Exceptional Childrens Assistance Center Inc.

“The executive and finance committe of the board of directors received an electronic copy of the form 990 for review and comment prior to submission.”

“Each year, annually all members of the ecac board of directors are required to sign a conflict of interest statement that lists all business, volunteer, and personal relationships that have the potential of posing a conflict of interest with ecac business. In addition, board members are encouraged to identify any conflicts of interests as board business is being conducted, and the nomination committee considers possible conflicts during the process of selecting new board members. Board members who do not disclose a conflict of interest and/or have benefited from an ecac board action or management decision without the organization's knowledge will be removed from the board. The executive committee of the board of directors is responsible for enforcing the policy; however, in the case of a member of the executive committee, the entire board will participate. The ecac personnel policies also contain a conflict of interest policy. The policy is reviewed with all new staff members as a part of the staff orientation process, and annually staff members are required to sign the conflict of interest statement. The policy is periodically reviewed at staff meetings, and project managers are responsible for compliance over site. A staff member who does not follow the conflict of interest policy will either recieve a written warning or be terminated, depending on the seriousness of the infraction and degree of harm to ecac.”

“The ecac board of directors determined the executive director's salary based on a performance review. The board considered the range of salaries of executive directors of nc non-profit organizations of similar size and years of experience when determining the salary.”

“Ecac's officers are board volunteers and not compensated.”

“The form 990 and irs 501(c)(3) determination letter are available to the public upon request. Copies will be provided immediately in the case of in person requests. Requests received by writing, phone, fax, or e-mail means will be honored by directing the requestors to guidestar. The current form 990 (not including schedule b), form 1023, and copies of previous form 990's can be requested. Hard copies can be requested from the ecac office, and we reserve the right to charge a reasonable copying fee plus actual postage.”

“The exceptional children's assistance center (ecac) is a private non-profit parent organization committed to improving the lives and education of all children through a special emphasis on children with disabilities. Ecac affirms the right of all individuals, from all backgrounds and cultures, with or without disabilities, to an appropriate education and other needed services. We seek to make that right a reality by providing north carolina families with a variety of parent information, education, outreach, and support program and services. All parent training and information activities are designed to provide families with the information and skills they need to advocate for and access appropriate educational and other needed services.”

“Greatest predictors of student success and well-being for students with disabilities (elliott & mullins, 2004; resch et al., 2010). Ecac, in partnership with state and local educators to revise, develop and distribute information for families of children with disabilities designed to assist them in helping their child with literacy and mathematics. Other activities include: "conducting parents' as leaders trainings across the state to help families gain the knowledge and skills needed to become more actively involved in helping improve educational outcomes and services for children with disabilities. This includes developing a "speakers network" of parents to share their experiences to pre-service and / or graduate level education classes at ncsu, ecu, unc-charlotte, and unc-pembroke. Other programs funded by the ncdpi project include parent education on deaf/blind services, support and training of deaf / blind specialist, developing and disseminating resources on dyslexia and other specified projects as directed by the ncdpi for statewide impact”

“Through social media. Information is available in both english and spanish. Ecac's pti staff members responded to more than 11,995 individual requests from nc families and professionals. Ecac parent education staff provided an estimate of 85,000 copies of effective practice materials and resources for nearly 12,626 parents, students, professionals, last year. Most of our materials are produced in both english and spanish. Last year nearly 450 items were borrowed from ecac's free lending library. Ecac's website was host to 29,116 individual visitors on 115,475 pages, with an average of 3,420 sessions per month. Approximately one-quarter of the visitors were new visitors and multiple types of devices were used to access materials. Last year, we provided 78 workshops, trainings, institutes and, or presentations. In addition, we attended 25 exhibits and staff attended 108 collaborative meetings with state and local leaders and with families. Through these events, we reached 2,835 individuals. We increased outreach to spanish-speaking, military, and to native american families. Staff participated in 1 radio, and 4 television segments on informational topics including parents' rights and upcoming events. These segments were provided in spanish to a 5-county listening audience of more than 10,000 households.”

“Ecac's nc family to family health information center (f2fhic) provides information, tools, and support to families of children with special health care needs and the professionals who provide services to them. F2fhic is primarily funded by the us department of health and human services, health resources and services administration. This year the f2fhic provided educational opportunities through workshops, presentations, exhibits and our website; assisted parents and professionals through one-on-one assistance or arraining events; distributed pieces of informational materials on topics such as nc medicaid waiver program, affordable care act, private and public health insurance, and medical home; and worked with health care professionals and perscription assistance programs.”