The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau awarded a $387,000, 4-year grant to Ohio F2F at The University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD). The grant will allow Ohio F2F to continue to provide training, information and education to help families of children with disabilities and special health care needs navigate the health care system and find answers to their questions, while also strengthening family-professional partnerships.

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Summer’s here, and it’s time to make those important decisions regarding a summer camp for your child. The following information is shared in the hope that the challenges and experiences of other parents will enable you to select the summer camp that is most appropriate to meeting the needs of your child.

View the directory here

Parents of students with disabilities may have a lot of questions when sending their children to school. Will the school adequately support their child? What laws are put in place to ensure their safety and success?

To help answer some of these questions and more, our team created a guide that is directed primarily toward parents of students with disabilities, but we think it may also be valuable for those hoping to advocate for these students and familiarize themselves with their rights.

This comprehensive, expert-driven, and easy-to-digest guide lays out everything that students with disabilities and their parents need to know about their rights and the laws that protect them, such as the ADA, Section 504, and IDEA. Parents can also find expert advice on how to best prepare an education plan for their student. You can read the full guide here.

On Thursday, April 12, 42 people attended the ABLE/STABLE Account presentation in Northern Ohio. One attendee said, “A STABLE Account is an incredible opportunity, it’s empowering, and it’s easy to enroll. This session was excellent.”

The Division of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics (DDBP) is looking for individuals to join the Family Advisory Council (FAC). The goal of the group is to discuss ways families and professionals can improve the patient experience within DDBP.

More information

Contact the DDBP Family Support Team for more information about the FAC, to get an application, and to return your application by March 30th.

Learn more about what Family-to-Family Health Information Centers do, as well as some highlights from 2017. View the data brief here.

We are excited to share with you that our first transition booster session of 2018 will take place on:

Tuesday, March 13, 2018 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Medical Office Building (MOB, 3430 Burnet Ave) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC)

Our expert speakers, Patrick Wong and Sharon Rieke from State Support Team 13, Hamilton County Educational Service Center will, talk about how to best prepare for transition IEPs in schools. This session is geared toward parents/caregivers of youth and young adults with developmental disabilities, complex medical and/or behavioral needs and/or chronic health conditions.

Learn more here
Register here

This article is written by Lauren Agoratus, M.A. whose daughter Stephanie has five life-threatening illnesses, plus autism. Lauren serves as the Coordinator for Family Voices – NJ and as the central/southern coordinator in her state’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center.

View the article here

Family Voices is a family-led, nonprofit organization, working to keep families at the center of children’s health care. Since forming Family Voices in 1992, families of children and youth with special health care needs have built a highly respected diverse national grassroots network of family and youth leaders focused on improving healthcare services and policies. The network of Family Voices State Affiliate Organizations (SAOs) and Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2Fs) in every state and DC provide information, assistance, and support to other families of children and youth with a range of special health care needs and/or disabilities and work closely with professionals to improve care. Their work and accomplishments are varied and extensive and can be found here.

This survey asks questions related to special education from parents’ point of view. The purpose of this research project is to help to better serve families who have children with special needs in school. The end goal is to inform schools about the needs/wants of students and families in the areas of communication, access to information about special education, thoughts on inclusion, and implementation of parent support groups/educational seminars if wanted/needed.

Should you choose to participate, you may opt to be entered into a raffle for a $50 Amazon gift card (two gift cards will be sent out in May, when the study is complete). When you click the link below you will be taken to an introduction that explains the study in more depth and requests your consent to participate. Thank you for your help with this important project.

Take the survey here.