Since 1971, A New Leaf has provided assistance to those most in need in our community, helping families, children, and adults overcome the challenges they face.

A New Leaf offers 7 distinct pillars of service: domestic violence, housing and shelter, family support, health & wellness, foster care, education, and financial empowerment.

Communities are made stronger when families are safe, have a secure home, are able to provide for themselves and their children, and are ultimately given a chance to make a brighter future for themselves.

By offering these seven pillars of service, A New Leaf is helping households move from crisis to stability, making our community a better place to live.

Abilities Unlimited of Fort Smith, Inc. is a non-profit organization serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since the early 1960’s. The beginning of the organization was the accumulative effort of several civic minded citizens and families who had vested interest in the welfare of individuals with disabilities. Making it possible for individuals to receive services in the communities where they lived. The organization is committed to providing services that cultivate long-term individual growth. The Day Program at Abilities Unlimited of Fort Smith, Inc. is a place of life-long learning.  Everyday, Monday through Friday, our client’s participate in life skill training.

Ability KC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves areas in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska. Ability KC’s primary services include outpatient medical rehabilitation, therapeutic preschool, and employment services.

Our mission is to build brighter futures for children and adults with disabilities by providing educational, vocational, and therapeutic services. We do this by:

• Providing excellent results-driven services.
• Maintaining a highly trained and effective professional staff dedicated to serving individuals with disabilities.
• Offering programs that reflect a respectful, compassionate commitment to individuals served and their families and support providers.
• Presenting educational treatment of individuals served by creating clear, concise communications regarding impact and the outcomes of our programs.
• Maintaining financial viability.

Ability360 is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation.  Through its comprehensive programs, Ability360 touches the lives of individuals with disabilities and addresses the disability concerns of their family members, co-workers and employers.

Mission Statement

Ability360 offers and promotes programs designed to empower people with disabilities to take personal responsibility so that they may achieve or continue independent lifestyles within the community.

Ability360 is one of five Centers for Independent Living in Arizona, and the largest Center in the state. Ability360 advocates personal responsibility – by, and for, people with disabilities – as a means to independence.  Programs are designed to help consumers achieve self-sufficiency. In addition to the five core service areas, Ability360 provides and promotes numerous other programs and services that help consumers achieve an independent lifestyle.

Ability360 Programs and Services:

• Individual & Systems Advocacy
• Information & Referral
• Employment Services
• ADA Services
• Counsel
• Empowering Youth in Transition
• Home Modifications
• Social and Recreational Opportunities
• Home Care Services
• Sports, Fitness, and Health & Wellness Programs

Access Services provides behavioral health services, children & family services, and intellectual disability and autism services for 14 counties in eastern Pennsylvania. Our mission is to empower and serve people in need of specialized supports by providing innovative services that improve their ability to live fulfilling lives in the community.

Achieva advocates for, empowers, and supports people with disabilities and their families throughout their lives.

Programs & Services

• Employment: Supported employment uses person-centered tools to help people secure and keep a job in a field they desire to work in while offering benefits counseling to ensure vital government benefits are maintained.
• Housing: Achieva provides customized living options based on the needs and wishes of the person with a disability and their family. Whether you are looking for support in your current home, living arrangements with a group of roommates, or a home of your own, Achieva can help.
• Early Intervention: If you are concerned about your child’s development or you have been asked to select a provider for early intervention services, choose Achieva. Achieva Early Intervention has supported thousands of families for over 45 years as a trusted leader serving Allegheny County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County.
• Money Matters: Whether you’re looking to protect your assets, seek financial assistance through a grant program or plan for the future.
• Family Support: With 70 years of experience, and employees who understand the needs of families, Achieva offers a variety of services to make your life just a bit easier.

AGE of Central Texas helps older adults and their caregivers thrive as they navigate the realities and opportunities of aging and caregiving. AGE envisions a society where aging is a shared journey marked by connection, strength, and vitality, and the role of caregiving is supported through community, collaboration, and guidance. Services offered by AGE include adult day health care, caregiver education and resources, early memory loss support, health equipment lending, and peer-based computer classes for seniors through the AGE computer lab.

The AGE of Central Texas Health Equipment Lending Program makes a wide variety of health and mobility equipment available to the community through free, no-time-limit loans of donated equipment.  In 2019, more than 1,375 individuals received loans provided at no charge to seniors, individuals with disabilities, and those in need. The program also distributes donated adult incontinence products to those who need them. If you need to request equipment or supplies, please call 512-600-9288 or email [email protected].

• Items that we usually have available to loan include:
  – Wheelchairs
  – Rollators
  – Walkers
  – Shower Chairs and Benches
  – Canes
  – Bedside Commodes
  – Crutches
  – Grab Bars and Rails
  – Elevated Toilet Seats
  – Adult Incontinence Products

The Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin (ADRC-CW) works to provide peace of mind and quality of life to individuals and families through information and access to resources.

We serve Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, and Wood counties.

Services

• Meals for Seniors
• Benefits for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities
• Community Resources for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities
• Caregiver Support and Education
• Classes for Healthy Living
• Equipment Lending

Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national non-profit organization that creates a world of no limits for people who are blind and low vision. AFB mobilizes leaders, advances understanding, and champions impactful policies and practices using research and data. 

ASGCT was established in 1996 by Dr. George Stamatoyannopoulos, professor of medicine at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, and a group of the country’s leading researchers in gene therapy. With more than 5,000 members in the United States and worldwide, today ASGCT is the largest association of individuals involved in gene and cell therapy research.

Our mission is to help women diagnosed with advanced or metastatic cancer improve their quality of life and outcomes through education, companionship, scientific research, and integrative support. We offer several programs to help women with advanced or metastatic cancer at different stages of their journey. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we are helping women with advanced or metastatic cancer by providing food assistance to those who qualify and helping them fill applications to obtain resources available from other organizations. All of our programs are focused on helping women diagnosed with advance cancer (stage 4 or metastatic/cancer that has spread to other parts of the body). We are helping women with any type of cancer (e.g. breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, melanoma, leukemia, lymphoma).

Program 1: Patient Navigation 

We help women with advanced cancer understand their disease, the opportunities for medical services (including availability of clinical trials for their specific disease) and the challenges faced. We help each woman along the journey through education, support, transportation, and companionship. We also help women identify financial and other resources available to them.

Program 2: Activities to Enhance Quality of Life

We promote activities and help women identify ways that may help improve their mental, physical, and emotional well-being so they feel better and remain engaged as they battle with advanced cancer. Our activities to enhance quality of life are currently on hold until further notice.

Program 3: End of Life Resources 

We help women with advanced cancer when standard of care therapies have failed by providing resources available for this stage of their journey, educating them about their options, legal documents required and providing companionship as needed.

Program 4: Scientific Research 

We conduct patient-centered scientific research to explore new ways to complement or improve outcomes of standard of care therapies. We also collaborate with medical professionals in improving quality of life and survival outcomes of women with advanced cancer.

Apraxia Kids is the leading nonprofit that strengthens the support systems in the lives of children with apraxia of speech. Since our inception in 2000, Apraxia Kids has provided support to tens of thousands of families and professionals.

The Area Agency on Aging of Broward County (AAABC) plans, develops, coordinates, and evaluates programs; funds services; and is the prime advocate for residents of Broward County, Florida, 60 years of age or older.  The AAA also operates the Aging and Disability Resource Center which is your one-stop source of information regarding services in Broward County, Florida, for seniors, persons with disabilities, ages 18 and over, their families, and caregivers.

Participants must be 60 years of age or older for most programs except for the grandparent’s program which is eligible to seniors age 55 and older. In addition, the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative program requires a medical diagnosis of dementia and the age criteria is 18 and older.

Our Programs 

We offer a wide range of services and resources to assist seniors in Broward County ages 60 years of age and older, and adults with disabilities age 18 and above. From meal assistance, health and wellness, to transportation services, we provide information regarding services in Broward County available for seniors.

Programs and Services Include:

• Meals and food assistance
• Health and wellness class
• Caregiver support
• Home assistance
• Legal services
• Medicare counseling/SHINE
• Senior centers
• Transportation services
• ConnectingWithU
• Alzheimer’s disease services
• Senior technology programs

A staff of six assists the all-volunteer Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, which is made up of individuals with disabilities, family members, professional stakeholders and state agency representatives appointed by the Governor of Arizona. The 23-member Council meets at least four times a year to discuss issues and vote on which projects to support by allocating our federal funds.

Our mission is to develop and support capacity building and systemic change to increase inclusion and involvement of people with developmental disabilities in their communities through the promotion of self-determination, independence, and dignity in all respects of life.

How we serve Arizona:

• Collecting Data– we identify local developmental disability challenges and solutions.
• Collaborating together– we work with public and private sectors to address issues that are important to people with developmental disabilities.
• Funding grants- we use our grants to fund innovative projects, such as efforts to help Arizonans speak up for themselves or push for community inclusion.
• Advancing inclusion- we educate through events, resources, and social media on ways to include all people who have developmental disabilities in every aspect of community life.
• Promoting self-advocacy– we establish, strengthen, and expand self-advocacy activities among people with developmental disabilities so they will become empowered and self-determined.

Assistive Technology (AT) includes thousands of products that enable persons with disabilities to be more productive and independent in daily activities. Assistive technology products range from simple to complex and can be used at home, work, school and in the community to reduce barriers and increase personal abilities.

At Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTAP), we assist persons with disabilities of all types and ages as well as family members, service providers, employers, and the general public to become better educated about the value and use of assistive technology.

As required by the Assistive Technology Act, our services include:

Services

• Assistive Technology Consultations: An exploration of the specific needs of an individual, including a review of the functional tasks and what Assistive Technology options would potentially be helpful to the individual.
• Information & Assistance: Provide general information, referral and support to persons with disabilities, their family members and rehabilitation providers to explore Assistive Technology options, available support services and with acquiring specific Assistive Technology devices.
• Short Term Assistive Technology Device Loans: Lend Assistive Technology devices for individuals to tryout at work, school or home for the functional task for which it is needed.
• Assistive Technology Device Demonstrations: A guided hands on exploration of an Assistive Technology device to review its specific features, operation and if possible compare it against the features of a similar device (s).
• Assistive Technology & Durable Medical Equipment Reuse Services: Online services assisting with locating, selling, donating or exchanging used Assistive Technology devices and Durable Medical Equipment.
• Public Awareness: Provide trainings and outreach on AzTAP programs and services as well as increase awareness of Assistive Technology and its application for persons with disabilities.
• Training on Assistive Technology: Provide custom designed trainings on Assistive Technology devices, services and topics.
• Technical Assistance: Provide technical assistance and advisement to community organizations, public services and businesses related to Assistive Technology and the service needs of their customers with disabilities.
• Alternative Low Interest Financing for Purchasing Assistive Technology: Provide low interest financial loans with flexible lending terms to persons with disabilities and/or their families to purchase Assistive Technology.

The Arizona Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutrition education and breastfeeding support services, supplemental nutritious foods and referrals to health and social services. WIC serves pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants; and children under the age of five.

WIC is available to Arizona’s pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children under the age of five who are at nutritional risk and who are at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

Arizona Youth Partnership builds solid foundations for youth and families by partnering with Arizona communities to prevent and solve local issues such as substance abuse, youth homelessness, lack of educational opportunities, teen pregnancy, and challenging family dynamics.

AZYP was founded in 1990 by a group of concerned Pima County citizens who sought to provide rural communities in the county access to the services available in the Tucson metro area. In 2006, AZYP expanded to serve rural communities across Arizona and seeks to employ a root cause approach to fighting poverty, build healthy, self-sufficient youth and families through
evidence-based prevention programs and community involvement.

Boca Helping Hands provides food, medical and financial assistance to meet basic human needs as well as education, job training and guidance to create self-sufficiency. Boca Helping Hands provides limited financial assistance to qualifying Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Greenacres, and Palm Springs residents in crisis. Clients may receive financial assistance with rent (must have a 3-day notice from landlord), utilities (must have a final notice from FPL and water department; BHH does not cover deposits or reconnect fees), and childcare (through our Children’s Assistance Program). Each situation is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The California Center for Rare Diseases (CCRD) was designed to enhance research and care for the rare disease community. The CCRD is a network of expert clinicians and researchers with the common goal of advancing rare disease discovery and care. We offer advanced genomic sequencing and targeted clinical trials. The CCRD is committed to rare disease advocacy and support for patients and families.

How Can We Help?

CCRD would like to direct your inquiry to the most appropriate department. Please fill out this information form with best contact and someone in the clinical area associated with your condition or symptoms will respond to your inquiry. This form is not to be used for specific medical advice or for urgent matters. For specific advice contact your primary care team and for urgent or emergency matters please locate urgent or emergency medical care.

CCRD services may be performed and billed through insurance or other funding. There could be costs to you depending on what is recommended. Each situation is unique. If you need to see a provider clinically, you can check your insurance acceptance at UCLA here.

We are not a physical clinic. The CCRD integrates clinical information with additional research testing. You cannot make an appointment with the CCRD. If you would like to be considered for the CCRD, we ask you first obtain a referral for a UCLA clinical provider who can recommend additional CCRD supported testing. Our UCLA expert providers may refer cases into CCRD when they think additional genomic sequencing may help lead to a diagnosis. Referrals for additional research testing must come after a visit with a UCLA specialty provider. CCRD reviews cases as they come and once a provider refers a case will will discuss as a team and make an acceptance decision within 4 weeks.

Role & Responsibilities

Brief description of the California Department of Education.

California Medical Billing Advocates (CALMBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with a mission to reduce or eliminate unjust medical bills before they become crippling debt. Our officers and board of directors are ex-healthcare finance executives, professors from UCSF and UC Hastings, and healthcare lawyers providing free expert assistance.

We believe surprise and excessive medical bills are part of a structural problem due to the complex U.S. healthcare system. Unfortunately, many patients get caught up with potentially crippling bills. We believe this is unjust; and founded CALMBA to help.

We negotiate most types of medical bills, and we can help anywhere in California. We operate entirely on grants and donations to provide 100% free services to patients.

Camp Simcha

Every summer, Camp Simcha Special welcomes 230 children and teens with a wide range of multiple diagnoses for two weeks of fun, friendship, and personal growth. Non-stop activities, bunk spirit, singing and dancing encourage independence and build self-confidence. It is a unique opportunity for children fighting chronic illness to build a community of people with whom to share hopes and dreams as they grow.

Our mission is to bring childhood back to children who lost it when they were diagnosed. To do that, we mix the best of camp activities – sports, arts and crafts, swimming and boating, camp shows, special events and activities – with the leadership of trained and compassionate counselors who specialize in keeping campers laughing from early morning to late at night.

Chai Lifeline

Founded in 1987, Chai Lifeline is dedicated to helping families of seriously ill children cope with the crises and challenges of pediatric illness. We understand that illness impacts everyone in the family, and our programs offer emotional and social support to each member, the sick child, parents and siblings. Two-dozen, year-round, free programs and services create a network of help that begins with the moment of diagnosis and continue for as long as needed.

Chai Lifeline is headquartered in New York City. Regional offices in Lakewood, NJ, Chicago, IL, Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Los Angeles, CA, ensure that families across the country have access to needed programs and services. International affiliates in Israel, Canada, Belgium, and Great Britain bring Chai Lifeline to the world.

Our network of emotional, social, recreational, and financial programs is designed to create a year-round web of support around sick kids, their families and the communities in which they live. We understand that a child’s illness affects the entire family, and our programs are family-focused and family-friendly. Programs are held in facilities that can accommodate wheelchairs, walkers and other medical equipment.

In-hospital services include professional case management and advocacy; healthy, nutritious meals for patients and caregivers; transportation assistance for parents; visits by volunteers; and overnight respite that allows parents to go home for the evening.

We offer a full complement of services for children including weblinks between classrooms and hospital rooms or homes; recreational opportunities; Big Brothers and Sisters; a lending library of books, tapes, and DVDs; after-school programs for children living with loss or illness in their homes; creative arts and art therapy; counseling; trips; food packages; sibling programs; and an innovative survivor program that facilitates post-cancer life.

Families find hope and support through retreats; family respite vacations; peer-support programs for mothers or fathers; insurance advocacy; family days and holiday parties; bereavement and crisis intervention services.

