I am a parent of a 14 year old who has been "dismissed" from sped, I hired an advocate when he was 5 years old and still consult her today.
My topic: I can find so many resources for evaluating advocates and choosing the right one. I find warnings about how advocates can "charge whatever they want" and "have no standard qualifications" but I DON'T find, is the gritty deets on how to offer advocacy services *legally* and in compliance with small business laws?
How does an advocate claim the income on taxes? Does an advocate need to file a sole proprietorship or LLC? Is an advocate opening themselves up to potential litigation - should parents be disappointed in outcomes and blame the advocate? For example, if an advocate is deeply involved in parents prep for eligibility meeting and the child is found ineligible - or expensive services are lost at an IEP update meeting. Parents could reduce that to monetary damages - how do advocates protect themselves and operate legally?
Do advocates have parents sign liability waivers? I work as an IT for a group of advocates and I want to make sure they are safe. Thank you !
