e services to Native American families with disabled children. In this regard, it can be noted that in the United States there are a wide variety of parent skills training programs for couples with special needs children. In order to determine what programs are optimally successful, there must be ongoing evaluation efforts of all implemented programs. This paper's evaluation of The American Indian Parent PACER program offering information and training to Native American parents of children with disabilities constitutes part of this needed ongoing effort to evaluate program effectiveness.
The American Indian PACER program shares with all other PACER programs the mission of improving and expanding opportunities that enhance the quality of life for children with disabilities. With respect the Parent Training component of PACER programs, professional staff work to help parents become informed not only about the specifics of child care attendant to their children's disabilities but also about technical, educational, and sociopolitical assistance available to them in their areas (Sharmon, 2000).
What makes the American Indian program special is that it not only provides all of the customary parent training given in all PACER programs, it does so in a culturally relevant and culturally sensitive manner by using Native American counselors and presenting information in a fashion that is relevant and meaningful for Native A
...