Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 5.djvu/460

 108 STAT. 3950 PUBLIC LAW 103-382—OCT. 20, 1994 "(3) LOCAL OR REGIONAL COUNCILS. —The State may support the development or enhancement of local or regional councils to review the status of family support for families of children with disabilities in the local or regional area, to advise and assist with the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of family support for families of children with disabilities in such local or regional area, and to provide recommendations to the State regarding improvements and plans. "(4) OUTREACH. — The State may conduct outreach activities to locate families who are eligible for family support for families of children with disabilities and to identify groups who are unserved or underserved. Such activities may involve the creation or maintenance of, support of, or provision of, assistance to statewide and community parent organizations, and organizations that provide family support to families of children with disabilities. "(5) POLICY STUDIES. — The State may support policy studies that relate to the development and implementation, or expansion and enhancement, of a statewide system of family support for families of children with disabilities. Such studies may address issues regarding eligibility and access to services. "(6) HEARINGS AND FORUMS.— The State may conduct hearings and forums to solicit input from families of children with disabilities regarding family support programs, policies, and plans for such families. Such hearings and forums may be conducted in collaboration with other statewide councils. "(7) PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION. — The State may develop and disseminate information relating to family support for families of children with disabilities designed to provide information to such families, parent groups and organizations, public and private agencies that are in contact with children with disabilities and families of such children, students, policy- makers, and the public. Such information may relate to the nature, cost, and availability of, and accessibility to, family support for families of children with disabilities, the impact of family support for families of children with disabilities on other benefits, and the efficacy of family support for families of children with disabilities with respect to enhancing the quality of family life. "(8) NEEDS ASSESSMENT.The State may conduct a needs assessment, which may, in part, be based on existing State data. "(9) PROGRAM DATA.— The State may support the compilation and evaluation of appropriate data related to the statewide system of family support for families of children with disabilities. "(10) PILOT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.The State may support pilot demonstration projects to demonstrate new approaches to the provision of family support for families of children with disabilities. Such projects may include the demonstration of family-centered and family-directed service coordination, approaches to improve access to services, including independent service coordination, peer support networks, and voucher programs. "(11) OTHER ACTIVITIES.— The State may support other systems change activities that accomplish the purposes described in section 702.

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