The Power of Families: NCDB Family Leadership Training Program

1. The Power of Families:NCDB Family Leadership Training Program It all begins today!

2. How We’ll Spend our Time Together • Getting to know each other • Exploring the meaning of family leadership & how it applies to each of you • Covering our basic training design for the year • Beginning to learn new skills • Beginning your leadership plans

3. What Does Leadership Mean to You? Think~Pair~Share Activity • Think of someone who you consider to be a leader • Why do you feel this way? • What qualities or characteristics do they demonstrate? • Share your thoughts with another person • Let’s talk about it!

4. Common Leadership Qualities • Wants to learn • Has a vision • Has a story he believes in • Respects others • Good listener • Good communicator • Good delegator • Motivating • Open to ideas • Adapts to change • Willing to pickup what’s not getting done • Can see the Big Picture • Positive attitude • Good sense of humor • Can think outside the box • Takes risk for new ideas • Honest • Trustworthy • Organized • Able to admit when wrong or does not know • Good follower • Humble • Empathetic

5. Personal Reflection What leadership qualities do you see in yourself?

6. Beliefs in Leadership • Leaders are not born ~ they rise out of a person’s passion for how they want the world to be. • Leadership isn’t a gift ~ it’s accessible to anyone who wants it. • Leadership isn’t a calling ~ it’s a matter of listening to a question and trying to come up with an answer. • A leader is anyone who has a very BIG and COMPELLING story of how it could all turn out. Barbara Waugh, HP

7. What is Family Leadership? Meaningful family leadershipoccurs when family members gain the knowledge and skills to… …function in meaningful leadership roles and represent a “family voice” to help shape the direction of families, programs and communities. Family leadership is successfully achieved when family members and professionals build effective partnerships and share responsibility, expertise and leadership in decisions being made that affect families and communities. The family members involved in these collaborations are called… …Family Leaders National Parent Leadership Tool Kit

8. Who is a Family Leader? A Family Leader… Parent Grandparent Foster parent Sibling Aunt or Uncle Or….other • Has a vision • Have personal experience in using resources/services to strengthen his or her family • Speaks and acts from his or her perspective as a family member • Is not speaking and acting solely in a staff role for an organization or institution. National Parent Leadership Tool Kit

9. Mentor or Role Model Trainer Plan family activities Write an article for a newsletter Advocate for individuals, families and/or programs Public speaker Fundraiser Participate in focus groups Advisory board member Member of planning commission Witness at public hearings Media interviewee Spokesperson for deaf-blindness Potential Roles for a Family Leader National Parent Leadership Tool Kit

10. Some Real Life Examples • TX: Parents helped get two laws enacted in Texas: House Bill 37, which makes children eligible for the Deafblind Medicaid Waiver (previously only available for adults) and House Bill 63, which creates a career ladder for Interveners • WA: Mom started a community swimming program • IL: Parent joined the state school’s advisory board and has helped other families write letters to increase funding • WA: Parent worked with community college nursing program to get credit hours for nursing students for providing respite • IL: Parent volunteers to meet with families prior to an IEP meeting to prepare • WA: Group of family members started a family-to-family support network

12. Your Role as a Family Leader “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, lies your calling.” Aristotle

13. Why Help Family Leaders Develop? BENEFITS TO FAMILIES • All family members have the potential to become strong family leaders • Enhance your knowledge and skills ~ benefits your family and others • Chance to act on a vision or passion • Often children of family leaders begin to take on leadership roles, based on their parents modeling BENEFITS TO SYSTEMS • When family leaders gain knowledge and skills to function in leadership roles they: • Bring a parent perspective • Keep things real • Improve the quality of services and supports • Ensure that programs meet the needs of families and children • Systems that affect children and families will achieve more positive results, utilize resources more effectively and expand their ability to create change when they partner with family leaders National Parent Leadership Tool Kit

14. A Model for Family Leadership NCDB Family Leadership Training Program

15. NCDB Family Leadership Goal As graduates of the NCDB Family Leadership Training Program, family members will be able to use knowledge and skills they develop in the training to impact services and supports for children with deaf-blindness. This can be within their own community, at the regional or statewide level, or even at the national level.

16. By participating in this yearlong training, you will: • Broaden your understanding of deaf-blind issues beyond what you already know about your own child and family. • Increase your knowledge of resources related to deaf-blindness and family support • Gain an understanding of leadership opportunities and how you could contribute to these • Have the opportunity to develop and work on your own leadership goal, with lots of support • Have opportunities to team with other family leaders to accomplish common goals

17. Personal Leadership Goal & Group Leadership Goal Onsite & Distance Training Ongoing Support Personal Leadership GoalGroup Leadership Goal Based on your interests, passions, talents Help plan a family get together Positive results for children and families Use your talents and skills on team Work on it throughout the year Work on it throughout the year Onsite & Distance Training Core Areas: Deaf-blindness; Leadership & Advocacy; Communication; Resources; Personal Life Balance Types of training: face-to-face, online, self-study Ongoing Support Supports you as you implement new skills Supports you as you work on your Personal and Group Leadership Goal Types of support: Peer support, phone calls, emails, conference calls, face-to-face

18. What we ask of you… • Commit to participating in all face-to-face trainings • Commit to participating in distance activities • Commit to identifying and carrying out your own personal leadership activity • Commit to supporting a “buddy” so you each accomplish your leadership goals • Commit to being part of the team that works on the group leadership goal

19. What You’ll Be Doing and Learning • This Weekend: • You’ll start to get to know the other participants • You’ll start to understand what we mean by family leadership & how it relates to you (F02m) • You’ll learn about communication & effective negotiation strategies (F02a, F02o) • You’ll start to think about strategies to take care of yourself (F08i) • You’ll identify a personal goal to work on • You’ll create an action plan

20. Questions & Discussion Time