All programs are free of charge, including our largest, Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha Special. We even pay transportation from campers’ home cities.

Caregiver Action Network (CAN) is the nation’s leading family caregiver organization working to improve the quality of life for the more than 90 million Americans who care for loved ones with chronic conditions, disabilities, disease, or the frailties of old age. CAN serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers ranging from the parents of children with significant health needs, to the families and friends of wounded soldiers; from a young couple dealing with a diagnosis of MS, to adult children caring for parents with Alzheimer’s disease. CAN (the National Family Caregivers Association EIN 52-1780405) is a non-profit organization providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge.

CAN’s Additional Caregiver Websites

Help for Cancer Caregivers 

Help for Cancer Caregivers provides information, education, and support to help cancer caregivers care for themselves and their family members. Born of a unique collaboration of organizations with the shared goal of improving health and well-being of the people who care for people with cancer, Help for Cancer Caregivers is as a stand-alone resource tailored to the oncology community.

Rare Disease Caregivers 

Rare Caregivers is a comprehensive online guide that addresses the distinct needs of family caregivers of loved ones with rare diseases. Rare Caregiver’s resources provide caregivers with tips on helping their loved one as well as themselves.

The Carolina Family Engagement Center (CFEC) is focused primarily on underserved families and their students (low income, English learners, those with disabilities, those in foster care, migrants, homeless, and marginalized communities). Housed within the SC School Improvement Council (SC-SIC) at the University of South Carolina College of Education, CFEC seeks to engage stakeholders statewide through our website, social media platforms, and other venues.

The Center is the only agency in Wisconsin specializing in services for persons who are totally deaf and blind or who have varying degrees of dual sensory loss. The agency’s mission is to provide services needed to minimize the devastating effects of a combined vision and hearing loss upon the individual and family. The Center is able to offer the support and skills training needed to assist clients to live independent productive lives.

The Center for Deaf-Blind Persons serves youths and adults who are:

• deaf and losing vision,
• blind and losing hearing,
• losing both hearing and vision simultaneously
• totally deaf and blind.

Geographically, this agency serves primarily Southeastern Wisconsin. Should the Center’s expertise be requested to serve other parts of Wisconsin, arrangements are made.

For more than 80 years, the Centers for Independence has strengthened communities by fostering hope and helping people advance their total health.  CFI is dedicated to assisting people of all ages and abilities achieve their fullest level of independence through a supportive environment that fosters hope. CFI’s unmatched breadth of disability support services and resources tallow others to find value in themselves and see a path forward.

Who We Serve: 

The Centers for Independence assists people of all abilities, ages, and socioeconomic standing. CFI’s vast array of services and programs are based on community needs and are offered to every client, patient, and consumer who seeks them. In many cases, CFI brings solutions to people who might not find assistance anywhere else.

What We Do: 

The Centers for Independence integrates health care and social services. CFI’s commitment to total health with a trauma-informed care approach results in a framework of wellness that improves lives, families, and communities. CFI’s programs, which are committed to helping people maintain control and choice over their care, serve people who need:

• mental health and substance-abuse treatment and care
• job-training and placement services
• rehabilitative help following a brain injury or neurological condition
• day programming and activities to fully engage in life
• in-home personal care services
• assistance managing finances and employment for long-term care needs
• medical day care services and education for children with complex medical conditions
• early education programming and therapies

Our mission is for low-income single mothers to discover self-sufficient through career training and placement. Developed over the past 36 years, Climb’s comprehensive program isn’t just about getting a job- it’s about financial independence for struggling mothers and changing the generational cycle of poverty one family at a time.

Climb works with both public and private funders to make sure that the program is free to our participants. In addition to training costs, we also provide counseling, life skills trainings and workplace clothing/equipment basics so that participants are set up to be successful.

The Community Action Agency of New Haven offers pathways to prosperity to those in poverty in the Greater New Haven area through service, collaboration, advocacy, and knowledge generation.

We provide case management services as well as other direct services. Clients benefit from: S.M.A.R.T. Women (Single Mothers Actively Reaching the Top) Energy assistance (Matching Payment Plan, Operation Fuel, Homebound Service), financial literacy, job readiness, emergency food pantry, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), diaper bank, Passport Transitional Services (PTS Homeless Initiative), Youth Empowerment Pathways, YEP- Youth ages 15-17), Aging with G.R.A.C.E. (Mature Adults 55+), Healthy Options Pathway Essentials (HOPE), Father Factor, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA).

Community Service Programs of West Alabama, Inc. (CSP) is a private, nonprofit, community action agency, created by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. CSP is dedicated to improving the quality of life for low-income and vulnerable populations in its service area. The agency uses public and private funding sources to develop and administer its various programs and encourages participation in coalitions with other organizations.

The agency’s mission is to provide resources and services, which resolve immediate needs and lead to long term self-sufficiency in low-income and vulnerable populations.

The agency’s service area includes Bibb, Choctaw, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties in West Alabama. The agency provides weatherization services only in Pickens county.

Services 

1. Education: Head Start/Early Head Start; Early Intervention
2. Housing: CSP Rentals; Housing Rehabilitation; Financial Capabilities
3. Support Services: Meals on Wheels; Mobile Food Pantries; Elderly Assistance Program; Information and Referrals; Case Management; Utility Assistance Program

Compassion and Choices improves care, expands options, and empowers everyone to chart their end-of-life journey. We develop patient-directed end-of-life healthcare demonstration projects, provide CME- and CEU-bearing training, and advance federal legislative or regulatory reforms, to:

1. Address care for those living with dementia by normalizing advance-care planning so people can pre-claim their right to access exactly the kind of care they want – nothing more and nothing less.
2. Address inequities in end-of-life healthcare including increased access and improved quality for priority populations in partnership and collaboration with the impacted communities.
3. Transform the ER experience for dying patients by broadly implementing an existing model of care that integrates palliative medicine into emergency settings, which is proven to improve outcomes, increase satisfaction, and reduce expenses for patients and providers alike.

Complex Child is a monthly online magazine written by parents of children with special healthcare needs and disabilities. It is intended to provide medical information, along with personal experiences, in simple language that other parents can understand. Articles are on a wide variety of topics ranging from basic information on medical conditions and treatments to advice on how to beat insurance company denials.

Complex Child is FREE! The new edition and all archived editions and articles are completely free, but are only available online.

Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center, Inc. (CPAC) is a statewide nonprofit organization that offers information and support to families of children with any disability or chronic illness, age birth through 26. The Center is committed to the idea that parents can be the most effective advocates for their children, given the confidence that knowledge and understanding of special education law and its procedures can bring.

Through outreach efforts and referrals from schools, social service agencies and other parents, the number of families that Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center serves has grown dramatically over the past 40 years. We continue to take pride in providing prompt and personal assistance to all who contact us. CPAC is staffed by parents of children with disabilities who have training in, and personal experience with, the law and disability issues.

In addition to speaking with parents on a daily basis, CPAC staff conduct workshops for parents as well as in-service presentations for schools, teachers-in-training and service providers throughout the state so that they may better understand and serve the parents with whom they work. Staff and Board members serve on numerous statewide committees and various organizations, representing issues that are of concern to parents and families in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Tech Act Project (CTTAP) operates out of the State of Connecticut, Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS). Our goal is to help individuals with disabilities of all ages and all disabilities, as well as family members, employers, educators, and other professionals have access to Assistive Technology devices and services. Our mission is to increase independence and improve the lives of individuals with disabilities through increased access to Assistive Technology for work, school and community living.

CESAs are local agencies operating under the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction that work to link school districts and the State of Wisconsin. These agencies can work with families to connect students with special needs to the resources that they need. This website includes contact information for all CESAs in the state of Wisconsin.

This website has a lot of information about educational events, curricula, and other education-specific in general in Wisconsin, but also has a map for adaptive technology resources in each county.

Adaptive resources map: https://atmapping.cesa2.org/

The mission of Crossroads Rhode Island is to help homeless or at-risk individuals and families secure stable homes.

Those we serve are able to overcome their homelessness by engaging in our range of services including:

• Housing
• Basic needs
• Emergency Shelter
• Case management
• Referrals
• Education & employment services

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) envisions wellness for people living with mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder). DBSA provides hope, help, support, and education to improve the lives of people who have mood disorders. 

DBSA offers peer-based, wellness-oriented support and empowering services and resources available when people need them, where they need them, and how they need to receive them- online, in local support groups, in audio and video casts, or in printed materials distributed by DBSA, our chapters and mental health care facilities across America.

The mission of the Developmental Disabilities Council of Oklahoma (DDCO) is to advance communities where everyone has the opportunity to live, learn, work, and play where they choose. The Council builds partnerships to change systems to improve services, resources, and supports for Oklahomans with developmental disabilities and their families.

What does DDCO do?

Provide information and technical assistance to legislators, policymakers, and state agencies, private organizations, and advocates.

Provide assistance to individuals and  organizations to support individuals with developmental disabilities and family members to participate on advocacy boards and attend conferences.

Participate in work groups, task forces, and coalitions that affect policy making at the state and federal levels.

Fund leadership and advocacy training for advocates and field professionals.

Fund work performed by council staff or other entities that will:

• Identify individuals and their families who may need services or supports,
• Foster inter-agency collaboration and coordination resulting in improved service or support,
• Reduce or eliminate barriers to services; or redesign systems of support to better meet individual needs,
• Inform policymakers on the results of its work, policy design, best and promising practices, or other findings that may inform future policy decisions, or
• Create model projects or programs demonstrating new approaches to serving Oklahoman’s with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Disability Pride PA promotes more visibility and cultivates the pride felt within our community as we advocate for an inclusive world. Disability Pride PA imagines a world where every disabled person feels pride through self awareness, their identity, and their community at large. Disability Pride PA is dedicated to serving every disability. We continue to audit programs to ensure they represent all experiences and do not fall into a narrow understanding of what disability means. We are currently on a journey to address disability communities that are overlook, not represented, and/or misrepresented. We ensure that the people who we serve are informing our practices.

Objectives;

1. Produce Disability Pride events and support others efforts throughout the state, county, and around the world.
2. Teach disability access and inclusion through workshops, presentations, and events year round.
3. Offer products and services to business/organizations to be more inclusive.
4. Provide opportunities for disabled people to intern/work with Disability Pride PA and provide resources for accessible workplaces.
5. Provide secondary education scholarships for disabled students.
6. Support disabled artists through workshops, events, material scholarships, and as a networking resource.
7. Support our local disability/senior populations through community service.
8. Develop and implement programs and services about disability pride, arts, culture, and advocacy.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), founded in 1979, is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities.

Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development.

Disability Rights Florida was founded in 1977 as the state’s designated Protection and Advocacy system for individuals with disabilities in the State of Florida. The Protection and Advocacy system exists to ensure the safety, wellbeing, and success of people with disabilities. Disability Rights Florida advocates, educates, investigates, and litigates to protect and advance the rights, dignity, equal opportunities, self-determination and choices for all people with disabilities.

Disability Rights Florida is a nonprofit organization that provides legal advocacy and rights protection for adults and children with a wide range of disabilities. Our staff attorneys, advocates and investigators address civil rights violations, abuse and neglect, and discrimination specifically in these areas:

• Disputes involving Medicaid eligibility including Protected Medicaid, Home and Community Based Services Waivers, and Medicare Savings Programs.
• Discrimination in housing, architectural barriers, service animals, transportation, and access to public and private programs and services.
• Abuse, neglect, and rights violations in an institution, prison, or jail.
• Rights to a least restrictive environment, privacy choice, dignity, and other basic human and civil rights.
• Barriers to a free and appropriate education, K-12 special education, transition services, and post-secondary education.
• Access to mental health and support services that provide individualized treatment including adults and students with psychiatric disabilities.
• Employment accommodations, as well as accessing, maintaining or regaining employment, and vocational rehabilitation.
• Rights to effective and accessible communication like American Sign Language and accessible print and electronic information.
• Access to services that will enable veterans with service-related injuries a successful transition to civilian life.
• Investigation of stolen or misused funds, exploitation, or neglect by representative payees.
• Voting registration, vote casting, and accessible polling places.
• Access to assistive technology and devices such as communication devices and power wheelchairs.
• Supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship.

All services are free and confidential.

The mission of Disability Rights New Mexico (DRNM) is to protect, promote and expand the legal and civil rights of persons with disabilities. DRNM is an independent, private nonprofit agency operating federally mandated and other advocacy programs in pursuit of this mission.

DRNM’s mission reflects a belief that persons with disabilities are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, free from abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination; and a belief that they are entitled to equal rights and to equally effective access to the same opportunities as are afforded to other members of society. This mission is intended to promote the independence, productivity, and full community inclusion of persons with disabilities; to promote consumer choice and consumer control of individual services; and to promote self-help through knowledge and self-advocacy skills. DRNM recognizes that persons with disabilities reflect a full range of diverse ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds, and include traditionally unserved and underserved populations, and that the mission requires active outreach to all such populations. In carrying out its services, in its employment practices, and in the membership of its Board of Directors and designated Advisory Committees, DRNM reflects a commitment to these beliefs and values.

Toward the fulfillment of its mission, DRNM provides several basic services: information and referral about services for persons with disabilities and about their legal rights; individual case advocacy services to resolve specific disability rights problems; advocacy efforts to improve service systems and to generally promote, protect and expand the rights of persons with disabilities; and training activities to increase awareness of disability rights and increase consumer empowerment.

Located in New York City, the DISCOVER Program of New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Columbia Doctors is available to people from around the world. We offer services for patients and families of all ages with significant medical conditions who seek a diagnosis. We provide access to advanced genetic and genomic technologies and exceptional clinical care from world-class specialists who are leaders in their fields, often in a single day or over several consecutive days. We search to provide an accurate clinical diagnosis, and will not stop once the diagnosis is made. You will also have the opportunity to continue care and enroll in cutting-edge research studies with the vision to move beyond your diagnosis and toward the development of innovative treatments.

We provide comprehensive services including review of records, consultation with medical specialists, genetic testing and analysis, case management, and access to research studies.

For nearly 100 years, Easterseals has been the indispensable resource for people and families living with disabilities. Throughout all life’s moments – from the extraordinary to the ordinary and everything in between – Easterseals is here to help people and families realize and reach for their full potential.

Across the nation, we remove physical, cultural, attitudinal, and legal obstacles so people with disabilities have every opportunity to live meaningful and productive lives, on their own terms. We exist to provide the best services and opportunities for people with disabilities in communities nationwide.

Easterseals serves people and families who face a wide range of disabilities, including physical emotional, intellectual, social and educational.

The Education Law Center’s mission is to ensure access to a quality public education for all children in Pennsylvania. We pursue this mission by focusing on the most underserved students: children living in poverty, children of color, children with disabilities, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children experiencing homelessness, English learners, LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming students – and many who are at the intersection of these identities.

El-Ada Community Action Partnership works to reduce poverty, revitalize low-income communities, and empower low-income families and individuals to become fully self-sufficient. We serve Ada, Elmore, and Owyhee counties.

Services include:

• Utility Assistance
  • Heat assistance
  • Water assistance
• Weatherization
  • Energy efficient measures
  • Heating/cooling
• Harm Reduction
  • Education
  • HIV/HCV testing
  • Needle exchange
• Food Pantry
  • Food boxes for eligible households
• Veteran Services
  • Rapid rehousing
  • Homeless prevention

Our mission is to enhance the lives of children, adults, and families in an environment that promotes independence, dignity, and respect.

Services: 

• Behavioral Health Services
• Early Intervention
• Early Learning Center
• Katie Beckett Program
• Personal Assistance
• Community Supported Living
• Workforce Development

Our mission is to improve the lives of individuals and families facing hereditary cancer. FORCE accomplishes this mission by providing expert-reviewed information to help people make informed medical decisions. Our supportive community of peers and professionals ensures no one faces hereditary cancer alone. FORCE is a champion, advocating for access to care, and better treatment and prevention options.

Family Connection of South Carolina changes the lives of families with children who have a disability or special healthcare need by making connections, raising awareness, and promoting inclusion.

At Family Connection, we offer a variety of programs and services to address your questions and concerns on complex healthcare, mental health, and educational systems you must navigate.

