Agreeing that they share many common interests and should not be divided in their responses to shifts in federal policy, groups representing children and the elderly are meeting to develop joint lobbying efforts.
Organizations involved in the effort include the American Association of Retired Persons, the National Council of Senior Citizens, the Children’s Defense Fund, and the Child Welfare League of America.
Among the areas of common interest the groups point to, says the aarp, are: Medicaid, which pays for the hospital care of some young as well as elderly people; the federal food-stamp program; Social Security, which provides assistance to disabled children and children of disabled or deceased workers; the senior-citizens’ jobs program, which includes many jobs at day-care centers; and other family-support programs (about a million children live with a grandparent, according to the aarp).
The National Association of State Boards of Education is seeking information on effective practices and research in the field of special education for its ongoing information-sharing project on the subject. The project, designed to provide policymakers across the country with current information on legal issues, financial strategies, new technologies, and effective programs in special education, is funded by the Education Department.
nasbe researchers have been sorting through research and other information to develop “issue briefs and resource summaries” that are distributed to leaders of several national groups that are cooperating in the project, said Cynthia Chambers, a nasbe staff member. Those groups include the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Association of School Administrators. The researchers have also held conferences on special-education issues and recently began highlighting available materials on the chiefs’ new electronic mail system.
Inquiries and information may be directed to Ms. Chambers at nasbe, 444 N. Capitol Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.
The American Federation of Teachers’ audio news service, “aft Newsbeat,” which the union says is “a model system for other organizations interested in providing a regular news service,” is celebrating its second anniversary and a record 50,000 calls for its tapes.
The following group has asked to be added to Education Week’s Directory of Associations, printed in the Jan. 19, 1983 issue:
National Association for the
Advancement of Humane Education
The Norma Terris Humane
Education Center
P.O. Box 362
East Haddam, Conn. 06423
(203) 434-8666
Director--Kathleen Savesky
(This is a division of the Humane Society of the United States. President--John A. Hoyt.)--mm
