Council on Children
with Disabilities Overview
What is the Council on Children
with Disabilities?
The AAP Committee on Children with Disabilities and
the AAP Section on Children with Disabilities have merged
together to form the Council on Children with Disabilities
(COCWD). Members of the Section on Children with Disabilities,
will automatically become members of the new COCWD.
The membership benefits, criteria, and dues structure
will remain unchanged.
Benefits of the new council structure include:
- Creates a single entity that is the primary source
of expertise in a given field within the Academy (ie,
“one-stop shopping”)
- Facilitates greater integration of policy, education,
advocacy, and implementation efforts on specific topics
- Significantly enhances opportunities for council
member involvement in a broad range of activities
and roles within the council
- Promotes greater communication within the council
membership; as well as between council members and
the executive committee
We are particularly excited about the potential impact
the new council structure will have on our members.
To give you an idea of some of our first attempts to
improve bi-directional communication and to enhance
member involvement in council activities, we will be:
- Enhancing our existing Web site so that it will
feature descriptions of current council activities,
how council members may get involved, as well as a
page where members can propose ideas for future activities
- Expanding our existing Listserv® to routinely
solicit council member input on activities (eg, potential
topics for policy development or plans for educational
programming)
Mission
The Council on Children with Disabilities,
representing a merger of Committee and Section on Children
with Disabilities, is composed of pediatricians and
other health care providers dedicated to the optimal
care and development of children with disabilities and
related special health care needs and to the support
of their families.
Its mission specifically includes:
- Policy development related to children with disabilities;
- Development of a forum to enhance education of
pediatricians caring for children with disabilities;
- Increasing the visibility of issues related to
children with disabilities within the AAP;
- Collaboration with local and national organizations
in advocacy for children and their families, and;
- Providing opportunities for members of the Council
on Children with Disabilities to engage in all the
above.
Profile
The COCWD has a membership of nearly 500 AAP members and
provides those members interested in the care of children
with disabilities with a forum for education,
communication, and advocacy.
- The COCWD holds its organizational meetings (ie,
council program, business meeting and award presentation)
and hosts educational programs
annually at the AAP's National
Conference and Exhibition (NCE).
- The COCWD also advocates for children with disabilities
and the physicians who care for them in the development
of AAP policy and initiatives.
- COCWD members review and comment on various AAP
initiatives as they relate to the care of children
with disabilities.
- An annual award is sponsored by the COCWD (Arnold
J. Capute Award) to recognize notable contributions
to the field of children with disabilities.
- Collaboration with the National Center of Medical
Home Initiatives for Children with Special Needs to
ensure access to a medical home providing health care
services that are accessible, family-centered, continuous,
comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally-competent.
For more information about the COCWD, please contact
Stephanie Skipper, MPH (sskipper@aap.org),
Manager, Division of Children with Special Needs.