Current Programs and Services: 

1. Project Breathe Easy: This free and confidential home visitation program provides emotional and information support to parents who have children with asthma.
2. Healthcare Connection: Our healthcare team offers assistance with Medicaid, TEFRA, appeals, and managed care information.
3. Education Partners: Family Engagement Managers empower parents with tools, training, and support to help them understand and navigate the educational system.
4. Parents as Teachers: A unique home-school visitation partnership for parents of young children.
5. Parent to Parent Support: Trained parent volunteers provide emotional support and information based on the child’s disability or special healthcare concern.
6. NICU Support: Our NICU parent navigators provide bedside support to parents who have or recently had a child in the NICU.

Our mission is to help homeless and low-income families in Hawai’i achieve sustainable independence by mobilizing existing community resources and support. Family Promise of Hawaiʻi utilizes family-centered strategies and mobilizes community support to increase equitable access to housing for Hawaiʻi’s vulnerable families. We address family homelessness holistically, providing prevention services before families reach crisis, shelter and case management when they become homeless, and stabilization programs once they have secured housing to ensure they remain independent. We tap existing local resources to empower families towards economic stability. Families come to us in crisis; we help them rebuild their lives with new skills and ongoing support.

Services include:

• Diversion: helping households find an alternative to shelter while connecting them to long-term housing options.
• Shelter: for those who need shelter, we provide holistic hospitality… everything a family needs to get back on their feet.
• After Care: ongoing case management support for families who have gone through the Diversion or Shelter program. After Care helps ensure families remain in stable housing.
• Rapid Re-Housing: provides rental assistances and services to help homeless families obtain housing quickly, increase self-sufficiency, and stay housed.
• Workforce Development: financial stability and an increase in savings through vocational training and financial literacy education.

Our mission at Fighting H.A.R.D. Foundation is to help children with rare diseases and chronic illnesses to know that they are not alone! Fighting HARD Foundation became an official 501c3 organization in August of 2015 after we searched for a support group to help kids with rare diseases and chronic illnesses. When we were not able to find one, we decided to create an organization of our own where we could bring children of the rare disease community together to help them know they were not alone in their battle!

​We are accomplishing our mission of helping kids with rare diseases and chronic illnesses to feel less alone by sending care packages, providing emotional support through social media and get-togethers (held virtually during COVID-19), and financially assisting these kids and their families by providing the money needed for meals, gas, groceries, and medical equipment. We are always looking for new ways to spread our message and help as many kids as possible!​

First Five SC began as an idea in 2019 with a simple principle: families deserve a responsive one-stop portal to learn about public programs and services to help with their child’s growth and development.

First Five engages parents and caregivers as active partners in making South Carolina’s early childhood system work for young children and families. By streamlining the search and application process, First Five SC helps families better understand their options and choose the programs and services that best meet their needs. As a project of the South Carolina Early Childhood Advisory Council, a collaborative, interagency body representing the state’s early childhood system, First Five SC works to support its mission of supporting families and helping young children thrive.

Services 

1. Child Care and Early Education
2. Health and Safety
3. Special Needs and Early Intervention
4. Food and Nutrition
5. Parenting and Family Support

First Things First is an essential leader and partner in creating a family-centered, equitable, high-quality early childhood system that supports the development, well-being, health and education of all Arizona’s children, birth to age 5.

First Things First works at the state and local levels to give Arizona children the opportunity to arrive at kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed. We invest in proven programs and innovative strategies through grants to community organizations that provide services to children and families. We provide professional expertise and oversight to support local programs and statewide initiatives, and we collaborate with other early childhood system partners to make even more impact.

hunger by providing food to people in need, teaching them to eat nutritiously, and helping them to find sustainable ways to improve their lives.

The Foundation for Blind Children was founded in 1952 by parents of blind children who wanted services for their blind children in Phoenix, instead of having to send them to the State Institution for the Blind in Tucson. The Foundation for Blind Children serves the blind and visually impaired of all ages, from birth to currently 102 years old. As the only agency of its kind in Arizona, the Foundation for Blind Children is an essential resource to families and children with blindness or low vision.

With three Valley locations (East Valley, West Valley and Central Phoenix), we strive to serve as “the” community’s resource for blind, visually impaired, and multi-handicapped children, adults, and their families.

As one of Arizona’s pioneer social service agencies, Friendly House was first established in 1920 as part of a local initiative to assist immigrants in acquiring the citizenship, education and literacy skills necessary to acculturate into the United States. In 100+ years, Friendly House has evolved into a multi-service organization with wide-ranging programs aimed at addressing the pressing needs of our diverse community: Education, Workforce Development, Family Support, Basic Needs and Immigration.

Programs 

• Academia del Pueblo
• Adult Education
• College & Career Readiness
• Emergency Support Services
• Early Childhood Development Center
• Parent Education and Drug Prevention
• Workforce Development

Fun Van is a parenting education program for parents/caregivers and their children ages birth to 5, and is supported by First Things First in the Pinal Region. Each class meets once a week for 11 weeks and includes story time, a craft, playtime, a unique parent session, and a book to keep!

In the parent session, parents and caregivers dive into curricula from two excellent programs. The Parent Educators use the Raising A Reader program to excite children about books and better prepare them for school, and the Early Childhood STEP program to improve family relationships and communication.

Link to registration page: https://www.ajpl.org/funvan/registration/

The Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC), founded in 1974, is a nonprofit organization advancing the field of medical genetics and caring for families impacted by genetic disease and birth defects.

At its home campus in Greenwood, South Carolina, a talented team of physicians and scientists provides clinical genetic services, diagnostic laboratory testing, educational programs and resources, and research in the field of medical genetics. GGC’s faculty and staff are committed to the goal of developing preventive and curative therapies for the individuals and families they serve.

GGC extends its reach as a resource to all residents of South Carolina with satellite offices in Charleston, Columbia, Florence and Greenville. For more information, contact our main campus at 1-888-442-4363.

Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries. Habitat’s vision is of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat works together with families, local communities, volunteers and partners from around the world so that more people are able to live in affordable and safe homes. Our advocacy efforts focus on policy reform to remove systemic barriers preventing low-income and historically underserved families from accessing adequate, affordable shelter.

The Hawaii ADRC helps older adults, individuals with disabilities, and family caregivers find options for long term supports and services available to them in the State of Hawaii.

The Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center serves Hawai’i communities by reducing the harm and fighting the stigma of HIV, hepatitis, homelessness, substance use, mental illness, and poverty in our community. We focus our efforts on those disproportionately affected by social determinants of health, including but not limited to: people living with and/or affected by HIV, hepatitis, substance use, and the transgender, LGBQ and the Native Hawaiian communities. We foster health, wellness, and systemic change in Hawai’i and the Pacific through care services, advocacy, training, prevention, education, and capacity building.

Programs offered include case management, overdose prevention, food access, and clinical services.

HELP Foundation empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through residential, day support, vocational, and summer education programs to choose services and opportunities as respected and valued members of the community.

HELP supports pathways that give every individual the chance to thrive and reach their full ability, contributing to a vibrant, inclusive community.

Services:

• Adult Day Support: Transportation Available
• Employment Services
• Residential Services
• Summer Program (ESY)
• Transportation
• Vocational Programs

The Help Me Grow South Carolina State Office is located within South Carolina Infant Mental Health Association. SCIMHA is a multidisciplinary association of professionals working to promote nurturing relationships for infants, young children and their families through resources, policies and practices to foster healthy social-emotional development and well-being.

HMG SC exists to help parents sort through the clutter of raising healthy children. Whether you have concerns or simply want to learn more about your child’s development, HMG SC is here for you. We care about children and their families.

We know that positive relationships, access to health care, proper nutrition, and quality early learning opportunities play a critical role in getting your child off to a great start. Need help? With the state’s only comprehensive resource grid for families, we can plug you into what you need when you need it.

The mission of Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania is to advance fair and equal access to housing opportunities for all Pennsylvanians. The Housing Equality Center’s service area includes the Pennsylvania counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia. The organization’s education and technical assistance programs support housing professionals throughout Pennsylvania.

The Housing Equality Center offers a variety of programs and services to the general public to ensure that consumers have access to housing and understand their rights under fair housing laws. Additional programs and services are available to ensure that housing professionals understand and comply with fair housing laws. The Housing Equality Center provides:

• Counseling and conducts testing investigations to help housing discrimination victims.
• Education and training programs for housing professionals, nonprofits, housing authorities, and others to promote compliance with fair housing laws and to prevent discrimination.
• Publications, fact sheets, and resources to educate the public and housing professionals about fair housing.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is a state-federal program whose goal is to assist people with disabilities prepare for, secure, retain or regain employment.

What VR Programs are offered?

Vocational Rehabilitation’s primary goal is employment. Vocational Rehabilitation provides individualized vocational guidance and counseling as well as other services to assist people with disabilities to make informed choices concerning their careers so that they can become successfully employed

Mental Health

Vocational Rehabilitation works closely with the Department of Health and Welfare’s Mental Health Program to provide services to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Services are provided utilizing a team approach and are focused on assisting the mental health clientele to work in the community. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams and Case Management Teams have been established around the state and VR has placed counselors with these teams to address employment issues.

Public Offenders

Vocational Rehabilitation is proactive in assisting inmates with disabilities to transition into the community by developing a program to concentrate on this clientele. Utilizing a team approach, counselors work collaboratively with the client, the Department of Probation and Parole and medical or psychological experts to re-introduce the individual to the workforce. The Division has gained a level of expertise that has resulted in a high success rate of individuals securing and maintaining employment, a savings in institutional costs and an overall net gain to the community.

Students with Disabilities

Vocational Rehabilitation works with students with disabilities who require assistance to transition from school to employment. Vocational Rehabilitation maintains relationships with schools throughout the state to serve students needing this assistance. Any student can apply directly for services without referral from the school. These individuals must meet the VR eligibility criteria.

Services for Individuals with Disabilities

The Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s program goal is to place Idahoans with disabilities into the workforce by securing and maintaining productive employment. IDVR can provide the services required to assist you to go to work and can assist you in locating suitable employment. Only services that you need to reach employment will be provided.

Services to individuals may include:

• Vocational guidance and counseling for adjustment to disability.
• Vocational exploration and planning for entry or re-entry into the workforce.
• Assessment to determine vocational strengths and weaknesses to plan for services required to reach the employment outcome.
• Training for those who need a career change because of disability. Such training can involve higher education, on the job training, vocational-technical training, etc.
• Tools and licenses can be provided, if needed, to enter a specific trade or profession.
• Medical assistance can be provided, if needed, to secure or maintain employment and is part of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan.
• Job development and placement involves you and your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor working together to secure employment.
• Rehabilitation Technology can be provided to assist you in preparation for placement on the job site.
• Follow-along can be extremely important to ensure that your job is successful. Such follow-along can assist in resolving any job problems that may occur.

Services to Businesses & Professional Organizations

The Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation offers an array of services to assist you in employing individuals with disabilities so that you can maintain a qualified, productive and diverse work environment. VR is interested in assisting you to be as profitable as possible by providing cost-effective assistance when issues arise.

Some of the services available to organizations include:

• Accessibility Issues: VR can refer you to people who can assess the conditions which may create barriers to serving your clientele or employing your workforce. They can make recommendations for overcoming these barriers.
• Job Placement Resource: VR identifies community job opportunities and assists employees with disabilities to enter or re-enter the workforce.
• Qualified Job Applicant Referrals: VR provides training and counseling to thousands of individuals each year, preparing them for a myriad of jobs. VR counselors match the skills and abilities of potential employees to the specific requirements of your jobs. Qualified applicants are pre-screened to reduce your costs associated with recruitment and hiring.
• On the Job Training: VR can reimburse you for additional training time that may be needed at your place of employment to assist referred individuals with learning the specific tasks of a particular job.
• Job Coaching Services: Some employees need more individualized training than others. In these instances, VR can contract with job coaches to assist in getting your employees up to speed with specific job tasks.
• Consultation on Disability Issues: Vocational Rehabilitation professionals are available to meet with you and your staff to answer your questions concerning employing people with disabilities including:
  “How can I integrate people with disabilities into my organization?”
  “How do I work with a person who has a disability?”
  “What does it cost to hire a person with a disability?”

Cost of Services:

Because people are expected to contribute to the cost of their vocational rehabilitation program to the extent possible, you may be responsible for some costs of your rehabilitation plan. This will be based upon your individual financial need. However, no one is ever turned away because of inability to pay.

Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. is a nonprofit statewide organization dedicated to providing equal access to justice for low-income people through quality advocacy and education. We are Idaho’s largest nonprofit law firm with seven regional and two satellite offices, three toll-free legal advice lines, and a website with legal forms and educational content. Our mission is to provide quality civil legal services to low income and vulnerable Idahoans.  For many, we provide their only access to our judicial system. Every year Idaho Legal Aid Services helps thousands of Idahoans with critical legal problems such as escaping domestic violence and sexual assault, protecting abused and neglected children, preserving housing, helping vulnerable seniors and stopping discrimination. Our Indian Law Unit provides legal help focused on Idaho’s Indian Reservations. The Migrant Farmworker Law Unit provides services tailored to the needs of Idaho’s migrant population.

Make sure you have this information ready before you apply:

1. Your name, address and county you live in;
2. The name of the person, business, or organization causing your legal problem (if any);
3. The sources of all your total household income and the amount your household gets each month from each source. Household income means income for you and anyone else who lives in your household; and,
4. The amount of money in all your bank and/or retirement accounts.

Apply for Legal Assistance: https://www.idaholegalaid.org/node/2413/apply-legal-assistance

Founded in 1985, Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc. (IPUL) is a statewide organization which houses the Idaho Parent Training and Information Center, the Family to Family Health Information Center, Idaho Family Voices and IPUL Arts. Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc. envisions inclusive and accessible communities, services, education, and opportunities for children and youth with disabilities and/or unique and special healthcare needs. Idaho Parents Unlimited works with parents, family members, and caregivers of children and youth with disabilities and special health care needs and the professionals who are a part of their lives. While our office is in Boise, we work statewide using technology, and we frequently travel to all regions of the state throughout the year. We assist families who have children of any diagnosis from birth to age 26.

What we do:

• Provide individual assistance to families through calls, emails, and in-person meetings
• Provide options that you may have to resolve any individual issues
• Present monthly training workshops and webinars on a variety of topics
• Provide special request workshops at community events and/or conferences as well as for parent or professional groups
• Advocate for systems, programs, policies, and rules that have an impact on Idaho families
• Provide effective advocacy training and information for families and youth to best advocate for themselves.
• Provide Parent Leadership Development training annually to build on a growing list of parent mentors who can amplify our work across the state.
• Provide scholarships to parents to attend conferences or events related to your child’s disability.
• Provide arts education through our in-school/community center residencies and Work of Art Programs
• Listen and provide support

What we do NOT do:

• Advocate on behalf of an individual child or family
• Attend IEP meetings
• Tell you what you should do
• Provide legal assistance
• Endorse or promote specialty care providers, legal services, or schools/districts
• Provide general parenting training (ie: court ordered classes)
• Provide 24-hour crisis services (we are not a crisis agency)
• Provide routinely scheduled art classes

Independence First is Metro Milwaukee’s first resource for people with disabilities.

They offer more than 40 programs and workshops and services of all kinds, and for various age groups. Independence First provides programs on disability awareness, independent living skills, and recreation. They work with individuals and families for whatever someone needs to successfully live in the community, helping with resources from assistive technology to home modification to personal care or supportive home care services.

Independence First also provides programming, whether it’s art classes or cooking classes, peer support, and even adaptive video gaming. More than 50% of their staff, managers, and Board have disabilities themselves and this peer-approach leads to excellent outcomes.

Services include benefits counseling and Personal Care Support. They advocate for change and inclusivity, and help people who want to stay or move into an independent living situation in their own home instead of institutions.

Independence First is Metro Milwaukee’s first resource for people with disabilities.

They offer more than 40 programs and workshops and services of all kinds, and for various age groups. Independence First provides programs on disability awareness, independent living skills, and recreation. They work with individuals and families for whatever someone needs to successfully live in the community, helping with resources from assistive technology to home modification to personal care or supportive home care services.

