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Community Resource Center (CRC)

Flor Bermudez (CRC Supervisor)

544-8484 ext 200

Flor.bermudez@pdnchildrens.org

The purpose of the Community Resource Center is to improve the capacity of the community to help children with special needs by providing education, empowerment opportunities, support services, and community awareness.

Goals

  • Provide family support & community resources that support families in their caregiving roles.
  • Promote the inclusion of children with special needs and their families in the El Paso community.
  • Support, guide, and advise families
  • Ensure accessibility & cultural sensitivity
  • Facilitate collaboration between parents, youth, and agencies

 

Early Childhood Services

Early Childhood Services

Early Childhood Services collaborates with three community organizations providing educational classes and support services to families to ensure young children in El Paso grow up in a safe and healthy environment. Funded by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, PdN Children’s is a community partner with El Paso Center for Children and United Way for the El Paso Childhood Services collaborative.

About Early Childhood Services

The most critical years in a child’s development are birth to age five. Children are growing, learning, and developing each day. As parents, it is our role and responsibility to make sure that our kids have everything they need to be healthy, safe, and prepared for school and life.

Early Childhood Services can help families with young children create the best possible environment to grow and thrive. The services provided by Early Childhood Services have proven to be high quality and effective:

  • Incredible Years group parenting classes
  • Parents as Teachers instruction at your home
  • Case Management
  • THERAPLAY

For more information or to enroll, contact Early Childhood Services at (915) 500-4105 or visit our website or Facebook page.

Incredible Years – Group Parenting Classes

The Incredible Years was founded in 1987 and is a responsive and nurturing parenting program based on the development of children to help parents feel more confident in coping with behavior problems that occur all too frequently in young children.

The program guides parents to learn different methods and strategies based on gentle and loving guidance through positive discipline, to foster positive social behaviors in children, and enhanced self-esteem.

Topics covered in the classes:

  • How to play with your child
  • Positive attention, encouragement, and praise
  • Tangible rewards and incentives
  • Setting limits
  • Using time-outs to calm down
  • Using natural and logical consequences
  • How to effectively use the ignore method
  • Working with teachers to prevent problems

Through the Incredible Years classes, parents will learn to:

  • Set limits and follow through with those limits
  • Teach their children how to problem-solve
  • Build a closer bond with their children
  • Help their children self-regulate
  • Teach children friendship skills and ways to cope with peer problems

Additional Information

In addition to parenting classes, families will have access to case management services to meet basic needs and connect to resources in the community.

The Incredible Years parenting classes are taught in Spanish, as well. Parenting classes are at no cost, and childcare is provided with on-site classes.

What are the Qualifications?

  • Child must be between the ages of 0-5
  • Live in the El Paso County
  • Willing to participate in classes
  • No active CPS (Child Protective Services) case

 

Where are we located?

The Incredible Years classes are taught in different locations around town, including the East, West, Northeast, and Central parts of El Paso, Texas. Contact PdN Children’s for more information: (915) 544-8484

 

Leadership & Advocacy Institute

 

At the El Paso Leadership & Advocacy Institute, our goal is to educate and empower individuals to become active partners in the policymaking process.

Participants will learn about the history of the Disability Rights Movement and how current laws impact the lives of individuals with disabilities. Participants will learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act and how they can ensure rights to education, employment, and independent living for all individuals with disabilities. Participants will also learn strategies to communicate effectively with policymakers to ensure the rights of individuals with disabilities are maintained at the Local, State, and Federal levels of government.

By participating in the institute, you will:

  • develop skills needed to advocate for disability rights
  • increase your knowledge of best practices in the disability field
  • learn to communicate, interact, influence, and be an active partner with those who develop policy.

A certificate of completion will be issued upon completion of the entire course. This FREE training consists of a total of 16 hours, four hours per class.

The following assistance is available upon prior request for on-site classes:

  • Child care
  • Transportation reimbursement
  • Translation/Interpretation services

WHERE:

Paso Del Norte Children’s Development Center

1101 E. Schuster

El Paso, TX 79902

915-544-8484, ext. 379

 

Seats are limited; RSVP by contacting: Zulema Lazarin, 915-544-8484, ext. 379, zulema.lazarin@pdnchildrens.org or Paola Ochoa at paola.ochoaflores@pdnchildrens.org

 

Financial support for the El Paso Leadership and Advocacy Institute project is provided by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, with Federal funds* made available by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. * ($75,000 (88%) DD funds: $9,859 (12%) non-federal funds resources.

 

Respite

 

What does this program offer?

Funding for respite hours provided at the Inclusive Early Learning Center

Who qualifies for the respite funding?

Parents who have a child with a disability.

What age groups do you serve?

Infants (six weeks old) – 21 years of age who have a disability (upon space availability).

For more information, contact Araceli Urrutia at 544-8484, ext. 192 or e-mail araceli.urrutia@pdnchildrens.org

Sibling Workshops

 

What does this program offer?

An opportunity for siblings of children with special needs to share their feelings, concerns, and dreams with other children they can relate to through various activities in a fun and safe environment.

Who participates?

Siblings of children with disabilities ages 6-12 years of age

For more information, contact Flor Bermudez at 544-8484, ext. 200 or e-mail at flor.bermudez@pdnchildrens.org

Assistive Technology Demonstration Center

Our Mission

Our mission is to increase access for people with and without disabilities to technology that provides them more control over their immediate environments and enhanced ability to function independently as much as possible.

