TUESDAY
November 18, 2008
Special Education
“Family Friends
Program”
BOARD DIGEST
BUCKS COUTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT
The Family Friends Program came to Bucks County in 1997 as a three-year federal grant program of the
Administration on Aging. The purpose of the grant program was to establish a countywide intergenerational program.
Bucks County Family Friends is one of 29 National Family Friends Programs and one of only three programs in
Pennsylvania, all located in the southeast region with others in Delaware County and Philadelphia. The Bucks
County, Delaware County and Philadelphia programs constitute a consortium sharing resources, experiences and
problem solving. Family Friends in Bucks County serves children with special needs including many with autism,
developmental delays, and several with both physical and behavioral health needs. The program uses the intervention
of the volunteer to reduce family stress and isolation, strengthen parenting skills, reduce the potential for abuse and
neglect, increase youth self-esteem and promote healthy relationships. The program objectives include providing
families with respite, assisting families with meeting educational, physical, and social needs of their children, working
with parents to obtain needed services, enhancing advocacy skills of parents, and decreasing the social isolation of
families by promoting the development of supportive relationships between the parents and older adults.
Bucks County Family Friends currently has 41 traditional volunteers serving about 36 families directly in the home
environment. We have four volunteers who participate in the school environment on a weekly schedule providing
services to 39 additional children. Three volunteers who use wheelchairs are matched with another 41 children in two
community group homes. This provides a total of 112 children with positive interactions with a Family Friend
volunteer on a weekly basis. Since the Family Friends Program comes under the auspices of the BCIU, there is a high
potential to connect to students with special needs and their families. The program consistently has a waiting list of
families in need of a volunteer. The Family Friends Program in Bucks County enjoys a very positive reputation within
the greater social service community and within the National Family Friends Program as a result of the extensive
outreach to volunteer organizations resulting in many successful long-term matches. It has prevented out-of-home
placements through support to families and facilitated treatment providers in their work with families.
Funding for the Family Friends Program has evolved over the past eleven years from the original seed grant from the
National Administration on Aging. In November 2000, Bucks County Family Friends was awarded a thirty-month
grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Faith in Action Program. For the past five years, the program has
received funding from Bucks County Behavioral Health Reinvestment Funds. The Bucks County Family Friends
Program was also recently awarded a $40,000 Innovations Grant from the National Council on Aging to recruit, train,
and supervise an additional corps of volunteers.
Programs & Services
“Math & Science
Collaborative”
Since 1980, the school districts of Bucks County have voluntarily contributed a small portion of their Title II funds
(approximately one and one-half percent) to the IU’s Math & Science Collaborative. The Collaborative’s mission is to
provide high quality math and science professional development for educators in participating districts and nonpublic
schools. For the 2008-2009 school year, we are proud to welcome all thirteen public school districts to the
Collaborative! This historic level of participation has enabled the Collaborative to bring nationally recognized experts
in the fields of math and science to Bucks County.
Funding in 2008-2009 is providing for approximately twenty evening workshops and thirteen full days of professional
learning. At the end of the first quarter of the school year, each school district has already been represented at
Collaborative workshops. In return for districts contributing Title II funds to the Collaborative, all teachers in a school
district are eligible to attend Collaborative workshops at no charge.
For the first time in the history of the Collaborative, a mathematics needs assessment was completed in 2008 by all
school districts in the county. This data provided valuable information regarding the needs of students and teachers in
Bucks County. A small strategic planning committee convened to analyze the data and provided guidance regarding
future professional development. This group adopted ‘Teaching for Meaning’ as the theme for the 2008-2009 school
year that will underpin all professional development. Workshops will continue to range in topic, in response to the
needs of school districts and nonpublic schools, but all workshops will support our mission of teaching for meaning.
One direct outgrowth of the mathematics needs assessment was the decision to facilitate Developing Mathematical
Ideas: Patterns, Function, and Change. DMI curriculum is designed to help teachers think through the major ideas of
elementary and middle school mathematics and examine how students develop those ideas. We are thrilled to welcome
Susan O’Connell back to Bucks County in November. Sue facilitated a workshop in February 2008 on mathematical
problem solving, and will discuss talking and writing about mathematics on this next trip to the IU.
The Collaborative is also thrilled to bring Dr. Judy Willis to Bucks County on December 1, 2008. Dr. Willis, a boardcertified neurologist and middle school math teacher in Santa Barbara, California, has combined her 15 years as a
practicing adult and child neurologist with her teacher education training and years of classroom experience. She is an
authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and classroom strategies derived from this research.
JoAnne Vasquez is the author of the Heinemann title Tools and Traits for Highly Effective Science Teaching, K–8.
She is a presidential appointee to the National Science Board, governing board of the National Science Foundation; a
former president of the National Science Teachers Association; and a former president of the National Science
Education Leadership Association. JoAnne will be sharing her expertise with Bucks County educators in January
2009.
BOARD ACTION ITEMS:
 Approved the minutes of the Intermediate Unit Board meeting held on October 21, 2008.
 Approved the Treasurer’s Report, for the period of July 1, 2008 to October 31, 2008.
 Approved the bills for payment for October 2008.
 Approved the General Fund & Special Revenue Fund Transfers for the period of October 2008 in the
amount of $97,148.00.
 Approved the Safe Schools Initiative budget for the period of September 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 in the
amount of $10,000.00.
 Approved the contracts and purchases for the period of November 2008 in the amount of $83059.54.
 Approved the 2008-2009 Private Provider Contracts for the period of July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 in
the amount of $89,000.00.
 Approved the Special Education Service Contract with Out-Of-County School Districts for the period of
September 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 in the amount of $207,280.00.
 Approved the 2008-2009 Title I Non-public District Contracts for the period of September 1, 2008 through
June 30, 2009 in the amount of $280,664.00.
 Approved the Title I Permissive Use Agreement with Morrisville School District for the period of
September 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 in the amount of $40.00 per day, per trailer.
 Approved the Homeless Children’s Initiative Region #8 Agreements/Contracts with Allentown School
District and Montgomery County Intermediate Unit for the period of October 1, 2008 to September 30,
2009 in the amount of $154,555.00.

Approved the Kades-Margolis 403 (b) Plan Document for the BCIU’s 403 (b) Tax Sheltered Annuity Plan
and approval for the Business Administrator to act on the Board’s behalf.
 Rescinded the board action to lease eight (8) Cannon 2022i copiers and request approval to lease eight (8)
Ricoh 2550 copiers from Ikon Office Solutions beginning approximately November 2008 through October
2011 in the amount of $28,998.00.
 Approved the lease of one (1) Bizhub 350 copier from Konica Minolta Business Solutions for the period of
November 2008 through October 2011 in the amount of $7,574.04.
 Awarded bid #09-901 Catalog Discount Bid for the period of January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009
to the recommended vendors.
 Approved permission for official notification of award for #2 Fuel Oil (Heating), Unleaded Gasoline and
Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel.
 Approved the second reading of policy 6160 Public Records and 6161.1 Administrative Regulations –
Right-to-Know Forms.
 Approved the Life Skills Activities Accounts for the period of July 1, 2008 through September 30, 2008 in
the amount of $11,114.26.
 Approved the various personnel items (letters a through e).
 Approval of the authorization of approval of December Board materials. All agenda documentation will be
submitted to the President and Vice President for review and approval prior to their release. These
materials will be presented to the Board for approval in January.
NEXT MEETING:
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit Board of Directors is:
Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.