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" . . . our mission is to support families and youth with special health care needs as decision makers at all levels of the health care delivery system."

Family Voices of Washington

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Family Voices Washington and Family 2 Family Advocates for Special Care Children.Welcome to Family Voices of Washington.

It is estimated that 10.2 million children in the United States have special health care needs. Like other children and youth, those with special health care needs deserve a happy, healthy childhood and youth – attending school, enjoying community events, living with their families, and worshiping with friends and neighbors – as well as the opportunity to become productive adults.

However, unlike other children and youth, ours also have challenging health conditions – physical, mental, or emotional – that can make their lives and their families’ lives more complicated. Any child or youth at any time could develop a disability or chronic health condition.

We have the latest general news, health news and educational information for special needs, updated each week or more frequently.


Recent News

  • Learning to ‘talk things through in your head’ may help people with autism - Article
    The study, led by Dr David Williams from the Psychology Department at Durham, found that the mechanism for using ‘inner speech’ or ‘talking things through in their head’ is intact in children with autism but not always used in the same way as typically developing children do. Dr Williams found that the use, or lack of, thinking in words is strongly linked to the extent of someone’s communication impairments which are rooted in early childhood. Click Here to read the entire article


  • How Patient Engagement Creates Tailored Solutions - Article
    As the concept of the medical home gains increasing attention as a way to redesign primary care, it will be essential for providers to adopt new strategies to better engage patients in their healthcare. Click Here to read the entire article.


  • Can Someone Tell Me What is "Evidence-Based"? - What Works?
    Teachers are always looking for evidence-based practices to support struggling learners. The question is, evidence-based according to whom? Textbook and curriculum developers will always claim their product is evidence-based, and educators don't have the time to evaluate all of the resources. Fortunately, there is a source you can trust.

    The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established by the U.S. Department of Education in 2002 to be a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education. In our new guest blog, the WWC gives us a taste of what it offers for educators.

    Check out the What Works Clearinghouse blog at http://nichcy.org/finding-what-works-for-children-with-special-needs


  • The Seattle Foundation: Alpha Omicron Boule Scholarship . . . and more
    The Seattle Foundationis sending outreach information for their scholarship program. Please, forward to anyone you feel would have students interested?

    Monica Salazar is the student contact for their scholarship program. Thank you in advance for sharing these great scholarship opportunities!

    TheWashBoard.org is a non-profit scholarship matching site free of advertisement. This resource makes searching for scholarships easier for students to efficiently find and apply for relevant scholarship opportunities. Free of cost for both students and providers, theWashBoard.org acts as a clearinghouse with vetted scholarship information and matches those seeking scholarship support with those looking to provide it.

    Alpha Omicron Boule
    Below is a link to information about the Alpha Omicron Boule Scholarship. The purpose of this scholarship is to support African American male students from the Puget Sound region enrolled in vocational schools, community colleges or universities. This $1,000 scholarship is renewable for students attending either a community college or a university.

    Nora Stone-Smith
    Here is a link to information about the Nora Stone Smith Scholarship. The purpose of this scholarship is to support deserving students who have participated in an ESL/ELL program at some point in their lives. Students are able to reapply to this scholarship as long as they continue to meet the criteria.

    Atsuhiko Tateuchi Memorial Scholarship
    Here is a link to information about the Atsuhiko Tateuchi Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship supports high school senior and undergraduate Asian students from the Pacific Rim States (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington). This is a $5,000.00 scholarship renewable for up to four years.


  • Project Locate - "Do you know someone prone to wandering? Visit the project website at: www.projectlocate.org or email locate@wapave.org


  • Autism Professionals and Advocates - New Program
    Families for Effective Autism Treatment has an exciting new program for teens in the South Sound. Experience Learning Project (ELP) is FEAT of Washington's model service learning program targeted at teens with high functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome. In ELP, teens work to improve their self-management and social problem-solving skills within a service learning context. Our next meeting is January 20 from 4:30-6:30 pm at Mt.Cross Lutheran Church in University Place. The group meets two Fridays a month and two Saturdays a month. The cost is of this program is very reasonable at $15 per hour for ten hours of therapy.

    Please contact Ruth Burks if you have further questions about Experience Learning Project or know of families who would like more information. She can be reached at ruthburks@featwa.org. Her phone number is (253) 232-4493. Download the ELP Brochure


    The Latest Professional Parenting News


    About Us

    The Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F HIC) is a non-profit organization that helps families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and the professionals who serve them.  Because the health care needs of CYSHCN are chronic and complex, parents and caregivers are often challenged with finding the resources to provide and finance health care for their children. 

    F2F HIC is in a unique position to help families because parents of CYSHCN staff/run it themselves, and as parents, they have traveled through the maze of services and programs designed to help CYSHCN.  We can help families with our unique resources:

    • Staff at F2F HIC understands the issues that families face, provide advice, offer a multitude of resources, and tap into a network of other families and professionals for support and information.
       
    • Family Voices, through the National Center for Family/ Professional Partnerships, provides technical assistance, training, and connections to other F2F HICs and collaborating organizations.
       
    • We also offer individual counseling and group education on health care issues in your communities.
    • Disability specific resources.

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    Connecting Families

    Our goal is to connect families statewide to other families who are experiencing similar challenges in accessing quality services and supports for their children.

    Believing that parents are experts in their own respective journeys, the Family to Family Information Center (F2F HIC) navigator team guides our efforts in identifying service delivery shortcomings and raises awareness to state and federal policy-makers, stakeholders and “others”  that action is urgently needed. If you are a family member of an individual with special needs, or a youth/self advocate and are interested in joining this fun and important group, email Julie Finholm at jfinholm@wapave.org 

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    Health Information Center Partners

  • The Center for Children with Special Needs
  • ESIT/Early Support for Infants and Toddlers
  • Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
  • WA State Fathers Network
  • WA State Medical Home
  • WA State Parent to Parent Programs (P2P)
  • PAVE

     

    Developmental Milestones

    The Family to Family Health Information Center will be collecting information from time to time on the training and information needs of families in advocating and navigating health care systems.Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving "bye bye" are called developmental milestones.

    Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (crawling, walking, etc.).

    Take the Developmental Milestones Quiz









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    Contact: Julie Finholm jfinholm@wapave.org or call 1-800-5-PARENT. /

    Family Voices of Washington is a program at PAVE. This website was developed with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) /Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)/ Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs (DSCSHN) through grant #H84MC09369.

    PAVE | 6316 So. 12th St. | Tacoma, WA 98465
    (253) 565-2266 | 1-800-5-PARENT | Fax: (253) 566-8052

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