Independence First also provides programming, whether it’s art classes or cooking classes, peer support, and even adaptive video gaming. More than 50% of their staff, managers, and Board have disabilities themselves and this peer-approach leads to excellent outcomes.

Services include benefits counseling and Personal Care Support. They advocate for change and inclusivity, and help people who want to stay or move into an independent living situation in their own home instead of institutions.

Utilizing a patient-centered, multidisciplinary, medical home approach, Indian Health Care Resource Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, offers a full range of health and wellness services tailored to the Indian community.

The mission of the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa, Inc. (IHCRC) is to provide quality, comprehensive health care to Tulsa-area Indian people in a culturally sensitive manner that promotes good health, well being and harmony.

​The vision of IHCRC is to eliminate health disparities, expand innovative family-focused practices and promote an embracing approach to care that strengthens physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness within the Indian community.

​Services

• Medical
• Behavioral Health
• Substance Abuse
• Geriatrics
• Pediatrics
• Other services such as dental, transportation to appointments, pharmacy, and medication information.

The Innovative Approaches Project is working to improve the service systems for children and youth with special health care needs from birth to 21. Cabarrus Health Alliance is partnering with Family Support Network of Southern Piedmont to lead this initiative in our community. This system improvement work is being carried out in Cabarrus, Gaston, Rowan and Union counties by working in partnership with medical providers, community agencies and most importantly, parents of children and youth with special health care needs. This initiative is supported through the NC Division of Public Health, Children and Youth Branch.

Tools Offered:

• Getting Started
• Understanding the Diagnosis
• Finding Support
• Organizing Information
• Finding a Medical Home
• Financial Aspects
• Preparing for Transitions
• Special Education
• Emergency Preparedness
• Referral Flowchart (English and Spanish)
• Teach Resource Page

Insightful Moments is a community education series consisting of programs and materials covering a variety of important topics, from navigating clinical trials to conquering stress, available in English, Spanish, and French Canadian.

With this new series, we hope to empower patients and their families in their decision making, self-care, and management of the various aspects of their journey. We also aim to make sure the voices of the community are heard and reflected across our programs and materials, and that patients feel supported through direct connection with our Patient Engagement team.

The mission of Woodward Resource Center (WRC) is to prepare and support individuals to live in the community of their choice. Discharge planning begins at admission. Individuals with intellectual disabilities and other related disabilities from throughout the state of Iowa are eligible. There are specific eligibility requirements for each type of service.

Services provided:

• Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with an Intellectual Disability (ICF/ID) Residential Services
• Daily Supported Community Living (SCL)
• Community Outreach Services
• Consultations and Training
• Time-Limited Assessments
• Behavioral Health Services
• Physical Nutrition Management Team
• Autism Services

At Jewish Family & Career Services, we are guided by our Jewish values to ensure all in Greater Louisville live with dignity and purpose. Since 1908, we have served individuals and families of all faiths and backgrounds with a client-centered and compassionate approach.

We take our mission to expand possibilities for each person and every family to meet life’s challenges with confidence seriously at JFCS. Our dedicated professional staff provide services in the areas of Career Services, Counseling Services, Family Strengthening, Jewish Life, Klein Older Adult Services, and JFCS Navigate.

Family Stability Services

• Career Coaching & Counseling
• Emergency Assistance
• Financial Literacy & Coaching
• Individual, Couple & Family Counseling
• The Sonny & Janet Meyer Food Pantry
• Workshops

Klein Older Adults Services

• Care Coordination
• Counseling
• Family Caregiver Support
• Grandparents Raising Children
• Long-Term Care Planning
• PALS Transportation Service
• Senior Concierge Homecare
• Support Groups

Clinical Services 

• Individual, Couple, and Family Counseling
• Parent Coaching
• Personal Coaching
• Psychiatric Medication Assessment & Management
• Support Groups

Career & Economic Opportunity Services 

• Assessment & Exploration
• Counseling & Coaching
• Pre-Employment Transition Services
• Re-credentialing & Career Laddering
• Resource Coordination
• Vocational Evaluation
• Workshops
• Business Marketing Assistance
• Business Training & Consulting
• Education & Credit Building
• Microlending for Underserved Entrepreneurs

The Kansas School for the Deaf is a state-funded school serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students ages 3 to 21. The school provides early childhood (ages 3-4), elementary, secondary, and post-secondary (ages 18 – 21) education. Students have the option to live at home or in dorms, depending on the distance from their house, and are provided with a number of programs and activities. The school provides a number of other support services, including audiology, counseling, speech-language, physical and occupational therapies, and other nutritional and health services. More information on the admissions process can be found at this link.

The KATS Network’s mission is to make assistive technology (AT) information, devices, and services easily obtainable for people of any age and/or disability. AT is any item or piece of equipment (both low-tech and high-tech) used to improve and/or maintain independence in the home, at work, school or play. The KATS Network is one of 56 statewide assistive technology programs federally funded under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as reauthorized in 2022.

The KATS Network provides access to AT through a network of five (5) Regional AT Resource Centers (ATRCs) across the state. The Regional ATRCs operate AT demonstration programs, lending libraries, and AT Reutilization programs. The KATS Network Coordinating Center and each of the ATRCs work cooperatively to provide outreach, information and referral services, and training on various AT topics. Technical Assistance and collaboration are also provided to state agencies and organizations to enhance the understanding of and access to AT and accessible information and technology.

Kentucky Education Rights Center (KERC) is a private organization that works with families of children ages 3-21 who have physical and mental disabilities. KERC strives to ensure that each child receives the necessary resources from their public school system to obtain a free and appropriate public education. KERC helps families to navigate the IEP process.

Serving the public interest, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) enriches lives and builds stronger communities by educating, informing, inspiring, connecting people of every age and circumstance through the power of public media.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than two million people each week via television, online, and mobile. We’re an innovative and efficient producer of digital education tools for the classroom and Kentucky’s highest-quality source for public affairs and cultural programming.

The Kentucky Guardianship Association (KGA) is a non-profit membership organization with the goal of improving adult guardianship in Kentucky. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in adult guardianship. We seek to improve guardianship by developing training for persons appointed to serve as guardian of an adult with a disability, training for persons seeking to be appointed as guardian, attorneys representing alleged incapacitated persons, and professionals including social workers, psychologists, and medical personnel, appointed to interdisciplinary evaluation teams for the purpose of evaluating the capacity of adults responding to a petition for appointment of a guardian or conservator.

The KGA was founded on the principle of improving the practice of adult guardianship in Kentucky by promoting practices that protect the Constitutional rights and autonomy of persons with disabilities.

We hold regular meetings and trainings in Kentucky about topics related to guardianship.

Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) invests in affordable housing solutions by offering programs and services designed to develop, preserve, and sustain affordable housing throughout the state. Programs offered by KHC include rental housing financing, including administering Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, homeownership education/counseling, housing rehabilitation, homeless programs, home energy and repair initiatives, as well as loan servicing.

The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with CF the opportunity to lead long, fulfilling lives by funding research and drug development, partnering with the CF community, and advancing high-quality, specialized care.

Kynect offers Kentucky state benefits for qualified individuals and families. Kynect is designed to be your one-stop-shop for the programs and assistance you need no matter who you are, or where you are in life. Below are the Kentucky assistance programs that you can apply for:

• Medicaid and KCHIP
• Premium Assistance
  • Kentucky Integrated Health Insurance Premium Payment Program (KI-HIPP)
• Qualified Health Plan
  • Qualified Health Plan with or without premium payment assistance (APTC) and Cost Sharing Reduction depending on eligibility
• Food Assistance
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Cash Assistance
  • Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP)
• Childcare Assistance

Latham Centers was founded in 1970 to provide residential care, education, and treatment for children ages 8–22. We serve intellectually disabled girls and boys with special needs as well as children and adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) whether you live nearby in Massachusetts, in New York, or elsewhere. The programs at Latham Centers provide PWS education and personalized care that can make all the difference for your loved one.

Residential Living 

Students live on our Brewster campus or near campus. Residential staff provides 24-hour care and supervision in a therapeutic and structured environment. Students build confidence and have many opportunities for increased independence as they learn the skills that will help them live as active participants in their communities.

Individual Care & Adaptable Programs 

Our multidisciplinary professional team develops a comprehensive Individual Educational Program (IEP) for each student. These plans are based on a thorough review of the student’s medical, social, and family history, and on assessments of the student’s medical, psychological, educational, and vocational needs. Plans are updated quarterly based on the student’s progress and changing needs.

Educational and Vocational Programs 

Our students learn in small classes, with one-on-one tutoring and counseling. Our program and facilities are geared towards helping students develop job skills, learn to work and live together, explore the world, and love all kinds of learning. Our vocational specialists act as job coaches as they help students learn job skills and find employment.

Medical and Social Services 

Our extensive team includes doctors, nurses, clinical psychologists, social workers, physical therapists, special education teachers, and residential and vocational counselors. Our integrated services include individual and group counseling, family casework, art, and recreation therapy.

The Children’s Program 

Latham Centers’ Children’s Program offers educational, vocational, residential, social, clinical, and therapeutic resources. With a low student-to-staff ratio, our separate academic and residential faculty includes licensed teachers and speech, physical, and occupational therapists. Students are able to learn and grow in a multi-sensory environment with technology utilized throughout the school and residential programs. Our instructional methods and therapeutic approaches are researched and validated with social skills and pragmatics integrated into all aspects of the programs. Our master’s level clinicians serve as liaisons from home to school residences.

We organize a wide range of after school and weekend activities so that students have real-life opportunities for the generalization of skills both on- and off-campus. These include sports and vocational opportunities. With comprehensive health care services, Latham Centers is a safe, supportive, structured environment in which to learn and grow.

Latham Centers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are approved as a private Chapter 766 special needs school by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, and we are licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services and the Department of Early Education and Care, and nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation.

When in-state options are not available, Latham Centers has been approved to admit students from: 

• California
• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• New York
• Washington, D.C.

We continue to accept students from states that do not have a formal approval process. Recent students have hailed from Alaska, Ohio, and Virginia.

Understanding stifling life obstacles on a micro and macro level, and providing solutions to them, has always been Manifezt’s focus. The organization’s current programs and initiatives focus on educational workshops through hands-on learning to supplement traditional lecture education. We aim to teach the skills that prospective employers are looking for in an increasingly technological world, one where STEM skills are held at a premium and are the gateway to high paying jobs.

Partnering with forward-thinking organizations to cultivate a community of thoughtful leaders, our foundation aims to bridge generational divides by rectifying socioeconomic issues that have left a gap in opportunity for many born into lower income households. Our leaders believe in the power of education, entrepreneurship, and increasing the availability of the necessary resources to ensure our future innovators can reach their full potential and contribute to our continually transforming society.

Equal education for all is a value we keep central to the Manifezt Model, which is why our programs are completely free for all participants.

Programs

1. Science in the City, our unique extracurricular youth program, provides rigorous and career-based STEM education to students throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County. Science in the City workshops bring students of all backgrounds together to immerse them in STEM activities built around college and career-level standards, centralized around the marvel of space exploration all while covering sciences from environmental science to coding.
2. Youth STEM Program; hands-on supplemental courses for institutional education. Extensive hands-on stem education program for children 8-18 infused with experiments tailored to spark their interest in STEM, so we can transition into showing them the potential careers in those areas. Through Manifezt Foudnation’s Youth STEM program, our volunteers expose participants to high level science, technology, engineering, and math projects that will inspire some of tomorrow’s greatest innovators.

Maryland Access Point (MAP) is Maryland’s No Wrong Door Aging and Disability Resource Center, established as the single entry point for individuals seeking long term support services and a range of community supports. Maryland’s 20 local MAP sites aim to assist consumers to navigate the complex system of services through individual, person-centered counseling.

The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council has been creating change to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities since 1971. We focus on children, family, and adult issues. The Council is an independent state agency. We are led by people with developmental disabilities and family members of people with developmental disabilities.

Mental Health America of Central Carolinas (MHA) provides mental health programs in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties and surrounding areas in North Carolina. Our programs seek to raise awareness, provide support, and break stigmas associated with mental illness. MHA provides family support services to parents of children with behavioral, emotional, or mental health needs; peer support for adults living with chronic mental illness; and mental health education and preventative trainings to the broader community. MHA’s programs bring together mental health consumers, parents, advocates, and service providers to address systemic issues impacting mental health. MHA’s programs focus on prevention, education, and advocacy. Our work is guided by the B4Stage4 philosophy, the premise that just like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or other physical conditions, early diagnosis and treatment is key to improving mental health and recovery.

Mind & Spirit Counseling Center is the welcoming place for those seeking inspiration, hope, and healing of body, mind, and spirit. We provide services to people from all walks of life, regardless of financial barriers. Our mission is to walk with people through counseling and education to find hope and healing and to live a fulfilling life.

Mind & Spirit Counseling Services is dedicated to ensuring all clients receive the same high-quality services and treatment, regardless of their insurance status. We provide:

• Counseling: available for individuals of all ages, including children and adolescents through our “Children Overcoming the Obstacles of Life” or C.O.O.L.
• Psychiatry: no need to turn elsewhere for medication needs. The center has several clinicians on staff to ensure to prescribe and manage medication needs.
• Psychological services: testing and assessment for all ages to asses learning disorders, IQ, developmental challenges, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and more.
• Spiritual direction: non-sectarian and open to those nonreligious.
• Clinical training: for graduate students, postgraduates clinical residency program, psychology, postdoctoral fellowship.
• Classes: such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes, boundary training, and community education

Our mission is to ensure that individuals with genetic disorders and their families have access to quality care and appropriate genetic expertise and information through facilitating a professional network of genetics clinics, key primary care practices, consumer advocates, and state health department resources.

The MSRGN is one of seven regional networks funded through the Healthcare Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The MSRGN is focused on the following priorities:

• linkage of medically underserved populations to genetic services
• implementation of quality improvement activities to increase genetic services
• implementation of evidence-based innovative models of telehealth/telemedicine focused on clinical genetics
• provision of resources to providers (genetics and primary care), public health professionals, and individuals with genetics conditions and their families.

NAMI Broward is an organization of families, friends, and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness. Together, we advocate for better lives for those individuals who have a mental illness. 

NAMI Broward County Area Crisis Line 

Non-Emergency (Broward Sheriff’s Office): 954-765-4321

Full Directory of Services in Broward County: 211 or 954-563-4357

Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255

Crisis Line Emergencies: 911

The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) of South Carolina is an organization of families, friends, and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness. Together, we advocate for better lives for those individuals who have a mental illness, and we offer support, education, and advocacy.

NAMI’s support groups follow a structured model to ensure you and others in the group have an opportunity to be heard and to be helped. All of the NAMI affiliates in South Carolina provide their support groups for free and confidential.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency, contact the 24/7/365 DMH Statewide Crisis Response dispatcher at 833-364-2274. utilize the Crisis Textline (Text HOPE4SC to 741741), or DIAL 988.

The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade organization and is the only national association representing all stakeholders in the specialty pharmacy industry. The mission of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) is to elevate the practice of specialty pharmacy by developing, delivering and promoting continuing professional education and specialty certification while advocating for public policies that ensure patients have appropriate access to specialty medications in tandem with critical services. NASP supports a free market healthcare system in which all specialty pharmacies compete on the same fair and level playing field, because that is in the best interest of the patients we collectively serve. NASP is committed to working with all stakeholders and policymakers to ensure that all patients have access to the life-saving medications they need and the high touch patient care and support services they deserve from the pharmacy of their choosing.

NCATS offers free materials and resources to help patients, caregivers, patient support organizations, health care providers and scientists learn about rare diseases and help advance research on them.

For most children, communication development and learning occur through vision and hearing. Because deaf-blindness limits access to auditory and visual information, children who are deaf-blind require educational services individualized to their own learning styles and abilities. Most also have one or more additional disabilities or medical conditions, further intensifying educational support needs.

In recognition of the complexity of the disability, the U.S. Congress has authorized programs for children who are deaf-blind as part of education legislation since the late 1960s. The National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and state deaf-blind projects are the most current programs—funded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

NCDB and the state deaf-blind projects exist to help increase the knowledge and skills of educators and families who work with children who are deaf-blind and create sustainable services through systems change.

