Technical Assistance

PEPNet provides technical assistance services to secondary, postsecondary, vocational, and adult education professional and support staff as well as community services agency personnel who provide transitional and postsecondary educational services to students who are deaf. These services include consultation, in-service training, and planning and development assistance to support the efforts of postsecondary institutions in creating accessible higher education, continuing education, and adult basic education programs. Additional technical assistance activities focusing on the responsibilities of postsecondary institutions under federal statutes and the implementation of effective educational support systems are offered. The target audience includes secondary and postsecondary institutions, vocational rehabilitation agencies, community service agencies, centers for independent living, and One Stop Centers. PEPNet disseminates information about resources (e.g., financial, support services) to students who are deaf and their families and to postsecondary institutions.

Technical assistance services provided by PEPNet include: 1) long-term technical assistance including planning, field testing, and demonstrating service models; 2) intensive professional development activities aimed at skill enhancement and capacity building; 3) short-term workshops for changes in awareness and general knowledge; 4) onsite consultation, observation and assessment for planning, problem solving, and evaluation; and 5) consultation and technical assistance via distance education on identified topics of interest and concern. Technical assistance is delivered through: 1) national activities, including initiatives with other federally funded technical assistance and dissemination projects; 2) specialist trainings; 3) state-specific technical assistance and training activities for service providers, consumers, and families; 4) multi-state topical workshops, meetings, and Internet-based webcasts; 5) new product development utilizing evidence-based practices; and 6) a variety of information and referral dissemination activities, such as the PEPNet website and the PEPNet listserv.