Education Resources
Community and Residential Services Authority (CRSA)
The Community and Residential Services Authority (CRSA) is an interagency group that identifies and addresses barriers facing parents, families, professionals and providers trying to get needed services and programs for individuals with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance. CRSA’s free and confidential services include:
- Helping agencies, schools and parents form working partnerships using a team approach
- Addressing/resolving multiple agency disagreements about residential placement or funding of placement and services
- Assisting local communities in developing and strengthening collaborative interagency networking on request
You can also call CRSA to connect with a program coordinator who will listen and help you develop a plan of care at (877) 541-2772 or (217) 782-2438.
Continuing Education and E-Learning Resources (#KeepLearning)
The Illinois State Board of Education curated the following free resources to assist districts, teachers, and parents during this unprecedented time. The intent is to provide free or temporarily free learning resources for teachers and parents to support student learning while Illinois’ schools are closed.
Cued Speach Program for Families of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children
Cue College’s Cue Family Program provides a free, online Cued Speech class to families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Cued Speech combines a small number of simple hand cues with the natural mouth movements of speech to make the sounds or “phonemes” of spoken language clear through vision alone.
The Cue Family Program includes free access for one year to the online Cue College course, “CS100 – Introduction to Cued American English – Self Study”, for parents, guardians, additional family members and caregivers of a child with hearing loss or other communication challenges.
Disability Resource Center in Joliet
The Disability Resource Center provides advocacy, peer support groups, S.K.I.L.L.S. independent living classes, visual impairment services, seminars, workshops and more for people with disabilities in Will and Grundy counties.
Programs also include:
- Deaf and hard of hearing services
- Information and referral (I&R) for accessible housing, where to buy assistive devices, how to secure a sign language interpreter and more
- Assistive technology for children up to age 23
- Personal assistance program and information
Diverse Learners Recovery Fund
The Diverse Learners Recovery Fund is a lottery-style grant program for Chicago families with children with disabilities offered through the Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc. The fund will provide one-time grants of $500 to up to 8,000 eligible K-12 students through a lottery. Families must submit an application and complete the verification process to participate. The deadline to apply is Oct. 30, 2024.
The Diverse Learners Recovery Fund program will select recipients through three lottery drawings on the following dates:
- July 1, 2024
- Sept. 16, 2024
- On or after Nov. 30, 2024
The program will notify selected applicants by email. Verified applications that are not chosen will be included in the next drawing.
Submitting an eligible application does not guarantee you will receive the funds.
DSCC’s Education Skills Checklist
The Division of Specialized Care for Children’s (DSCC) education skills checklist can help youth and their families identify the skills and abilities they have met as well as those areas where they may need more focus. Some of these activities may not apply to everyone.
DSCC’s Paying for College Tip Sheet
The Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) created this tip sheet to help youth with special healthcare needs and their families learn more about available resources to help pay for college. The tip sheet includes details about possible funding sources and scholarship opportunities:
DSCC’s Planning and Going to College Tip Sheet
Knowing your strengths, setting goals, and understanding the options and supports available for attending college is important. The Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) created this tip sheet to help youth with special healthcare needs start planning for college. It includes important things to consider when planning and helpful higher education resources.
DSCC’s Planning for Accommodations at College Tip Sheet
Youth with disabilities preparing for college can use this Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) tip sheet to learn about the types of accommodations available and how to receive them.
DSCC’s Planning for Accommodations at College tip sheet in English
DSCC’s Planning for Accommodations at College tip sheet in Spanish
Early CHOICES is an inclusion initiative of the Illinois State Board of Education. It promotes increasing high-quality inclusive early care and education for each and every child from birth to age 5. Its goal is to increase the number of children with disabilities receiving specialized services in regular early care and education settings.
Early CHOICES provides planning tools for families to help them think of inclusive options and prepare for the transition from Early Intervention into early childhood services.