Most of NCDB’s services are aligned with four national initiatives designed to address key needs of children with deaf-blindness, their families, and service providers.

Technical Assistance

NCDB’s technical assistance (TA) refers to a variety of activities, such as information, training, consultation, and coaching designed to support state deaf-blind projects as they work with practitioners, agencies, and families to address the intense educational needs of children who are deaf-blind.

Information Services 

Our information services involve both information dissemination and product development to serve two key purposes:

1. Resources and tools that support state deaf-blind project activities
2. Information about deaf-blindness and high-quality instructional practices for families and practitioners

These are made available via this website and through library services provided in collaboration with Perkins School for the Blind.

National Child Count 

NCDB compiles data about children with deaf-blindness collected by state deaf-blind projects and publishes an annual report. The report provides valuable information to inform the design and delivery of TA, research needs, and personnel training.

NAC’s mission is to provide innovative high quality services in support of birth, foster, and adoptive families caring primarily for medically complex children. NAC’s mission includes children with severe physical, emotional, and behavioral challenges and developmental disabilities.

NAC’s services enable children to remain in or to be returned to their families whenever possible or to be adopted by loving families. Working primarily with children whose birth families live in poverty, NAC’s continuum of services ensures that children’s physical, social, educational, recreational, medical, and mental healthcare needs are met. By supporting families NAC prevents lengthy stays in foster care, hospitals, or other institutions. NAC builds on family strengths, provides opportunities, and assists all family members in reaching for and achieving their potential.

Services 

1. Family Support
2. Medical and Mental Health
3. Foster Care & Adoption
4. Education & Youth Development

New Directions’ mission is to develop and maintain affordable housing and vital communities in partnership with neighborhoods and other stakeholders. We seek to achieve that mission through our core services: the management of affordable rental properties, increasing the number of available properties particularly in Louisville’s West End, our home repair programs, and building community by being tireless advocates for neighborhood residents. One of our most popular programs, Repair Affair, makes critical improvements to homes of the elderly or disabled, allowing them to stay in their homes longer. Too often, long-term residents of a neighborhood are left out of any revitalization project. We want them to be part of that revitalization, to benefit from it rather than to be victimized by it.

The New England Regional Genetics Network advances the health and well-being of individuals with or at risk for genetic conditions by improving access to genetic services, educating professionals to strengthen systems of genetic care, and supporting families in New England.

New Mexico Technology Assistance Program (NMTAP) offers free services to New Mexicans with disabilities to help them get the assistive technology (AT) services they need. it is a statewide program designed to increase knowledge of, access to, and acquisition of assistive or adaptive technology for anyone with any disability, anywhere in the state, of any age.

Device Loans 

We are now offering curbside pick-up and drop-off of device loans. You can request devices for loan through our online database at https://myatprogram.org/home/35 or by submitting a Device Loan Application. Applications can be accessed on our website under Device Loans, or you can contact a NMTAP staff member to have one emailed or mailed to you.

Shipping of device loans is still available for all individuals who are not in the Albuquerque area.

Device Demonstrations 

Not sure which device to loan? You can compare one or more similar devices in a one-on-one, customized, in-person or online, device demonstration. Contact a staff member to request a device demonstration.

For over three decades, NYSSCAN has been providing an array of support services and programs to children, caregivers, families, and individuals affected with sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and the trait in the Tristate and Metropolitan areas. All of our services are provided FREE OF CHARGE.

We Can Help With:
Information, referrals, and other assistance linking families and individuals to services fitting their needs

Information about sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and the trait

Referrals to hospitals and other healthcare facilities

Referrals and linkages with governmental agencies, community organizations, immigration, and legal services

Hospital/Home visits

Advocacy for patients between their hospitals and providers

Help to sponsor a child for summer camp/respite care

Referrals to family or individual consultation and counseling

Entitlements: SSA, SSI, Medicaid, SNAP (formerly Food Stamps), and other governmental programs

Referral to GED, College, 504/IDEA, job readiness, technical training, life skills, and enrichment programs

Assistance to families in need

Family financial assistance (when funds are available)

The prescription financial assistance program

Clothing assistance

Goods and services

The mission of North Star is to connect with and care for our community so everyone may enjoy health and wellness. Just as the North Star serves as a guiding light in the night sky, our team of dedicated healthcare professionals are here to meet you where you’re at and accompany you on your journey to our health and wellness goals.

North Star Health offers financial assistance in the form of a sliding fee discount program. Eligibility is based on family size and annual income. Payments for eligible individuals are adjusted according to a sliding fee schedule that is based on current federal poverty guidelines.

Unless indicated otherwise on a provider’s North Star Health website profile, all North Star Health clinical providers are included in the North Star Health sliding fee discount program.

Services include:

• Primary care
• Behavioral health
• Dental care
• Vision care
• Pediatrics
• Nutrition counseling
• Diabetes management and education
• Lifestyle medicine
• School-based services
• Substance use treatment
• Walk-in care
• Care coordination

The Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program will collaborate with national, state and community-based partners to link children to appropriate services, close service gaps, reduce duplication and develop policies to better serve families.

The Northeast Regional Center serves the counties of Brown, Calumet, Door, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Sheboygan, Waupaca, Waushara and Winnebago.

We provide families with:

• Condition specific information.
• Up-to-date information and resources in the community, state and nation.
• Problem-solving strategies.
• Health benefits/insurance assistance.
• Finding doctors and dental care.
• Tips on communicating with schools.
• Transition planning resources and consultation.
• Parent-to-parent support and more.

The Northern Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) is a resource for families with children (0-22) who have any type of disability or need help finding a diagnosis.

We also offer parent support with loans from our resource library, scholarships to training and conferences, peer support from staff with lived experiences, and referrals to our statewide Parent-to-Parent support network. The Northern Regional Center office is located in Wausau, Wisconsin and supports 15 counties and 6 tribes. Staff are available to help problem-solve, provide information or make referrals to community, state, and national resources. We regularly travel in the area so can drop off resources, meet for coffee, or host a training in your home community.

Educational support can be found at this link: https://northernregionalcenter.org/information-resources/your-childs-education/

Medical Providers/Physicians can make direct referrals using this form available in English and Spanish: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/f0/f01238.pdf

Founded in 1990, the O’Berry Center Foundation improves the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities across the state of North Carolina through family support, community services, education, quality of life initiatives and scholarships.

The Ocean State Center for Independent Living is a non-residential, consumer-driven, community-based, cross-disability, non-profit organization. OSCIL was established in 1988 to provide a range of independent living services to enhance, through self-direction, the quality of life for persons with disability and to promote integration into the community. OSCIL is governed by an active Board of Directors comprised largely of persons having disabilities, who play a major role in setting policy and programming.

Our core services include advocacy, peer support, independent living skills training, information & referral, and transition services.

Main Office: 1944 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI 02889

Oscil North: 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Post Road: 1800 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886

Early Intervention (EI) is a statewide system that provides coordinated early intervention services to parents of eligible children under the age of three with developmental delays or disabilities. EI is grounded in the philosophy that young children learn best from familiar people in familiar settings. Every family served in EI will have a local EI team that consists of a service coordinator, service providers, and your family. Your team works with you in your home or other places you and your family spend time to develop a coordinated plan called an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). You and your team will work through your IFSP plan to use your existing supports and resources—and build upon them—to learn to enhance your child’s learning and development.

All children are unique and develop at their own pace, but there are general milestones that are helpful to understanding your child’s development.

Click here to access free developmental and monitoring screening tools

Ohio EI is a part of the Help Me Grow program, which provides home visits for prevention and education as well as early intervention services for children that qualify. Making a referral to Help Me Grow is the first and easy step for parents who have questions or concerns about their infant or child. One referral to Help Me Grow opens the door to many programs that support families including Early Intervention, Home Visiting, Moms and Babies First, and the WIC Program.

Click Here to Make a Referral to Help Me Grow

The Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) expands opportunities for employment, independent life and economic self-sufficiency by helping Oklahomans with disabilities bridge barriers to success in the workplace, school and at home.

DRS is comprised of five program divisions; Vocational Rehabilitation, Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Disability Determination, Oklahoma School for the Blind and Oklahoma School for the Deaf. These divisions operate dozens of programs that help Oklahomans lead more independent and productive lives.

• Vocational Rehabilitation : Employment services for people with any disability, except blindness.
• Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Employment and independent living services for people who are blind, visually impaired.
• Disability Determination Services: Determines medical eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
• Oklahoma School for the Deaf: Educational programs for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Oklahoma School for the Blind: Educational programs for children who are blind or visually impaired.

The Mission of the Oklahoma Disability Law Center, Inc. is to protect, promote and expand the rights of people with disabilities.

What We Do

Information/Referral: We can answer questions about the legal rights of persons with disabilities, and services they may be entitled to. We can also explain where to apply for disability services or how to get more information.

Client Advocacy: People with disabilities may be denied services or discriminated against; their rights may be violated; they may be subject to abuse or neglect. We can negotiate on an individual’s behalf to resolve these problems, or support their own self-advocacy efforts. In some cases, we can represent persons with disabilities in a hearing or in court.

Systemic Advocacy: Some problems affect large numbers of people with disabilities, and can best be resolved through changes in funding, policies, regulations, or law. ODLC works with state agencies and the state legislature, or takes legal action, to improve and expand disability services or legal rights.

Training: We provide workshops and presentations on legal rights issues, and on how to obtain benefits or services.

Investigation and Monitoring: As the federally-mandated Protection & Advocacy (P&A) service for Oklahoma, we have access to facilities to conduct investigations, provide information and training, and monitor compliance with rights and safety. Facilities can include hospitals, community living arrangements, board and care homes, juvenile detention facilities, jails, prisons, schools, and more.

The Oklahoma Family Network (OFN) informs and connects individuals with special health care needs and disabilities, their families, and professionals to services and support in their communities.

Our services are designed for the family of any child who has:

• spent time in the NICU or was born premature
• physical disabilities
• cancer
• rare or undiagnosed conditions
• Autism
• Cerebral Palsy
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Down Syndrome
• mental health diagnoses
• behavioral health concerns

The Oklahoma Family Resource Coalition is a membership and networking organization that is made up of individuals who believe that families are the primary influence in the lives of children.  The mission of the Oklahoma Family Resource Coalition is to support resources within our communities that build on family strengths to ensure the best possible outcome for Oklahoma families.  This alliance of committed individuals, both professional and non-professional, share their knowledge and expertise with one another in order to address issues affecting families in Oklahoma.  By joining forces, they are able to increase their own ability to produce resources, build networks, and gather knowledge to help parents in the important job of rearing their children.

The Oklahoma Parents Center (OPC) specializes in special education support for people with disabilities from birth to age 26 and their families. We have been providing services to Oklahoma parents and family members of children with disabilities, young adults with disabilities, and the professionals who serve them since 2000!

Navigating through the special education process can be overwhelming and complex.  You don’t have to go it alone!  The OPC staff is here to equip you with the tools you need to understand the system, work with service providers and schools, and advocate for your student or yourself.

Our goal is to give you the knowledge, skills, support, and tools you need to be the best advocate you can be!  In order to accomplish this, the OPC offers services in three (3) key areas:

1. Individualized Assistance
2. Trainings
3. Information and Resources

The Orr’s Hope Foundation is for Wyoming families facing the many challenges of premature birth and children with medically complex conditions. During this difficult journey, Orr’s Hope Foundation seeks to come along side these families and walk with them, providing support, education, financial assistance for non-medical needs, and connections to other resources to help them thrive as they navigate the many challenges that come through these medical journeys.

Since 1963, the PA Elks Home Service Program has been helping to improve the quality of life for thousands of children and adults through Pennsylvania. We provide support and advocacy services to individuals of any age who have developmental disability.

Services are provided: 

• By a nurse and/or service coordinator
• Without discrimination
• To Pennsylvania residents
• At no charge
• In the person’s home environment

Some ways the Elks Home Service Program can help: 

• Provide in-home service coordination services
• Advocate for an individual’s legal and human rights
• Provide information regarding resources and services available
• Assess needs and help to access equipment
• Advocate for appropriate educational services
• Assist with finding activities within the community
• Offer instruction regarding home care
• Provide emotional support
• Help with vocational goals
• Assist with residential options
• Provide referrals to appropriate agencies in the community
• Interpret clinical findings and act as a liaison between healthcare providers

Who is Eligible

An individual of any age who has a developmental disability. This is a disability that is manifested before the person reaches 22 years of age. It may result in physical or mental delays or in a combination of both. Services can continue through a person’s lifetime if needed.

Making a Referral

Referrals can be made by health care professionals, school personnel, community agencies, family members or friends. Permission must first be obtained from the individual or family.

PA Parent and Family Alliance is a state-wide program of the Allegheny Family Network. At the PAT Parent and Family Alliance, we’ve designed one-of-a-kind, no-cost resources for parents whose children are experiencing mental health challenges because we believe that parents are the best advocates for their children.

We support parents in three ways:

1. Individualized support from a Family Support Partner (FSP). This unique resource pairs parents with Family Support Partners- professional resource navigators who share the lived experience managing their child’s mental health challenge. Family Support Partners provide intensive, 1:1 confidential support to parents to work through their toughest challenges, free of charge.
2. Support Groups. We host weekly online support groups where parents can connect to share their experiences and advice with one another.
3. Information and Resources. We develop fact sheets, articles, webinars, and trainings to equip parents with the knowledge they need to navigate their child’s mental health challenge.

The Palmetto Pre-K Portal is your one-stop shop for finding free educational preschool programs in South Carolina. This portal allows you to search based on zip code and eligibility to see at a glance your available program options.

The PEAL Center is an organization of parents/family members of children with disabilities and special health care needs and persons with disabilities who educate and guide:

• Families of children and youth, ages birth to 26, who have disabilities and/or special health care needs.
• Professionals and others who work with children and youth who have disabilities and/or special health car needs.
• Youth and young adults up to age 26 who have disabilities and/or special health care needs.

The mission of the PEAL Center is to educate and empower families to ensure that children, youth, and young adults with disabilities and special health care needs lead rich, active lives as full members of their schools and communities. The PEAL Center serves families across Pennsylvania with offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Our mission is to empower families as advocates and partners in improving education and health outcomes for children with disabilities and special healthcare needs with a commitment to diversity and equity.

One-on-One Support

PPMD offers families individualized support from someone who knows what it means to have a child with a disability or a special healthcare need. Our team has firsthand knowledge of the special education and healthcare process.  Please contact us with questions to receive support as it relates to your specific family needs.

Training

PPMD offers a variety of interactive trainings for parents and professionals. The trainings provide a combination of information and resources through the use of hands-on activities. PPMD facilitates training opportunities that allow parents and professionals to connect with others with similar experiences.

Referrals

PPMD is here to help. If you are unable to locate resources or information on our website, please contact us for further assistance or a referral to the receive support specific to the needs of your child.

Information

PPMD offers information and resources to support families of children with disabilities and special healthcare needs. Please contact us for information specific to your child needs.

Our mission is to connect and empower families, children, and youth living with disabilities or special healthcare needs through support, education, and advocacy.

PATH Offers many programs and services to families of children with special needs: 

• One-to-one, personal support, and information by phone with our health information specialists and parent support staff.
• Support and information to moms-to-be on bed-rest, parents of premature babies, and parents of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
• Support, outreach, and resources to families in need of genetic information.
• Support and information on specific disabilities, including but not limited to Autism, Down syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, ADHD, and learning disabilities, to help families better understand their child’s healthcare and overall needs.
• Help understanding how to navigate the healthcare system, including applying for insurance and finding medical specialists/providers in your area.
• Information and assistance applying for programs and services that may be available to children with special needs and their families in the state of Connecticut, including Birth to 3, DDS, SSI, Section 8 housing.
• Help learning how to advocate for your child with special needs, both in a medical and educational settings.
• Help understanding your child’s educational evaluations and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and 504 plans.
• Trainings and webinars to help parents become their child’s best advocate.
• Trainings for both parents and professionals on cultural and linguistic competency.
• Educational support and advocacy. PATH is often able to assist families with educational support in the school setting, attending PPT/IEP and 504 meetings. Our goal is to help parents become better advocates for their children. We ask that parents who use this educational advocacy support participate in at least two parenting trainings with our organization. In the event that we are unable to provide educational advocacy services, parents will be provided with a list of special education attorneys in the state of Connecticut.

