By Lenore Washington-Graham
Our Mission: To empower families and inform and involve professionals and other individuals interested in the healthy development and educational rights of children, to enable all children to become fully participating and contributing members of our communities and society.
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, Inc.
SPAN
35 Halsey Street
4th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 642-8100 x 105
(973) 642-8080 – Fax
E-Mail address: [email protected]
Website: www.spannj.org
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Monday, January 27, 2014, more than 100 supporters gathered at the Newark Club to congratulate SPAN (Statewide Parent Advocacy Network) on 25 years of serving New Jersey children and families. New Jersey Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey presented SPAN with New Jersey Legislature Proclamation, while Newark Council President Mildred Crump presented commendations from the Newark City Council and Montclair Councilwoman Dr. Renee Baskerville added her congratulations.
SPAN honored SPAN founding board president Alice Hunnicut and founding and current board member John Pennett at the event, which also included testimonials from parents whose children have benefited from SPAN’s services.
SPAN is a not-for-profit organization that empowers families to advocate on behalf of their children. Our mission is to empower and support families and inform and involve professionals and others interested in the healthy development and education of children and youth. Our emphasis is placed on children and families with the greatest need due to disability; poverty; discrimination based on race, sex, language, immigrant, or homeless status; involvement in the foster care, child welfare, or juvenile justice systems; geographic location; or other special circumstances.
SPAN’s exemplary efforts on behalf of children and families have been recognized both within New Jersey and nationally. For example, in 2013, SPAN was awarded over $1 million in funding by the NJ Department of Health for family resource specialists to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. That same year, SPAN received a grant from the US Department of Education to serve as the National Center for Parent Information and Resources. These grants add to the over 20 other federal, state, and foundation grants that support SPAN’s efforts. Both national and New Jersey-based organizations and representatives applauded SPAN’s unique contributions:
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“SPAN is a wonderful asset for children and families," said Advocates for Children of New Jersey Executive Director Ceil Zalkind, "helping to make sure that parents have the information they need to make decisions about their children and the advocacy support to carry out those decisions…Most important, SPAN supports parents to become leaders, whether for their own children or to drive policy changes for all children. This is a unique role that SPAN has played for New Jersey families for the last 25 years and, hopefully, will play for many years to come”
Joanne Cashman, Director of the IDEA Partnership at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, shared, "SPAN was, and is today, one of the first and most active partners in building new relationships across groups and helping others to understand what real family engagement looks like."
"SPAN serves as our compass and our touchstone for equality, compassion, effectiveness and meaningful participation by families," noted Karen Blase, Co-Director of the National Implementation Research Network. "We need SPAN to create the bridges so necessary for progress to occur."
Other organizations congratulating SPAN included: National Organizations: Parent to Parent USA, National Family Voices, National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, CADRE, Dispute Resolution TA Center, NE Regional Resource Center. NJ Organizations: The Boggs Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities, The NJ Alliance of Family Support Organizations, The NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities.
“We are delighted to celebrate 25 years of families serving families,” said Diana Autin, SPAN’s co-executive director. “Our dedicated staff have experienced the same challengesas the families who contact us for help. Only someone who has experienced those same challenges first hand – and learned how to overcome them – can really understand what families are going through and how to best help them.” Debra Jennings, also co-executive director, said, “I am very proud of the work we do at SPAN. SPAN is your first stop for information and support for families around education, health, and human services.”
For more information about SPAN’s 25th Anniversary visit our website at www.spanadvocacy.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPAN, CONTACT: Lenore Washington-Graham AT 908-432-2192, [email protected]
