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| Discipline Coordinators: |
Family |
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| Specialty Resource Contacts: | Family-Centered & Family-Directed Practices
Family Leadership |
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| Project/Program/Clinic Contacts: | Director- LEND Family Partnerships Training | ||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline(s): |
Education/Special Education Family/Parent/Youth Advocacy |
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| AUCD Council Membership: |
Council on Community Advocacy No Council Membership |
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| Research: | Edwards, K., Towle, P. & Levitz, B. (2013, July). Incorporating Life Course Theory and Social Determinants of Health into the LEND Curriculum. In the MCH Journal, a publication of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Washington, D.C.
Schwartz, A. A., Levitz, B., Bacon, A., Levitz, M., & Goode, T. (2012, February). UCEDD Self-Determination Self-Assessment Checklist. Silver Spring, MD: Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Bacon, A., Levitz, B., Schwartz, A., Rudolph, D., Jesien, G., Levitz, M., Calkins, C. Corbett, K. (2011, November) Incorporating a new self-assessment process on self-determination in plan development for UCEDDs. Pre-conference workshop, AUCD 2011Annual Meeting & Conference, Washington, DC. Goldfarb, F. ,Levitz, B., Smith, M., Yingling, J. (2011, November). The UCEDD family: promoting and supporting the involvement of families as faculty, staff and advisors beyond LEND programs. Poster session, AUCD 2011 Annual Meeting & Conference, Washington, DC. Levitz, B., Allard, I. & Edwards, K. (June 2010). Guide to developing training curriculum on families, disability, and culture for MCH trainees and professionals. A public Google website: Westchester Institute for Human Development and New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY Edwards KS, Barber C, Levitz B, Long, T, Richards J, and Wallace L. (2010, March). Getting the message out: distance learning for MCH professional development. Skills Building Workshop at the National Meeting of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. Washington, D.C. Levitz, B. (2009, December). Families and Disability. Guest lecture, LEND training program, JFK Partners, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Denver, CO. Levitz, B., Allard, I & Edwards, K. (2009, November). Transforming an integrated curriculum on cultural and linguistic competence and family-centered practices: a distance learning opportunity for MCH professionals. Concurrent Session, AUCD 2009 Annual Meeting and Conference, Washington, D.C. Levitz, B., Allard, I & Edwards, K. (2009, June). Family partnerships and cultural competency elements of two distance learning programs. MCH Distance Learning Programs All Grantees Meeting, Valhalla, NY. Levitz, B., Kavanagh, L., Goode, T., Smith, M. & Baker-McQue, T. (2008, November). Promoting family-centered/family-directed practices that are culturally and linguistically competent: current training tools, tips and resources. Concurrent session, AUCD 2009 Annual Meeting & Conference, Washington, DC. Levitz, B., Smith, M., Horky, S., Baker-McQue, T., & Goode, T. (2008, April). A compendium of family-centered, family-directed field experiences. Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Washington, D.C. Horky, S., Levitz, B., Goode, T, Miney, A. & Smith, M. (2008, April). Resources for teaching family-centered and family-directed practices. Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Washington, D.C. Miney, A., Smith, M., Levitz, B., Horky, S. & Goode, T. (2008, April). Guidelines for establishing family advisory boards. Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Washington, D.C. Levitz, B., Cattan, L., Murphy, M., Spaziante, C. (2008, March). Helping families of children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities access community resources. Noon conference for pediatric residents and medical students, New York Medical College and Maria Ferari Childrens Hospital, Valhalla, NY. Weiss, N., Levitz, B. & Levitz, M. (2007, November). Families as organizational leaders: strategies to fill the leadership gap. Concurrent session, AUCD 2007 Annual Meeting & Conference, Washington, DC.. Hetzler, T., Levitz, B., Bertin, M., Edwards, K. (2007, May). Implementing the Parent Partners in Health Education Curriculum as a Longitudinal PL2 and PL3 Residency Experience. Presented at the Association of Pediatric Program Directions Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada. Levitz, B.G. (2007, March). Count us in: Growing up with Down syndrome. Afterword. A book by Jason Kingsley and Mitchell Levitz (1994). Re-release with new Afterword. Harvest Book, Harcourt, Inc., Orlando, FL. Ogburn, E., Roberts, R., Pariseau, C., Levitz, B., Wagner, B. Moss, J., Adelmann, R. (2006, October). Promising practices in family mentorship: A guidebook for MCHB-LEND training programs: Silver Spring, MD. Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Roberts, R., Levitz, B., Moss, J., Ogburn, E., Pariseau, C., Wagner, B. (2006, October). MCBH LEND family mentorship programs: What it is, why and how are individual programs unique, and what is next? Concurrent session, AUCD 2006 Annual Meeting & Conference, Washington, DC. Levitz, B., Levitz, M. (2006, April). A family journey: Life with Down syndrome. National Society of Genetic Counselors Northeast Region Conference, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Education: | SUNY College New Paltz M.S. Ed 1971 Elementary Education
SUNY College Buffalo B.S. Ed 1968 Special Education | ||||||||||||||||||
| Service: | Position Description: Responsible for developing and implementing curriculum, resources and training materials in teaching interdisciplinary graduate trainees, medical residents, and other professionals including both classroom and distance learning format.; recruiting, supervising and coordinating training of family discipline trainees and a network of volunteer families serving as trainers and mentors; promoting family and person-centered practices and approaches to training, policy and systems change on a local, state and national level; and collaborating on projects with and serving as a liaison to local, state, and national disability organizations and networks. She has been an active member of the AUCD/LEND Family Discipline Network, and served for more than 15 years on the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, the Commissioners State DD Advisory Council and was a charter member of the Statewide Family Support Committee. | ||||||||||||||||||
Vita/Bio
Ms. Levitz joined WIHD in 1989 and served as the Project Coordinator for a Regional Planning Group for Early Intervention Services. In 1992, she became the director for the newly-established Family Resource Center at WIHD, a parent staffed program called The Family Connection. She has worked extensively to forge partnerships between families and professionals, improve public attitudes and enhance opportunities for individuals with disabilities to promote capacity building and systems change, and to integrate a family perspective into training professionals.
Ms. Levitz co-directed a distance/blended learning course integrating family partnerships and cultural competency which served as the foundation in co-developing a new web-based guide to developing curriculum on families, disability and culture widely disseminated worldwide since 2010. She has been a presenter at family and professional conferences and has co-authored publications related to families and disability, as well as the development of four training products on family-centered/family-directed practices published by MCBH (2008) and a Guidebook on Promising Practices in Family Mentorship by AUCD (2006). She was the co-writer of the award winning film, Employ*ability: Integrating People with Developmental Disabilities into the Workplace, and a Family-Directed Transition Planning Guide (More than 3000 print copies distributed and document downloadable on website). She has been an active member of the AUCD/LEND Family Discipline Network, and served for more than 15 years on the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, the Commissioner's State DD Advisory Council and was a charter member of the Statewide Family Support Committee. She was instrumental in the establishment of Parent to Parent of NYS and assisted with the implementation of the Family-to-Family Healthcare Information and Education Center in NYS. Ms Levitz has helped promote family support, person-centered transition planning, self determination and individualized supports, and family leadership with a focus on employing and involving parents of individuals with disabilities in program planning, implementation and evaluation.