The mission of the Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society (PCVIS) is to advocate for improvement in the quality of life of children with vision loss due to brain disorder, disease, or injury. The mission is restricted to matters concerning the sense of vision.

Penn State PRO Wellness is a non-profit organization that is committed to educating and inspiring youth and their families to eat well, engage in regular physical activity, and become champions for bringing healthy choices to life.

The Center’s work has contributed to significant institutional changes statewide and has focused on several key areas:

• Providing informative and educational programs and materials to schools, youth,and their families
• Collaborating with schools, communities, and like-minded organizations on projects related to promoting nutrition and physical activity behaviors
• Implementing research-based interventions in the school and community settings and disseminating innovative solutions and methods
• Obtaining funding and in-kind support for its work from foundations, industry and state/federal government sources
• Growing Healthy Champions throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Health Law Project (PHLP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal services organization that represents Pennsylvanians who need help getting or keeping Medicaid (also known as Medical Assistance or MA). The mission of the PHLP is protecting and advancing health care rights through free legal services, community education, and systemic advocacy.

Pennsylvania Medicare Education and Decision Insight (PA MEDI) offers free Medicare counseling to older Pennsylvanians. PA MEDI Counselors are specially trained to answer your questions and provide you with objective, easy-to-understand information about Medicare, Medicare Supplemental Insurance, Medicaid, and Long-Term Care Insurance.

PA MEDI Counselors do not sell Medicare products but rather offer current, unbiased Medicare education to help you make the most informed choice about the Medicare options available to you.

Our PA MEDI Counselors can help you: 

• Understand Medicare eligibility and enrollment
• Understand your Medicare benefits by explaining what services are covered under Medicare Parts A and B and your Medicare Summary Notice
• Understand your Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) benefit
• Make informed choices about Medicare coverage options, Medigap policies and Medicare Advantage Plans
• Understand financial assistance programs that may be available to help pay for your Medicare premiums, deductible and co-pays, as well as your prescription drug needs (Extra Help and Medicare Savings Plan)
• Understand and assist with the Medicare appeal process
• Understand benefits under Long-Term Care policies
• By making presentations on Medicare to your group or organization

To get started, contact the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) serving your local area using the AAA Locator.

The Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program (SAP) is a systematic team process used to mobilize school resources to remove barriers to learning. SAP is designed to assist in identifying issues including alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and mental health issues which pose a barrier to a student’s success. The primary goal of the Student Assistance Program is to help students overcome these barriers so that they may achieve, advance, and remain in school. While Student Assistance Programs exist in other areas of the country, the structure and operation of the program in Pennsylvania is a unique expression of an integrated model serving the needs of Pennsylvania families and students.

The Pennsylvania School Bus Association (PBSA) was founded in 1980 and consists of over 300 school transportation contractors and industry partners who have come together to be a strong voice for school transportation safety and the school transportation contracting industry.

Our mission is to provide programs, education, and services to promote and foster the highest degree of safety in the transportation of school children and strengthen the quality of student transportation through professional management. PSBA works with many Pennsylvania organizations and government agencies to advance the mission and accomplish the goals of the membership.

The transportation of students with special needs requires extra care and attention by school bus contractors and their drivers. PSBA provides its members with the latest information on federal and state requirements as well as access to best practices for transporting these students. The PSBA Exceptional Learners Committee monitors special needs transportation issues and develops resources for PSBA members.

A nonprofit, cross-disability, consumer-controlled organization, the mission of the Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council is to use our collective power and legal mandate to develop and secure public policies that ensure civil rights and expand options for all people with disabilities in all aspects of life.

The PA SILC works to promote the philosophy of Independent Living and to monitor, review, evaluate, and maintain a State Plan for Independent Living.

Centers for Independent Living are community-based, cross-disability, non-profit organizations that are designed and operated by people with disabilities. CILs are unique in that they operate according to a strict philosophy of consumer control, wherein people with all types of disabilities directly govern and staff the organization.

Centers for Independent Living were created to be run by and for people with disabilities, and offer support, advocacy, and information on empowerment in the attainment of independence from a peer viewpoint, a perspective that was hitherto excluded from participation in the discussion and execution of ‘services for the disabled.

There are 17 CILs in Pennsylvania and the PA SILC works to promote and strength these Centers.

Find a CIL by County: https://pasilc.org/independent-living/find-a-cil-by-county/

Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children, known as PA’s Promise, is a campaign to help families make good choices about their child’s early learning and choose quality early learning programs that are right for their family.

Pervasive Parenting Center is a not-for-profit organization made up of families, local educators, community leaders, and health-care professionals. We strive to provide a better life for the families in eastern Oklahoma who are coping with disabilities because we work and live with those same issues every day.

Our mission is to provide assistance to families in eastern Oklahoma affected by autism and other disabilities. 100% of the proceeds from donations go to help bring resources to families in the eastern Oklahoma area coping with disabilities. We have used the funds to help bring conferences, trainings, and other events to LeFlore, Sequoyah, and Haskell counties.

In rural eastern Oklahoma the resources for families coping with disabilities are limited. This tends to leave parents unaware of what is available. The Pervasive Parenting Center helps provide families with a place to find answers to questions about what is available to them. We also assist in applying for and receiving those resources. This is achieved through networking with existing state and federal programs.

We help offer local schools, organizations, communities, and businesses training to help provide people with disabilities a better life. By providing workshops and continuing education courses we can help inform people in rural areas about subjects ranging from inclusion in the classroom, people first language, emergency personnel training, sexuality, and assistive technology.

We also work with families in schools to help them understand their rights, and advocate to make sure they are receiving the services they need. This includes advocating in Individual Education Program (IEP) Meetings.

Pfizer Rare Disease is built on innovation. We pride ourselves in stretching the limits of traditional partnership and collaborative research models by working in new and meaningful ways with innovators in government, academia, advocacy, and across the industry. We believe a networked R&D model that leverages the strengths across all sectors will drive the next generation of breakthrough therapies.

Our ongoing rare disease collaborative research in gene therapy is one example of our cutting-edge approach to developing new therapies. We are continuing to identify and engage new partners to advance our rAAV-based platform and capabilities, leading to several pre-clinical and clinical programs.

Through trusted rare disease partnerships and collaborations—and a shared urgency and relentless passion to make a difference in patients’ lives—Pfizer Rare Disease is supporting programs and initiatives that we believe can benefit the public, advance medical care, and improve patient outcomes.

Here you will find some general information on grants, funding, and other opportunities that are now available to help improve the lives of patients with rare diseases.

Pilot Parents of Southern Arizona is committed to providing encouragement and support to families who have children with special needs so that their children can reach their maximum potential within the family and society. All of our programs and services are offered free of charge without regard of the child’s disabilities, age, family income, qualifying conditions or other eligibility factors.

Available services include:

• Advocacy Training (Partners in Leadership)- a leadership training program for parents of children with disabilities and for young adults with disabilities who want to further themselves as self-advocates.
• Sibshop is a workshop providing information to siblings of children with special needs based on a national model developed by Don Meyer.

The mission of PrAACtical AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication) is to improve the level of AAC services available to individuals with significant communication challenges by supporting speech-language pathologists and other interested stakeholders.

Our mission is to provide energy conservation services and education to promote energy-saving practices in the community. As a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Project Warm delivers free services to low-income households, seniors, and the disabled living in Jefferson County.

Project Warm helps homes stay warmer in cold weather & cooler in hot weather by offering weatherization services free of charge for qualifying low-income homeowners & renters. Project Warm’s services can help to lower the home’s energy usage by 15-45%.

Project Warm provides a positive impact on families and our community through our weatherization services and energy conservation education. The benefits of our services are:

• Lower energy usage
• Reduced climate pollution
• Affordable housing
• Improved health
• Increased safety
• Neighborhood stability

Fill out this form to determine your eligibility for weatherization services: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1scZJqsZ2C3Q1bvj1zgltKoNVNU1UdfyUVAfizFKy6Qg/viewform?edit_requested=true

Protect TX Fragile Kids (PTFK) is a grass-roots, non-profit organization (501(c)(4)) founded and run by parents of medically fragile Texas children.  Our stated mission is:

(a) To give a voice to Texas’ most fragile citizens; (b) To inform, educate, and support families of children with disabilities; (c) To fight for what is right for children with special medical needs and disabilities; (d) To champion public policy which supports and protects the well-being of children with disabilities and complex medical needs; (e) To monitor existing and proposed legislation impacting children with disabilities; (f) To empower families with children who have disabilities and complex medical needs to connect with elected officials in order to promote understanding of this life.

We are dedicated to advocating, educating, and informing families and elected officials alike about what it is like to provide a hospital-level of care in the home, and live with a child who has significant medical needs and requires constant care and medical intervention to stay alive. Above all, we are dedicated to advocating on behalf of the best interests of vulnerable, sick little Texans, who have no voice and desperately need someone to speak on their behalf and defend their interests. If the State of Texas is truly committed to a culture of life, then appropriate care for our state’s sickest kids must be a priority. Morally, financially and politically,  it is in the best interests of the state of Texas to protect their most fragile little citizens.

Raising Special Kids exists to improve the lives of children with the full range of disabilities, from birth to age 26, by providing support, training, information and individual assistance so families can become effective advocates for their children.

Raising Special Kids began in 1979 as a grass-roots effort of families, professionals, and community leaders determined to provide support and information for parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs. Today, Raising Special Kids serves as Arizona’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center, and as Arizona’s Parent Training and Information Center. Helping parents access information about health care, community resources, and support services so they can make informed decisions regarding their children’s care has been our mission from the beginning. We support thousands of Arizona families each year through our programs and services.

Our mission is to provide open access to information and resources that facilitate healthcare innovations and offer assistance and comfort to rare disease patients and their caregivers.

The Project

The Info Hub utilizes advanced computing techniques to:

1. Search, organize, and present data related to rare disorders from multiple resources.
2. Identify relationships that will facilitate development of innovative treatments for rare disorders.

The InfoHub is the first deliverable of the three-component “Research Opportunities Initiative.” The project also will include a portal to assist clinicians in the diagnosis of rare diseases and a portal to facilitate the research and development of rare disease treatments.

The Research Opportunities Initiative is being funded by the University of North Carolina System.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine and NC State University’s Institute for Next Generation IT Systems (ITng) are leading the InfoHub project. Investigators from other UNC System institutions are collaborating, including North Carolina Central University and UNC-Pembroke.

Over 7,000 rare diseases affect more than 30 million people in the United States. Many rare conditions are life-threatening and most do not have treatments. Drug, biologic, and device development in rare diseases is challenging for many reasons, including the complex biology and the lack of understanding of the natural history of many rare diseases. The inherently small population of patients with a rare disease can also make conducting clinical trials difficult. Since the Orphan Drug Act was signed into law in 1983, the FDA has approved hundreds of drugs for rare diseases, but most rare diseases do not have FDA-approved treatments.  The FDA works with many people and groups, such as patients, caregivers, and drug and device manufactures, to support rare disease product development.

RIPIN is a 501(c)(3), charitable, nonprofit organization established in 1991 by a passionate group of parents of children with special needs. These parents recognized that together they could provide support through sharing essential information and helping to find the resources they needed for their loved ones. This peer model continues to be at the heart of our work and has lead RIPIN’s network to expand statewide. Today we have over 100 employees, most of whom have personal experience caring for a loved one with special health care or educational needs.

The RIPIN Call Center offers free support to any Rhode Islander who needs help accessing healthcare, health insurance, or special education for children with disabilities.

RIPIN helps any Rhode Islander, from infants to seniors.
We can help you navigate:

Paradise Valley (PV) Unified School District’s Serving Unique Needs (SUN) Kids program provides a developmentally appropriate setting for children who have been identified with special needs and for children who are developing typically. WE encourage and actively seek the participation of typically-developing children.

Research shows that peer children who participate in a program alongside children with developmental delays will grow to become more independent and empathetic adults. Our students grow together as they develop language, social, and physical skills. The inclusive setting has proven to be a successful experience for all children.

Siloam Health’s mission is to share the love of Christ by serving those in need through health care. We are here to serve Nashville’s uninsured, underserved, and culturally marginalized. Our patients and clients come from over 80 homelands and speak more than 70 languages.

Medical Care

The Primary Care Clinic is open six days a week, providing primary care for all uninsured individuals, regardless of their ability to pay. Because it is not a walk-in clinic, prospective new patients are screened for eligibility weekly and contribute toward the cost of their case based on their ability to pay after enrollment. The average cost for a patient visit (including lab work) equals less than $20.

Community Health 

Siloam’s Community Health program is a unique initiative targeting immigrant and refugee communities in Nashville. Siloam-trained Community Health Workers (CHWs) serve as health ambassadors in their communities to help fellow immigrants navigate health and social service systems, address the root causes of disease, and strengthen social capital.

Student Education 

Rooted in Siloam’s model of whole-person care, our staff clinicians dedicate significant time to mentor students and trainees of various health disciplines in the art of compassionate, cross-cultural caregiving. Over the course of 4 to 11 weeks (depending on trainee type), students—including medical residents, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, and medical and pharmacy students – learn and practice skills like how to work with an interpreter, navigating care amidst limited resources, spiritual history, and working with an interdisciplinary team.

Simply Sayin’ is an award-winning educational app created by the Child Life team at Phoenix Children’s. It uses pictures, sounds and a glossary of terms to facilitate clear conversations about conditions, treatments and medical or healthcare-related experiences.

The app helps you find the right words or phrases to explain and talk about an illness or injury, medical procedures or other areas of interest or concern.

The app’s user-friendly layout includes:

• Ready access to an extensive glossary of medical terms with simple explanations that are easy for kids to understand
• A script feature to prepare children for surgery, with details about specific procedures and photos of main-campus areas and medical equipment that may be used as part of their care
• Interactive drawing boards for various body systems to help kids become familiar with areas and approaches to treatment
• English and Spanish translations

The app is available free of charge in the iTunes or Google Play stores.

Sins Invalid is a disability justice based performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ/gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Led by disabled people of color, Sins Invalid’s performance work explores the themes of sexuality, embodiment and the disabled body, developing provocative work where paradigms of “normal” and “sexy” are challenged, offering instead a vision of beauty and sexuality inclusive of all bodies and communities.

We define disability broadly to include people with physical impairments, people who belong to a sensory minority, people with emotional disabilities, people with cognitive challenges, and those with chronic/severe illness. We understand the experience of disability to occur within any and all walks of life, with deeply felt connections to all communities impacted by the medicalization of their bodies, including trans, gender variant and intersex people, and others whose bodies do not conform to our culture(s)’ notions of “normal” or “functional”.

The Social Development Commission (SDC) has served as a planner, coordinator, and provider of human service programs for low-income individuals and families in Milwaukee County for more than 50 years. Their mission is to empower people with the resources to move beyond poverty. Programs offered by SDC include emergency, career, education, financial, mental health & wellness, nutrition, residential, senior, and youth services.

Sooner SUCCESS works intimately with both the public and private sectors with the overarching goal to promote a comprehensive, coordinated system of health, social and educational services for Oklahoma children and youth with special healthcare needs in their local community.

Sooner SUCCESS Coordinators assist families by: 

• Discussing available resources that fit the family’s unique situation.
• Providing a county-specific resource guide of available services and supports.
• Supporting families as they complete complex application forms for services or prepare for meetings with service providers.
• Helping them locate specialty services – medical, counseling, speech and hearing, vision, nutrition, etc.
• Helping them learn more about their child’s needs and condition by providing printed information or links to trustworthy websites.
• Providing materials and guidance to families as they create their own Care Notebook to organize health/education information for their child.
• Providing emotional support during times of stress as well as recommendations for long-term peer support groups and networks.
• Providing contact and eligibility information for critical support programs such as the Respite Voucher System, Medicaid, Sooner Start, TEFRA, and the Family Support Assistance Program.
• Developing and organizing community projects to benefit children with special needs.  Past projects have included mobile dental clinics, home/school renovations, social/recreation events, information fairs, and health screening events.
• Organizing local and regional training workshops for parents on special needs topics.

