Special Ed - Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities / Projects for Children & Young Adults who are Deaf-Blind

TITLE: DB Central: Michigan Services for Children and Young Adults Who Are Deaf-Blind. PURPOSE: DB Central is designed to provide consultative services for children and young adults who are deaf-blind by training and educating families and service providers on research-based best practices. METHOD: Project activities are built around six objectives: (a) providing stakeholders from all areas of the state with equal access to onsite consultation; (b) organizing training and workshops for families and service providers in various locations in the state and providing two statewide conferences on topics determined by needs assessment; (c) providing family support services to build family capacity to advocate for their child; (d) disseminating research-based information on effective practices for children and young adults with deaf-blindness via a lending library, project Web site, and a newsletter; (e) collecting annual census data on deaf-blindness as well as needs survey and evaluation data; and (f) collaborating with local, state, and national agencies and organizations.