In recent decades, the federal government has passed laws protecting people with disabilities. For young people, the two most important are the 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (specifically, section 504 of this civil rights law). Together, these two laws establish the civil and human rights of students with disabilities to a free and...
The Arc is partnering with Tess Lawson and Pearson Clinical to help develop better evaluation testing tools for academic and developmental screening. To create the best possible test materials, they need to give the tests to specific populations - to test the test, as it were. The results can then be evaluated for their effectiveness and accuracy. Tests take a few minutes and you can earn ...
This has been a really great month for The Arc. One of the things that has made it so has been our partnership with Hoquiam High School and their Transition program. Earlier this school year, we were approached by HHS administration on ways we could help enrich their transition program. The solution we arrived at was to host students and HHS staff here at our office every Wednesday, to enable...
In 2012, the Washington State Supreme Court, in their McCleary vs State case, ruled that the State government was not fulfilling its constitutional duty to “amply provide for the education of students in Washington State”. The legislature was ordered to develop a plan – a roadmap - of how they were going to fundamentally change the financing of schools. A primary issue is the frequent...
This article is a little bit of a change of pace for me. In a previous career, I was involved in the technology business so I know a bit about internet networking. I had a conversation with a parent recently who expressed concern that her child was able to access developmentally inappropriate content on their home network. This is a common problem, but perhaps especially so for parents of kids...
The Arc of Grays Harbor is working with Cultivating Roots to promote good eating in Grays Harbor. Gardeners, donate your extra produce to the food bank! Here is a link to Cultivating Roots' flyer.
In keeping with our philosophy of intentional inclusion, we are partnering with a variety of community based organizations. We’re very excited to work with GH County Public Health and their community garden program. The local program is modeled upon one successfully implemented in Olympia called GRuB. Looking to start up a garden? The Grubb institute may be just what you are looking for....
We've been working on this for almost a year, but in keeping with Aesop's wise advice to avoid counting unhatched eggs, I haven't really mentioned it. Until now. The Arc of Grays Harbor has purchased the building in which we previously leased office space. It is a huge win for harborites with disabilities, and I thank Debbie Harper with Rural Development at the USDA, Alexandra Fastle at...
First, a little history. Our history as an advocacy organization goes back to the 1930's. In the 1970's The Arc (then known as The Arc of Twin Harbors) created and spun off Timberland Opportunities (a sheltered workshop) Kimberly Group Home (residential housing) and Harbor Alternative Living Association (supported living). Today we are an agency of Grays Harbor County providing information...