What does this program offer?

We promote technology access for individuals with and without disabilities through demonstrations of various technology devices, equipment, and software.

What is Assistive Technology (AT)?

Assistive Technology is any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

 

Stated, Assistive Technology are tools and resources used by individuals with disabilities to improve their quality of life and increase their independence.

For more information, contact Gilda Gil at 544-8484 or e-mail gilda.gil@pdnchildrens.org

Texas Technology Access Program – www.tatp.edb.utexas.edu

Information & Referral

The CRC Program offers information about service providers, programs, and resources available in the community for children who have special needs and their families.

What we provide to our families:

  • Free monthly newsletter
  • Support group information
  • Training Opportunities
  • Presentations

For more information, contact Araceli Urrutia at 544-8484, ext. 192 or e-mail at Araceli.urrutia@pdnchildrens.org

Resources:

Support groups available in the community:

  • Ladies in Blue

Support for mothers of children with Autism. For more information, contact Nancy Madrid (915) 525-9767

  • St. Pius X Special Needs Group

For more information, contact Richard Couder at (915) 778-2748 or visit their web site at http://stpius.net/children-with-special-needs

  • Autism Society of El Paso

For information, contact Diana Serrano at (915) 772-9100 or or visit their website at www.autismsocietyep.org

  • Miracle Kids Support Group

For information, contact Alejandra Melendez at (915) 858-0298

  • Support Group for Biomedical Interventions

For information, contact Gilda Gil at (915) 544-8484 or Norma Garcia (915) 539-2923

  • Down Syndrome Association of El Paso

For information, contact Amie Martinez (915) 637-1834 or visit their website: http://dsaep.org/

  • Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

For information, contact Renate Garcia at (915) 256-7783 or visit their web site at http://www.spdsupport.org

  • ADHD Parent Support Group

For information, contact Patricia Santibanez at (915) 217-2747 or Lourdes Torres at (915) 544-8484 Ext 193 or e-mail at lourdes.torres@cdicelpaso.org

  • St. Luke’s Heros

Support group devoted to giving individuals with special needs opportunities to socialize.
Find them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StLukesHeros

Other Resources

Sponsored by DSHS-CSHCN

Case Management

 

Being a parent to a child with special needs brings both joys and challenges. A Case Manager acts as a bridge for families to the services and systems with which they interact while supporting families to find the resources they need to meet their child’s needs.

What does this program offer?

Case Management services assist families with connecting to:

  • Community referrals
  • Medical and dental providers
  • Outpatient therapy
  • Mental health services
  • Educational support services
  • Information on the transition to adulthood

Who qualifies?

  • Individuals ages 20 or younger with special needs
  • Children with private health insurance, no insurance, CHIP or CSHCN

For more information, contact Adriana Casado at (915) 703-3026 or e-mail at Adriana.casado@pdnchildrens.org

Sponsored by DSHS-CSHCN

 

Leadership Academies for Families

 

What does this program offer?

Educational classes to gain a comprehensive understanding of disability issues and learn how to be an effective advocate. Participants will learn skills and strategies to help children with different abilities succeed in school, at home, and in relationships.

Each academy consists of a seven or eight-week course covering disabilities topics and is offered in English and Spanish. Childcare is available upon request for on-site classes.

Who qualifies?

  • Open to parents, caregivers, professionals, and members of the community
  • No cost to attend

 

Topics covered in each of the Academies

Leadership Academy:

  • History of Disabilities
  • Special Education Process
  • Advocacy
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Transitioning into adulthood
  • Social Services
  • Assistive Technology
  • Family Dynamics

Academy for ADHD

  • Introduction to Understanding ADD/ADHD
  • ADHD and other conditions
  • Medication options
  • Home and school strategies
  • How to advocate for your child’s rights at school
  • ADD & ADHD in boys and girls
  • Social skills and bullying

Academy for Autism

  • Definition-Diagnosis
  • IDEA-Autism Supplement
  • Social Services-Resources
  • Treatments-SPD (Sensory Process Disorder)
  • Treatments-ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)
  • Treatments-Biomedical Interventions
  • Assembling your team-Communication Strategies
  • Transition-Things a Child with Autism wishes you knew

For more information, contact Isabel Rubiera at (915) 544-8484 ext 195 or e-mail at Isabel.rubiera@pdnchildrens.org

Sponsored by DSHS-CSHCN

 

 

Border Voices on Disability – Developmental Disabilities Policy Fellow

The Developmental Disabilities Policy Fellow researches and analyzes issues impacting people with developmental disabilities (DD) to inform policy at the local, state, and federal levels. The DD Policy Fellow works to educate and empower community members to become more civically engaged and bring the perspectives of El Pasoans into essential policy discussions that impact people with DD.

For information on opportunities to get involved in the upcoming 87th Texas Legislative Session and more, contact Laura Marquez.

Office Phone Number: 915-544-8484, ext. 125

Remote Work Phone Number: 915-229-1256

E-mail: laura.marquez@pdnchildrens.org

 

Financial support for the Border Voices on Disability Policy Fellow project is provided by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, with Federal funds* made available by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Disabilities. *$77,499 (90%) DD funds; $8,750 (10%) non-federal resources.