The South Carolina Cancer Alliance is a multi-disciplinary network bringing cancer prevention practices and life-enhancing resources to everyone in the state. This collaborative of cancer experts, community organizations and dedicated volunteers develops, implements and funds the SC Cancer Plan: South Carolina’s most effective roadmap to delivering greater access and equity in the fight against cancer.

SC Child Care Resource & Referral (SC CCR and R) is a team of dedicated, experienced early care and education (ECE) professionals working to promote high-quality early care and education in South Carolina. We provide free, statewide services to South Carolina’s families, early childhood programs, and communities in our efforts to connect, support, and engage ECE stakeholders across the state.

We work to alleviate poverty, create opportunities, and increase the financial stability for low-income people so that every member of our communities – regardless of income – can live with dignity, reach their fullest potential, and enjoy all that is wonderful about life on the South Shore.

We collaborate with hundreds of community partners to provide a range of programs to meet household needs, including childcare, transportation, housing and utility assistance, food and nutrition.

The mission of Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) is “to empower and partner with individuals and communities to alleviate the hardships of poverty, provide opportunities to thrive, and eliminate root causes of poverty in southeastern Vermont.”

SEVCA works to find solutions to the deep-seated problems of poverty, largely by empowering and collaborating with those whose lives are affected by it daily. We address people’s immediate needs for fuel, housing, food, and other essentials to help stabilize their lives in the short term, and provide further tools and support to help them achieve greater financial independence in the longer term.

The ConsultLine is a direct line to a special education specialist who will explain federal and state laws relating to special education, describe the options that are available to parents, inform parents of procedural safeguards, identify other agencies and support services, and describe available remedies and how parents can proceed.

The ConsultLine is designed to be used by parents and parent/advocacy organizations. School district personnel are asked to use the Bureau of Special Education’s main number: 717-783-6913.

Before You Call 

Although you may call ConsultLine at any time to discuss a concern, consider taking the following steps first:

Call your child’s teacher, counselor and/or the principal. Discuss the situation with your school district’s special education director. If neither of these steps resolve your concern, call ConsultLine for answers about special education regulations and related issues.

When You Call 

When your call is received, give the specialist the following information:

Identify yourself, the child and where he or she is enrolled in school. Describe your concern and special circumstances. Be ready to write down any information given to you.

Special Kids is a Christian therapy and nursing center for children with special needs. We serve children from birth to 21-years old with a wide variety of diagnoses, from developmental delays to medically fragile. As a nonprofit organization, we are committed to serving every child in need, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. The support from the community allows us to continue in our vision to meet the needs of everyone, one child, one family, one community at a time.

Services include:

• Nursing services (medical care)
• Camp ability (fun)
• Physical therapy (gross motor)
• Speech therapy (communication)
• Occupational therapy (fine motor)
• Feed therapy (eating)

Visit this link for additional information on receiving services from Special Kids: https://www.specialkidstn.com/getting-started

Stand Among Friends is a non-profit organization that helps college students and adults with disabilities prepare for, seek, and understand their strengths when looking for employment and a career. Our comprehensive programs include: 

• Vocational evaluations
• Peer-mentoring
• Pre-employment services for youth and young adults
• Disability diversity training
• Community-based events

These services reinforce our clients’ talents, interests, and education so they can enter and succeed in the workforce and live a life without liits. We work with clients to set achievable goals and guide them through the entire employment search, including developing essential skills, providing the tools to begin their job search, identifying the right opportunity and landing the interview. We even support our clients after they secure employment by providing the necessary assistance to ensure they have a successful experience.

The Stanford Center for Undiagnosed Diseases (CUD) is one of the 12 clinical sites of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) supported by the NIH Common Fund. Our goal is to find answers for individuals whom exhaustive clinical work-up remains unrevealing. Patients undergo consultations with multiple specialists, and multi-omics profiling including metabolome, transcriptome, immunome, exome and genome sequencing are some of the tools we have available to find a diagnosis. We have also developed tools and workflows to overcome barriers present when working with self-identified Hispanic patients, such as culture, language, having access to internet, ability to request medical records to multiple health providers, and unfamiliarity with genetics and genetic research.

Eligibility Criteria:

• The applicant does not have a diagnosis that explains objective findings.
• The applicant (or legal guardian) agrees to the storage and sharing of information and biomaterials in an identified fashion amongst the UDN centers, and in a de-identified fashion to research sites beyond the network.

Exclusion Criteria:

• The applicant has a diagnosis that explains the objective findings.
• Review of the records suggests a diagnosis and further evaluation is deemed unnecessary.
• The applicant is too seriously ill to travel safely to the UDN site.

Special education laws and regulations are meant to protect students with disabilities to ensure that they receive the services and assistance that may be necessary to make meaningful progress in their education programs. In Connecticut, the special education system is based on the federal special education law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and its implementing regulations, in combination with the State’s special education law.

Stepping Stones is a nonprofit, United Way partner agency that has been making an impact on the Greater Cincinnati community since 1963. We offer a variety of educational and recreation program opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

At Stepping Stones, children, teens and adults with various abilities find pathways to independence that improve their lives and enable them to be more fully participating members of the community.

Programs by Name

• Adult Day Services
• Saturday Kids Club
• Saturday Young Adults Club
• Step-Up Autism Education
• Summer Day Camp
• Summer Overnight Staycations
• Weekend Respites

The Tennessee Disability Coalition is an alliance of organizations and individuals joined to promote the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.

To support this mission, the Coalition offers the following programs:

• Public Policy Program
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Program
• Family Voices of Tennessee
• WorkAbleTN
• Brain Links
• Discretionary Small Grants Program

The Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS) is a program that provides services to infants and young children who have disabilities or other developmental delays. The TEIS program is a critically important program to supporting young children and their families to reach their optimal development.

You may make a referral to TEIS by completing our online referral form or by calling (800) 852-7157. The referral form can also be found in the MyTN app, available on your app store. Please be prepared to provide the child’s name, date of birth, county of residence, parent information (if someone other than the parent calls), and reason for referral.

We work to educate patients, students, genetic counselors, and other clinicians to help genetic counseling and genetic testing become better and more accessible.

What we do and how we do it

• Promote genetic education for current and prospective genetics professionals in Tennessee and surrounding states
  • Host annual educational conference and workshops
• Increase patient access to genetic counseling services
  • Support National Society of Genetic Counselors federal advocacy initiatives
  • Provide support and resources to help TN genetic counselors secure licensure
• Provide genetic resources to patients, clinicians, and students
  • Advise patients and clinicians considering a genetic counseling appointment
  • Connect prospective genetic counseling students with education and shadowing opportunities
• Support organizations and research geared toward improving the lives of our patients
  • Offer grants for genetics-focused research
  • Offer grants for prospective students applying to genetic counseling graduate programs

Texas Parent to Parent provides support, information, and education for families of children and adults with disabilities, chronic and mental health conditions, and other health care needs.

Texas Rare Alliance is dedicated to improving access and health outcomes for rare disease patients through education and advocacy. We work to unite the stakeholders in the Texas rare disease community. Together we can make Texas a State of Access for rare disease patients.

The Arc Maryland is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the rights and quality of life of persons with I/DD and their families. We do this through public policy, advocacy, public awareness, and training and membership support.

We are a membership-based organization of 8,000 members. With our ten local chapters serving 19 counties and Baltimore City, we encompass all ages and more than 100 different diagnoses including intellectual disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and other developmental disabilities. Our local network of chapters provides a wide range of human services and other supports to people with I/DD and their family members, including individual and public policy advocacy, residential, educational, and vocational services, employment, family supports and early intervention that promote people with I/DD to participate and be included in their communities.

The Arc of Pennsylvania promotes the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes. The focus of our programs and efforts is to enhance or advocate for the civil rights, full inclusion, and participation of people with developmental disabilities, of all ages and backgrounds, in the communities where they live.

Healthcare Initiatives 

Our focus is on statewide, systemic change so that gaps in health access for those with IDD do not occur, especially in minority and rural communities which experience the greatest disparities and inequities.

Policy Information Exchange

Through this quarterly publication, we educate and inform Pennsylvanians with disabilities, their families, advocates, and the public regarding public policy issues that impact people with IDD and their caregivers.

Include Me Programs 

• Include Me School-Age provides free on-site technical assistance, professional development, and training to school districts, their educators and families, enabling them to develop effective strategies in including school-age students with significant disabilities in regular education classrooms and the school community.
• Student-focused activities such as disability acceptance through literature book studies to enhance disability acceptance, and after school hangouts, for social and personal awareness.

Employment-focused Training 

Through several high-quality training opportunities, educators, vocational counselors, families, and others can learn best practices for providing supported employment, community participation, and/or customized employment. Our trainings offer various certification opportunities or the basic ACRE certificate for providing these services in Pennsylvania and other states. We offer scholarships for Pennsylvania families and Transition staff.

Discover Employment Transitions (ADEPT)

For transition age students, we offer vocational “Discovery”, an alternative assessment process that helps students and their teams identify the interests, skills, and conditions an individual needs for success in employment or community participation.

The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

The Arc Tennessee has a team of experienced advocates that work directly with individuals to solve problems, connect them to resources, develop advocacy skills, or assist with a wide array of specific needs. Individual advocacy services are designed to assist individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in understanding their rights and identifying opportunities to pursue and achieve their dreams. Our overall goal is to empower individuals to effectively advocate for themselves. Individual advocacy services are free to individuals and families. The Arc Tennessee can provide information when legal issues are involved, but The Arc Tennessee does not provide legal advocacy services when legal issues are involved. We also provide educational support, mentor programs, and transition from childhood to adult programs.

The Arc Wisconsin advocates for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families to improve their quality of life; expand opportunities; and to increase their full inclusion in all aspects of community throughout their lifetimes. The Arc Wisconsin strives to promote awareness and respect for the value, contributions and rights of all people with I/DD. Since 1960, The Arc Wisconsin has served individuals and their families through our locally affiliated chapters across the state. The Arc Wisconsin works to develop programs and advocate for public policy giving people with I/DD the opportunity to learn, live, and work inclusively in their communities.

Supports and services offered by our chapters include:

• Information and referral services;
• Individual advocacy to address education, employment, health care and other concerns;
• Self-advocacy initiatives;
• Residential support;
• Family support;
• Employment programs; and
• Leisure and recreational programs

The Arc Wisconsin is a chapter of the national organization, the Arc. The goal of this organization is to provide resources and advocate for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Resources for children and adults are listed here: https://arcwi.org/arc-resources/

The Palmetto Basics offers a variety of ideas and resources to support you in giving your infant, toddler, or preschooler a great start in life. Our approach is organized around five strategies for parents and caregivers that we call The Basics Principles.

The Basics 

1. Maximize love, manage stress
2. Talk, sing, point
3. Count, group, and compare
4. Explore through movement and play
5. Read and discuss stories

The mission of The Coordinating Center is to partner with people of all ages and abilities and those who support them in the community to achieve their aspirations for independence, health, and meaningful community life.

Programs and Services

Maryland’s Autism Waiver allows eligible children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder to receive waiver and Medicaid services to support them in their homes and communities. The Coordinating Center is contracted by local school systems to provide case management for their students on the Autism Waiver in Dorchester, Harford, Howard and Worcester counties.

DDA Services: The Coordinating Center partners with the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) to provide Coordination of Community Services (CCS) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Our expert Coordinators can help you plan for the future, and meet your personal goals.

The Family Resource Fund provides clients of The Coordinating Center with financial assistance to purchase items or services that are not covered by Medicaid or Medicare. The fund accepts the following types of requests:

• Critical/Safety Need- fund allocation limited to $500 or less for current fiscal year
• Housing stability (rent, security, deposit or utilities)- fund allocation limited to $500 or less for one-time only
• Quality of Life- fund allocation limited to $300 or less for current fiscal year

Home and Community-Based Services: The Coordinating Center provides supports planning services to older adults and individuals with disabilities who live and want to remain in the community or are living in a Maryland nursing facility and want to move to a home.

The Coordinating Center works in a cooperative arrangement with Montgomery County, Maryland’s Department of Housing and Human Services (DHHS) to provide service coordination and supportive services to formerly homeless individuals through the Housing Initiative Program (HIP).

The Coordinating Center assists with the intake and eligibility process for the Model Waiver. Currently there is a prioritized waiting list and applications are processed in the order they are received. Model Waiver is a Maryland Medicaid program, which allows medically fragile individuals, before the age of 22 years to live at home. Without this benefit, these individuals would be hospitalized, as their medical needs require hospital or nursing facility level of care. Under the Waiver, the parents’ income and assets are waived during the financial eligibility process even though the child continues to live in the community with their parent(s).

The Rare and Expensive Case Management (REM) Program is Maryland’s, case managed, fee for service alternative to HealthChoice Managed Care Organization (MCO) participation. The REM Program is for individuals receiving Maryland Medical Assistance with a qualifying diagnosis that is rare in occurrence and expensive to treat. The purpose of the program is to provide community-based care coordination services for people with specialized health care needs, providing access to high quality, medically appropriate health care services in a cost effective setting outside of a managed care organization.

The mission of The Coordinating Center is to partner with people of all ages and abilities and those who support them in the community to achieve their aspirations for independence, health, and meaningful community life.

Programs and Services

Maryland’s Autism Waiver allows eligible children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder to receive waiver and Medicaid services to support them in their homes and communities. The Coordinating Center is contracted by local school systems to provide case management for their students on the Autism Waiver in Dorchester, Harford, Howard and Worcester counties.

DDA Services: The Coordinating Center partners with the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) to provide Coordination of Community Services (CCS) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Our expert Coordinators can help you plan for the future, and meet your personal goals.

The Family Resource Fund provides clients of The Coordinating Center with financial assistance to purchase items or services that are not covered by Medicaid or Medicare. The fund accepts the following types of requests:

• Critical/Safety Need- fund allocation limited to $500 or less for current fiscal year
• Housing stability (rent, security, deposit or utilities)- fund allocation limited to $500 or less for one-time only
• Quality of Life- fund allocation limited to $300 or less for current fiscal year

Home and Community-Based Services: The Coordinating Center provides supports planning services to older adults and individuals with disabilities who live and want to remain in the community or are living in a Maryland nursing facility and want to move to a home.

The Coordinating Center works in a cooperative arrangement with Montgomery County, Maryland’s Department of Housing and Human Services (DHHS) to provide service coordination and supportive services to formerly homeless individuals through the Housing Initiative Program (HIP).

The Coordinating Center assists with the intake and eligibility process for the Model Waiver. Currently there is a prioritized waiting list and applications are processed in the order they are received. Model Waiver is a Maryland Medicaid program, which allows medically fragile individuals, before the age of 22 years to live at home. Without this benefit, these individuals would be hospitalized, as their medical needs require hospital or nursing facility level of care. Under the Waiver, the parents’ income and assets are waived during the financial eligibility process even though the child continues to live in the community with their parent(s).

The Rare and Expensive Case Management (REM) Program is Maryland’s, case managed, fee for service alternative to HealthChoice Managed Care Organization (MCO) participation. The REM Program is for individuals receiving Maryland Medical Assistance with a qualifying diagnosis that is rare in occurrence and expensive to treat. The purpose of the program is to provide community-based care coordination services for people with specialized health care needs, providing access to high quality, medically appropriate health care services in a cost effective setting outside of a managed care organization.

Since 1952, the Council has empowered Kentuckians with IDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) and their families to live their best life- full of love, support, and resources.

Education 

We empower people with IDD and their families by connecting them to all the resources they have at their disposal. We offer webinars, presentation series and training opportunities to help our families navigate life with knowledge and ease.

Advocacy 

Part of life with IDD means we must advocate for equal rights and access to care. At our core, we are an advocacy organization- we believe people with IDD should be seen, heard, and given equal opportunities as the neurotypical population.

Support 

Knowing that others have walked the same path makes all the difference. Here at the Council, that’s what we do- we share our experiences, resources, and share our support. We offer one-on-one counseling or support groups that meet regularly.

When a loved one is diagnosed with an illness or health concern, you need access to clear, reliable information. The Emily Center at Phoenix Children’s is a place you can go for answers to your health-related questions and more. Our aim is to provide personalized health information, patient education, support, and guidance to help you navigate the healthcare journey.

