In January, Sande Shamash, Director of the Legal Advocacy Center (LAC), and LAC Staff Attorney, Marissa LaVette, submitted a paper for a presentation on childhood trauma and its impact on special education. Their presentation, “Recognizing Childhood Trauma: Identification, Implementation and Advocacy for Trauma Informed Approaches in Special Education” was one of the submissions selected to be featured at the 17th Annual 2015 Counsel of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) National Conference in San Diego. COPAA is a national organization that serves to protect the legal and civil rights of and secure excellence in education on behalf of the 6.4 million children with disabilities in the United States.

In March, Sande presented their topic to conference attendees, including attorneys, advocates, clinicians and parents. The presentation was extremely well -received, and now Sande and Marissa have been asked by COPAA to expand their presentation to a two part series, featuring a JCFS Chicago clinician, and to present to a larger national audience via webinar later this year.

Said Shamash, “We’re reaching a national audience about a topic that impacts many of our clients, while sharing the latest research and treatment strategies.  We’re helping people and letting the country know what LAC and JCFS Chicago are doing.”

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago's Legal Advocacy Center is a program for individuals with disabilities that is administered by JCFS Chicago. Legal Advocacy Center offers special education legal representation, consultation, information and referral services to individuals with disabilities and their families.

For more information about the Legal Advocacy Center visit jcfs.org or call 855.275.5237.