The Division for Early Childhood’s 33rd Annual International Conference on Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families is coming to Portland in October 2017. The Division for Early Childhood (DEC), a division of the Council for Exceptional Children, is the principle organization for professionals who work in Early Intervention (Birth to age 3) and Early Childhood Special Education (ages 3 through 5).  The 2017 annual DEC conference will be held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon on October 4 through 6. You can find the DEC Conference at this link: http://www.decconference.org/.

This conference is an amazing opportunity for providers around our state to access a high quality professional development need. There are many perks to providers to sign-up early. Also, the DEC offers scholarships for families to attend the conference and students in education. This conference is an excellent opportunity to attend important keynote addresses and workshops from nationally recognized experts in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education, along with talented local practitioners. ODE is supporting this conference with the involvement of several of ODE EI/ECSE team members. Please contact Bruce Sheppard in the Oregon Department of Education with any questions (bruce.sheppard@state.or.us).