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About NICHCY in Spanish | en español
- Who We Are
- How to Contact Us
- What We Do
- Who Funds Us
- Partnerships
- Why is the National Dissemination Center called “NICHCY”?
Who We Are
NICHCY is the center that provides information to the nation on:
- disabilities in children and youth;
- programs and services for infants, children, and youth with disabilities;
- IDEA, the nation’s special education law; and
- research-based information on effective practices for children with disabilities.
Our special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22). Anyone can use our services—families, educators, administrators, journalists, students.
Here, on our Web site, you’ll find an abundance of information on:
Early intervention services for infants and toddlers
Special education and related services for children in school
Research on effective educational practices
Resources and connections in every state
IEPs (individualized education programs)
Education rights and what the law requires
…and much, much more!
We are very pleased to offer:
- a toll-free number (1.800.695.0285), bilingual services, and a team of research and information specialists who are available to talk with you and address your individual questions and concerns in English or in Spanish;
- a website in English (you’re there now!) and in Spanish;
- a monthly eNewsletter called News You Can Use (and you can!); and last but not least…
- the Research Center where you can find out what research has to say about effective educational practices for children with disabilities.
Oh, and by the way—feel free to share our materials with others. Everything we offer on our site is copyright-free and intended to be shared far and wide. We hope that you will. We’ve included lots of social media tools to make sharing easy.
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How to Contact Us
Our contact information is:
NICHCY
1825 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009
1.800.695.0285 (Toll-free, Voice/TTY)
202.884.8200 (Voice/TTY)
202.884.8441 (Fax)
Email: nichcy@fhi360.org
Website in English: nichcy.org
Website in Spanish: nichcy.org/espanol/
We also welcome you to join us online at our sites…
on Facebook!
on Twitter!
What We Do
Connect You with the Research
What does the research have to say about effective educational practices with children who have disabilities? How can we use research to inform our decision making and improve early intervention and special education services? Find out in our Research Center.
Offer Publications in English and Spanish
Check out our publications right here online. You can download them, or ask for them in print. We offer fact sheets on specific disabilities, state resource sheets, parents guides, resource lists, and much more. All of our publications here on our website are free! If you’d like a copy in print, or you need one in an alternate format, give us a call or email us. For print copies of some publications, we charge a small cost-recovery fee, but we are pleased to provide most of our publications free of charge.
Connect You with Others
Let us put you in touch with disability organizations around the country, parent groups, state agencies, and others who can offer you yet more assistance and information. Here, on the website, you can search for organizations addressing your areas of interest, find resources in your state, identify available materials, and much, much more. To start, we recommend that you take a look at the State Resource Sheet for your state and use the SEARCH box at the top of every page.
Respond to Your Questions
Our information specialists are available to speak with you in English or Spanish about your areas of interest or concern. Call us toll-free at 1.800.695.0285, or email us at: nichcy@fhi360.org. You can also use our Ask NICHCY page.
Provide You with Information Tailored to Your Needs
The National Dissemination Center can provide you with an information search that addresses your unique needs and concerns. We search our resources and what’s available nationally — free! And you can sign up for our monthly eNewsletter and we’ll send it to you — also free!
Provide Leadership on Effective Dissemination Practices
In 2008, NICHCY began the Dissemination Initiative, which is intended to spread the word about effective dissemination practices among other projects like ours. Since then, we’ve launched the Dissemination Community of Practice to gather information disseminators together and used a series called Disseminating for Impact to share our knowledge of effective dissemination practices for others. We are currently working hard to develop on an online Disseminator’s Tool Kit.
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Who Funds Us
Our services are made possible through funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education. Our Project Officer at OSEP is Dr. Corinne Weidenthal. NICHCY is operated by FHI360.
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The Center’s Partnerships
TA&D Network
NICHCY is part of the Technical Assistance and Dissemination network, otherwise known as the TA&D network. The network consists of more than 40 projects funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) of the U.S. Department of Education. These projects offer information and technical assistance on a broad range of disability and special education issues.
Special Partnershipships
We also work in association with other projects funded by OSEP. These include:
TACC–Technical Assistance Coordination Center, which assists OSEP by supporting the communication, collaboration, and coordination between the 40+ projects in the TA&D network, and with other government-funded projects, national professional organizations, and all those involved in the education and disability fields.
CADRE–Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, which shares information about and best practices in dispute resolution (especially mediation). CADRE offers a great deal of information in Spanish.
FCTD– the Family Center on Technology and Disability, which offers information and services about assistive technoology to organizations and programs that work with families of children and youth with disabilities. FCTD also offers information in Spanish.
Why is the National Dissemination Center called “NICHCY”?
Our organization has served as a resource for families and educators for many, many years. Over those years, our name has changed several times, as the national dialogue about disabilities has changed. The acronym NICHCY was coined in the 1980′s, when federal law used the term “handicapped children and youth” to describe children with disabilities. At that time, our name was the National Information Center for Handicapped Children and Youth—hence, NICHCY.
Our official name changed again with the 1990 amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act. Those amendments changed EHA’s name to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, reflecting people-first language. And our name changed to the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities. Our name changed again in 1998—this time to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, which we remain today.
It’s true that NICHCY doesn’t match the first letters of our official name anymore and hasn’t for some time. But we don’t want to lose the history and community that we’ve built around the name “NICHCY” over the years. Those six letters have come to represent a place of safety, acceptance, and support for many of our end-users, partners, and staff. We value those intangible benefits, as well as the historic links to the NICHCY name that still remain in books, libraries, and resource guides across the country.
We are proud to serve as the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, but we still like to be called “NICHCY.”
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