Conference gives parents needed advice

A conference this weekend gives parents advice on helping their children enter the workforce despite disabilities.




BY RODOLFO ROMAN
Special to The Miami Herald
Parents of teenagers and young adults with disabilities can learn more about job-training, education and other opportunities for their kids at a conference this weekend.

The first Students Transitioning to Educational/Employment Pathways (STEPS) conference will take place 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Jackson High School, 1751 NW 36th St. Registration starts at 8. There will be free breakfast, lunch and transportation. The free program is geared primarily toward students between the ages of 14 and 22 with mental, emotional or physical disabilities.

Keisha Robinson, a curriculum support specialist for the county school system, said there is a major need for the program.

``Some of the students reach an age that they can no longer be in school and this is about educating on the process after high school,'' she said.

The keynote speaker will be Jordan Knab, director of Project 10, a state program aimed at helping young people with disabilities transition into adulthood.

Conference participants also can attend breakout sessions on topics ranging from cyber bullying to starting your own business. Workshops will be held in Creole, Spanish and English.

Will Gordillo, head of Miami-Dade's Division of Special Education, said the conference will serve as an opportunity for parents to network.

``With more than 38,028 students with disabilities in our county, a conference such as this is extremely beneficial,'' he said.

The program will be a big help for parents, Robinson said.

``The parents, they don't know where to go and the students don't know where to go,'' she said. ``This is a way to bring them under one roof and give them what they need.''

For information, go to ese.dadeschools.net.



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