Events

Free

This presentation will provide information on IEP transition plan requirements and post-secondary options including education, employment and adult service systems for individuals with disabilities.  Parents and young adults will learn how to access the information, resources and support needed to plan for a successful future at home, school and in the community.

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Dawn Monaco has been working with families, in the area of special education advocacy, for over 13 years. Dawn is currently Co-Director/Project Coordinator for the REACH for Transition project, a senior Parent/Professional Staff Trainer as well as a Family Resource Specialist with the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network. SPAN is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate and empower families as well as to inform and involve professionals and other individuals interested in the healthy development and educational rights of children. Dawn has conducted trainings educating parents and professionals on such topics related to special education, transition to adult life, and health advocacy. She also worked for three years At Hackensack University Medical Center’s Institute for Child Development as a SPAN Resource Specialist for families with children with developmental disabilities. During this time, she worked closely with the developmental pediatricians to ensure that these families had the resources necessary to work collaboratively with the school districts in meeting their child’s needs.

In a previous position Dawn had spent five years as a Peer Support Partner with the Family Support Organization of Bergen County. In this role she worked to support and educate many families with children receiving services within the New Jersey Children’s System of Care.

Dawn is a board member for the ARC of Bergen and Passaic counties and a member of the Bergen County Workforce Development Board’s Disability Committee. She has also been involved locally as a Board of Education trustee for 12 years.