the services to which their children are entitled under the law. I am proud to announce these federal funds, which will help ParentsCAN continue the outstanding work they do and help ensure educational equity for underserved Napa County families.”

Founded in 2005, ParentsCAN is a professional, parent-led organization that helps families of children with special needs. All services are offered in English and Spanish and are free to Napa County residents.

ParentsCAN is one of only 23 funded community parent information centers across the nation, joining two others in California.

“We are thrilled to be funded by the federal Office of Education for the third time. This funding supports educational advocacy services for Napa County families,” said Marlena Garcia, executive director of ParentsCAN. “We encourage any parent whose child is struggling in school to call us. We can help parents work with their child’s school to look for solutions to improve their child’s educational outcomes.”

The Community Parent Resource Center grant funds will be used to provide special education workshops, individual consultations and ongoing parent leadership development. The money will also support the development of self-advocacy training for youth with disabilities ages 14-25.

For more information about ParentsCAN, call 253-7444 or visit parentscan.org.