EL MIRAGE, AZ — There’s a call to action from the Arizona Department of Education and local school districts to help children with special needs.
The department and the Dysart Unified School District are looking for volunteers, or "surrogate parents."
These are volunteers who help make education decisions for students with disabilities who don’t otherwise have a legal adult to make those decisions.
Elizabeth Danielson, who used to be a school psychologist, became a surrogate parent about five years ago. During that time, she tells ABC15 she helped about 12 students with disabilities.
“I'm happy to be able to use my knowledge and my advocacy skills to be able to support the needs of kids,” she said.
Surrogate parents, in this sense, help students with special needs figure out their educational plans and goals.
They can spend at least eight to ten hours a year in meetings with the student’s school and teacher. It also depends on how many students a surrogate parent is helping and those students’ needs.
“We do need people right now because some of the surrogate parents may be carrying a caseload of 10 to 13 students,” said Colette Chapman, the associate superintendent with the Arizona Department of Education.
Volunteers do have to go through a background check and get fingerprinting done with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
There is also a training course people need to go through to become surrogate parents, and volunteers do not need to have an educational background.
The Dysart Unified School District is hoping to find 10 to 15 more surrogate parents for the West Valley.
“We really value people who are living in the community where the students are living,” said Corey Montaño, the district's director of exceptional student services. “I think there’s something to be said about that proximity and knowing the community.”
The district will have another training in late March.
For more information on how to get involved with the Dysart Unified School District, click here.
For more information about qualifications with the Arizona Department of Education, click here.