5. Community-based Systems of Care

Organizations

Early Intervention Research Institute at Utah State University

HRSA has awarded grants totaling approximately $3,173,000 to a variety of grant initiatives for "Integrated Services for Children with Special Health Care Needs: The President’s New Freedom Initiative", beginning May 1, 2006.

"National Resource Center for Inclusive Community Integrated Services" is to provide national leadership for four years to assure that services at the community level are inclusive and easy to use. The National Center will be housed at the Early Intervention Research Institute at Utah State University.

To fulfill this responsibility the National Resource Center will, among other activities: (1) identify and work with major national public and private community development initiatives to integrate children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN); (2) facilitate linkages between inclusive community development initiatives and State Title V Programs; (3) develop and implement a community recognition program that focuses on successful community integration models; and (4) collect, analyze, and expand the current body of evidence-based data on the process and outcomes of integrating community systems.

Communities Can!

Communities Can! is a network of communities committed to making sure that all children and families (including those with or at risk for disabilities) have the services and supports they need to develop, flourish, and be valued members of the community and that those services are family-centered and culturally competent. Communities Can! members make it the business of the whole community--not the worry of individual families--to find, provide, organize, and fund services needed by children and families.

Federal Interagency Coordinating Council (FICC)

The FICC facilitates successful outcomes for young children with disabilities and young children at risk for developing disabilities and their families by: (1) effectively developing federal interagency policies; (2) identifying and recommending strategies for the coordination of federal program and fiscal resources; (3) minimizing fragmentation and duplication in programs and activities at the federal level; (4) developing strategies for the coordination of the provision of federal technical assistance and support activities; (5) exemplifying partnerships across federal programs; (6) ensuring that all supports and services are designed and implemented in a culturally competent, appropriate, and respectful manner; and (7) ensuring that all children, regardless of culture, have maximum access to the full range of supports and services that are due them by federal law.

Family Voices

Family Voices promotes family participation and satisfaction via a network of 40,000 families and friends, a volunteer coordinator in each state, and 10 regional coordinators. Family Voices serves as a national clearinghouse for information and education about ways to assure and improve health care for children with disabilities and chronic conditions.

The Institute for Family-Centered Care

Family-centered care is an approach to health care that offers a new way of thinking about the relationships between families and health care providers. The Institute for Family-Centered Care, a non-profit organization, provides essential leadership to advance the understanding and practice of patient- and family-centered care. The Institute serves as a central resource for both family members and members of the health care field. Their site shares information, facilitates problem-solving, and promotes dialogue among individuals and organizations working toward patient- and family-centered care.

Community Toolbox

The Tool Box provides over 6,000 pages of practical information to support your work in promoting community health and development. This web site is created and maintained by the Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas (U.S.A). Developed in collaboration with AHEC/Community Partners in Amherst, Massachusetts, the site has been on line since 1995, and it continues to grow on a weekly basis.

Resources

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