Visit us on the first floor of Phoenix Children’s Thomas Campus East Building for trusted information and personalized guidance from nurses and other specialists. We staff the Emily Center with bilingual team members to better serve our Spanish-speaking families. Community members and the public are welcome, too. We will offer support and help you learn more about children’s health, mindfulness, resiliency, and overall wellness.

The Emily Center opened in 1990, inspired by a former patient at Phoenix Children’s. As a young girl, Emily Anderson, fought a rare form of adult leukemia for four years. She lost her battle just a few days before her 7th birthday.

During Emily’s illness, her parents wanted to know more about their daughter’s disease. They struggled to find health information presented in easy-to-understand language.

Emily’s parents co-founded the Emily Center to help others in similar situations find reliable, evidence-based health information they could use. They wanted a place where children and loved ones could go to learn about a health condition and care options. They wanted the information to be guided by licensed nurse experts who specialize in pediatric health information and education.

Watch a video about Emily’s story to see what inspired the Emily Center at Phoenix Children’s.

You can also explore our online health information and external health library.

The Extension Institute of Health & Well-Being works to catalyze positive change in Wisconsin families through evidence-based programs focused on nutrition, food security and safety, chronic disease prevention, mental health promotion, and prevention of substance abuse.  Rooted in both urban and rural communities, we’re working together to help solve the state’s most pressing well-being needs and to ensure that all Wisconsinites live stronger, healthier lives.

Behavioral Health 

• Working with local leaders to create healthier communities by building community skills, tools, and resources to promote health.

Healthy Eating and Active Living

• Helping communities provide accessible and safe physical activity spaces and food sources.

FoodWIse

• Providing nutrition education to advance healthy eating habits and active lifestyles for families with limited incomes.

Find your local County Extension Office: https://counties.extension.wisc.edu/

The Junior League Family Resource Center is a place to get information about your child’s medical condition or disability. We have a family health library, information about community resources and supports, and a family business center. All our services are free of charge. We are available to help you by phone, email, fax or in person.

Our Family Health Library features resources such as:

• Autism packets
• Picture communication kits to support non-verbal children
• Pediatric health library
• Parenting information
• Books for kids on medical conditions, coping, emotions, and being a sibling of a child with special needs

You may request an information packet on your child’s condition and we will do the medical research for you. Email us at [email protected] to request a packet.

Lee Zimmerman, CEO and Founder of The Kidz Club, recognized the need for children with medical complexities to have access to daily nursing care, therapies, and friends – all in an enriching environment. His goal to positively impact the whole family unit through the care of these special children led to the establishment of The Kidz Club, the first Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care facility in Kentucky.

The Kidz Club was founded out of compassion and a commitment to improve, empower, and enrich the lives of children with medical complexities as well as their families.

The Oley Foundation is a national, independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that strives to enrich the lives of those living with home intravenous nutrition and tube feeding through education, advocacy, and networking. The Foundation also serves as a resource for consumer’s families, clinicians and industry representatives, and other interested parties. Programs are directed by the staff and guidance is provided by a board of dedicated professionals and patients.

The Equipment/Supply Exchange Program 

• The goal is to connect families in need of enteral formula, tubing, and other supplies with families who have items to donate. There is no guarantee that any one product will be available at a specific time.
• Our focus is on supplies and equipment related to home tube feeding and IV nutrition. Typical items include: enteral formula, feeding bags, tubing, IV poles, syringes, rand related supplies.
• The person requesting supplies must pay for shipping prior to any products being shipped from the donor; but this should be the only cost associated with the products.

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Programs offered by The Salvation Army of Louisville cover the following areas:

• Shelter and family household stability
• Hunger and food insecurity
• Veteran services
• Culinary arts training
• Summer camp
• Youth programs
• Emergency disaster services
• Community worship centers

Cooperative Extension is one of the pillars of The University of Arizona’s Division of Agriculture, Life & Veterinary Sciences & Cooperative Extension. We are about “Improving Lives, Communities and the Economy” by serving as a statewide network of knowledgeable faculty and staff that provides lifelong educational programs for all Arizonans. We are part of a nationwide educational network of scientists and educators who help people solve problems and put knowledge to use. Arizona Cooperative Extension provides a link between the university and the citizens of this state.

Extension means “reaching out,” putting us in all 15 counties and on 5 tribal reservations, connecting them to University of Arizona research and resources. This connection to research-backed knowledge helps people solve problems, adapt to change, develop new skills and carry innovations forward into practice. Our mission is to engage with people through applied research and education to improve lives, families, communities, the environment, and economies in Arizona and beyond.

Addressing Community Needs

We work closely with those we serve to create programs that address community-identified needs. These programs include:

• 4-H Youth Development: As the state’s largest youth serving organization, Arizona 4-H is inspiring the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs and problem solvers.
• Agriculture and Natural Resources: We have been assisting farmers, ranchers, agency personnel and others involved in natural resource management for over 100 years to increase profits and steward our natural resources responsibly.
• Family, Consumer, & Health Sciences: Our community-specific programs and educational classes help build strong families, strong minds, and strong bodies.
• Tribal Extension: With more than 30% land base in Arizona being Tribal, our initiatives engage Native American communities through education and outreach on development, sustainability, and resiliency.

The Transportation Initiative is a project of UK’s Human Development Institute and is funded through the support of the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities. The Transportation Initiative seeks to provide comprehensive information and education on transportation options.

Transportation Topics

• ADA Paratransit
• Ride Share
• Public Transit
• NEMT
• K-TAP Kentucky WORKS Program
• Kentucky Assistive Technology Loan Corporation
• Hart-Supported Living
• Transportation to COVID-19 Testing
• Kentucky’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
• Blind Work Expense
• Community Integration Supplement
• First Steps
• EPSDT

The Focus on Family and Disability Seminar Series is a forum to educate diverse audiences from students and faculty to service providers, community stakeholders, and family members. The series is offered in conjunction with the Family Support Network.

Program topics include current issues, policies and research, and evidence-based approaches in health, education, and disability.

Focus on Family and Disability Seminar Series programs for 2022-2023 are available! Register to attend.

Individuals with IDD/Special Needs, Self-Advocates, and their families can attend Focus on Family and Disability Seminars for FREE.

Our mission is to improve lives by uniting the caring power of community. United Way of Central Iowa focuses on three counties in Iowa: Polk, Dallas, and Warren. Our funding, strategies, collaborations, and partnerships are almost exclusively based within that territory. We are an independent 501(c)3 organization based in Des Moines, Iowa, and regulated by our local Board of Directors. As a member of the United Way network, our organization is one of more than 1,000 local United Ways across the United States.

Since 1917, United Way of Central Iowa has united individuals, businesses, nonprofits, elected officials, and more to foster a thriving community through strategic focus on the 5 Elements of a Thriving Community:

• Essential Needs
• Early Childhood Success
• Education Success
• Economic Opportunity
• Health & Well-Being

The Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a research center focused on “advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.” The center offers opportunities for families to participate in research, as well as educational and clinical services for families.

Resources for families can be found here: https://www.waisman.wisc.edu/general-information/families/

Since 1989 the USC Family Caregiver Support Center (FCSC) at USC Davis School (home of the LA Caregiver Resource Center) has placed a high priority on providing support across the continuum of caregiving, including diagnosis, prognosis, services that help maintain the care recipient’s independence and abilities, helping caregivers care for themselves, and manage their own well-being. Supportive services include information, assessment, individual consultations, respite, education, and training. Our mission is to help families and communities master the challenges of caring for older adults with brain impairing conditions and/or adults with multiple health concerns.

We offer help to caring family and friends for all cultures and communities in LA county. We are funded in part by LA Community and Senior Services and the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Services are low or no-cost to family caregivers and friends who help someone over the age of 60 who may have the following conditions:

• Multiple medical problems
• Memory problems
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Stroke
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Early stage Dementia
• Mild cognitive impairments
• Lewy Body Dementia
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

The multidisciplinary Pediatric Rare Disease Center comprises interdisciplinary teams with expertise in neurology, genetics, cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology and more from across Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Our mission is to support all aspects of health care for newborns, children, adolescents and adults with rare diseases. Through this collaborative approach with specialized healthcare providers, our center works to improve care and expand treatment options. We combine our experience, discoveries and expertise to deliver timely and appropriate care to as many patients and families as possible.

Vision Forward provides a continuum of services, from birth through adulthood, to people with visual impairments, helping them achieve important developmental milestones as well as educational, personal and professional goals. Vision Forward staff are experts in the field of vision loss and host in-person and virtual community education presentations for groups of all ages and backgrounds. All of their programs and services are provided regardless of a person’s or family’s ability to pay.

Mission Statement:

The West Virginia Chapter National Hemophilia Foundation (WVNHF) is dedicated to finding cures for inheritable blood disorders and to addressing and preventing the complications of these disorders through research, education, and advocacy enabling people and families to thrive. Established in 1948, the National Hemophilia Foundation has chapters throughout the country. Its programs and initiatives are made possible through the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations as well as through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Financial Assistance Program Eligibility:

• Be a constituent that resides in the territorial jurisdiction of West Virginia Chapter of NHF, or receives treatment for an inherited bleeding disorder at any of the area Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs).
• All applicants must be 18 years of age or older. Applicants can be a parent or caregiver of a minor child who lives in your home and who has a diagnosis of a bleeding disorder OR be an individual with a diagnosed bleeding disorder.
• Complete all sections of the application thoroughly and accurately. If a question does not apply, it should be marked not applicable (n/a). Failure to provide complete and truthful information may result in denial of your request.
• West Virginia Chapter of NHF must determine that the applicant qualifies for financial assistance pursuant to its Financial Assistance Policy in order to review the request.
• West Virginia Chapter of NHF recommends that applicants request assistance from at least two (2) other agencies before applying to the West Virginia Chapter of NHF for funding.
• If possible, coordinate request with the social worker, nurse coordinator, or medical provider at a hemophilia treatment center (HTC) or other healthcare provider treating inherited bleeding disorders.
• Applicant must sign the application to indicate an intended use agreement stating that the financial assistance received from the West Virginia Chapter of NHF will be used for the purpose indicated on approved financial assistance application.

Example Eligible Expenses:

• Expenses incurred in the care, treatment, or prevention of a bleeding disorder
• Transportation services to medical appointments and HTCs
• Medical supplies not covered by insurance
• Basic living expense emergencies (rent, mortgage, utilities, food, etc.)
• Unexpected home or car repairs
• Medic Alert Bracelets
• Dental expenses
• Health insurance premiums
• Funeral expenses

*Assistance is limited to a maximum of $500 per calendar year, with a minimum of 3 months between requests, per household, which also includes claimed dependents. Under unique circumstances, request(s) above the $500 limit must receive special approval by the West Virginia Chapter of NHF, the Advisory Board, and/or Financial Assistance Committee.

The West Virginia Parent Training and Information, Inc. (WVPTI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit parent organization committed to improving the lives and education of ALL children through a special emphasis on children and youth with all disabilities and special healthcare needs. We serve parents and families of a child or youth from birth to age twenty-six with special needs. We are committed to providing parents and families the tools to ensure that children, youth, and young adults with special needs lead enriched lives as full members of their schools and communities. Our mission is to empower families as advocates and partners in improving education, health, and transition outcomes for their children and youth with disabilities and special health care needs with a commitment to diversity and equity.

Training and Services 

• Information to meet the needs of parents and families of children with special needs who might be facing educational or language barriers.
• Information for conflict or dispute resolutions.
• Direct support in the development of IEP (Individual Educational Program).
• Support and assistance with understanding the child with special needs procedural safeguards, rights, laws, and regulations.
• Assistance and support for parents/families of children with special needs to understand the collaboration process with educators and professionals who provide special education, early intervention, transition, and related services. ‘

Support Services Offered 

• Parent Engagement and Empowerment (Leadership Training)
• Training and Support on a variety of special education topics statewide.
• Information, Dissemination, and Referral Services (fact sheets and materials)
• Community Outreach (Bringing everyone together)
• One-on-One Consultation (record review, attendance at meetings and WVPTI Meeting Attendance Protocol, goals and planning, etc.)
• Webinar and phone trainings to support parents/families that can be done from their homes at various scheduled times.
• Annual parent conferences focusing on special education topics.

WI-AHEAD is committed to the principles of equal access and opportunities for all qualified students with disabilities so they can become full participants in higher education and in society at large. It is the mission of WI-AHEAD to provide professional support and development to postsecondary disability service providers in Wisconsin and to other individuals and organizations who share the same commitment.

Throughout the year, WI AHEAD hosts regional meetings and a statewide conference for members and other interested persons. Conference highlights include a keynote address by a recognized disability specialist; forums for 2-year, 4-year and private institutions; and educational sessions focusing on everyday practices in disability services.

Brochure: https://wiahead.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/wiahead_brochure_print-2020.pdf

The website offers classroom materials including Birth to Three literacy kits, early childhood literacy tools, writing resources, and math tools. Materials are also available in Spanish.

Contact form: https://www.wati.org/contact/

WATI also offers resources to assess student’s needs for assistive technology in different domains: https://www.wati.org/free-publications/assessing-students-needs-for-assistive-technology/

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction contains a list of special education resources, located here: https://dpi.wi.gov/sped

This link includes additional resources for families and educators looking for special education opportunities: https://dpi.wi.gov/sped/families/agency

Our mission is to provide and broaden opportunities that enhance the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities and their families, with emphasis on support for underserved families in the community.

Resources are also offered in Spanish.

WSEMS was created to facilitate mediation between families of children with special needs and school districts.

Wisconsin families of children with special needs and school districts, together or individually, can request a mediation, a facilitated IEP meeting, or a facilitator for a resolution meeting from the WSEMS

WSEMS is responsible for:

• Maintaining, supporting, and improving the WSEMS to ensure statewide availability of a high quality system of mediation and facilitation to parents and educators for resolving disputes in special education.
  • Coordinating case intake, screening, and referral.
  • Explaining the process and benefits of mediation to parties.
  • Providing training and technical support for the mediators.
• Modeling collaboration and promoting awareness about the WSEMS and early dispute resolution options.
  • Offering training in Wisconsin and nationwide about WSEMS and the stakeholders’ based model, mediation and early conflict resolution for parents, schools and others.
  • Developing awareness about mediation, the WSEMS, and early conflict resolution through dissemination of materials in English and Spanish.
  • Maintaining this website at: https://www.wsems.us
• Collecting, evaluating, and disseminating data, including the identifying of trends and the effectiveness of the WSEMS

The form to request a mediator is located here: https://www.wsems.us/wsems-forms/ and the list of mediators and facilitators are listed here: https://www.wsems.us/mediators/ Mediation services are free!

Creating partnerships between parents and educators for students with disabilities.

WSPEI is all about partnerships. Our goal is to help families and school districts find or create the resources that will help them build positive working relationships that lead to shared decision making and better outcomes for the student.

WSPEI CESA Family Engagement Coordinators can:

• Assist parents and families with connecting to their child’s IEP goals, supports, and accommodations
• Assist families to engage in conversations with schools about their child’s reading and literacy
• Strategies to navigate the school system
• Access to free electronic or hard copy educational materials
• Connect to other parents and organizations
• Provide educational opportunities to learn how to participate in their child’s development and learning
• Information about options if you disagree with a decision of the school

WSPEI Statewide Phone Support Coordinators can support families with:

• General Special Education Concerns and Questions
• Information about the IEP Process
• Relevant Resources and Referrals

The website also includes a livebinder of resources for parents, many of which are in Hmong and/or Spanish, located here: https://www.livebinders.com/b/2675267

Wisconsin Virtual Academy provides free virtual educational services to students. There are also services available for those with IEPs or special education needs. For more information on special education services, visit this link: https://wiva.k12.com/resources/special-education-programs.html

WECAN (Women’s Empowerment through Cape Area Networking) was founded in 2001 to empower Cape Cod women by providing unique services that inspire hope and bring increased stability, self-sufficiency, and opportunity to their lives. WE CAN serves more than 2,400 women each year across Cape Cod with free and confidential legal services, employment and business support, financial empowerment, mentoring, and personal development programs. More than 70% of our participants access more than one service at WE CAN.