North Carolina Family Corner

State Programs and Services
Tender HealthCare at The Jordan Center: www.tenderhealthcare.com/index.html
Tender Health Care is a child care program for children who are medically fragile. The program was developed as a joint project between Pediatric Services of America and the Department of Health and Human Services of the State of NC. Tender HealthCare provides quality medical and developmental care in a warm and stimulating educational environment. A nursing staff of experienced neonatal and pediatric professionals provides the children’s overall care. Children receive continuous assessment and frequent nursing interventions throughout their day. All care is delivered under the supervision of the child’s primary physician.

Name: Joe Harrelson, VP for Marketing, PSA
Contact: 1-800-950-1580
E-mail: jharrelson@psakids.com

Name: Danielle Matula, Children and Youth Branch
Contact: 919-715-3904 Fax: 919-715-3187
E-Mail: Danielle.Matula@ncmail.net

Advocacy and Support Organizations
Family Voices: www.familyvoices.org/st/NC.htm
Partnering with professionals and families to advocate for health care services that are family-centered, community-based, comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent.

The Exceptional Children's Assistance Center (ECAC) - Since 1980, The Exceptional Children's Assistance Center (ECAC) has grown from an all volunteer parent organization to a full service Parent Training & Information Center serving families in North Carolina with more than 25 full and part-time staff and offices throughout NC. All services are provided at no charge to parents and families. ECAC also houses NC Family Voices. The toll free parent information line is 1-800-962-6817. ecac-parentcenter.org/

NAMI of North Carolina (National Voice on Mental Health): www.naminc.org
Education, advocacy and support for persons with brain disorders (mental illnesses) and their families.

NC Family Support Network (FSN): fsnnc.med.unc.edu
The Family Support Network of North Carolina FSN-NC, created in 1985, was one of the first agencies in the state to establish formal parent matching programs to link families of children with special health care needs for parent-to-parent mentoring. It is composed of 16 affiliated, community-based family support organizations housed in local settings that include: community hospitals, Children’s Developmental Services Agencies (formerly Developmental Evaluation Centers), and Family Resource Centers. All programs offer parent to parent matching; other services include support groups, provision of information and referral, and workshops for families with children who have special needs and those who are at risk.

The Central Office of the Family Support Network of NC is a department of the School of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill. Staff of the Central Office provides training, technical assistance, and consultation around program development, data gathering, and program evaluation. The Central office operates the Central Directory of Resources (CDR) for the state early intervention program. Through this toll-free telephone line and the organization’s web-site, family members, other caregivers, and service providers can get information about specific disabilities, about disability related issues and about resources and services for children with special needs and their families.

All services are offered in English and in Spanish. Videotapes, books and other instructional materials are available for loan from the Outreach Library. The toll-free phone line is 1-800-852-0042.

Women’s and Children’s Section Family Advisory Council
The purpose of the Family Advisory Council to the WCHS is to advise program staff on the development of programs, policies and procedures that can best help WCHS to carry out it’s function. The FAC is considered the link between families and the WCHS and with other parent organizations, support groups, service programs and advocacy groups.

Name: Marlyn Wells, Family Liaison Specialist
Contact: 919-715-3811 Fax: 919-715-3187
E-mail: marlyn.wells@ncmail.net

Resources and Information
Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Contact and Program Information

Family Village: www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/index.htmlx
A global community that integrates information, resources, and communication opportunities on the Internet for persons with cognitive and other disabilities, for their families, and for those that provide them services and support. This site offers informational resources on specific diagnoses, communication connections, adaptive products and technology,adaptive recreational activities, education, worship, health issues, disability-related media and literature, and much, much more!

NC Family Health and Child Care Resource Line( Toll free number is 1-800-367-2229.)
North Carolina’s Family Health and Child Care Resource Line combines the services of the Title V-required MCH information and referral hotline with those previously provided through the NC Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center. This consolidation has increased access, increased breadth of information, and streamlined services for NC families. This initiative is supported through a combination of funding from: DPH; DMA; and the Division of Child Development. The Resource Line is equipped to provide technical assistance, information and referrals to a number of programs for children and families, and advocacy on family health-related issues. Services are available in English and Spanish and through a TTY service.

TelAbility http://www.telability.org/index.pl
An innovative, community oriented, interdisciplinary program that uses telecommunications to improve the lives of children with disabilities. Using real time video-conferencing and internet technologies, TelAbility provides comprehensive, coordinated, family centered care to children with disabilities across North Carolina and offers education, training, and peer support for people who care for them.

The Special Needs Helpline (1-800-737-3028)
This is a toll free phone line that provides information and referrals for children with special health care needs across North Carolina. The Helpline operates from 7:00 am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday. Individuals who call after hours can leave a message and have their call returned the next business day. Helpline staff answer questions about programs serving children with special needs, provide advocacy for those having trouble accessing services, refer families to health care providers in their community, identify resources, and more. The Helpline is an excellent resource for families of children with special health care needs.

The Association for Retarded Citizen (Arc) Family Resource Guide http://www.thearc.org/familyguide/northcarolina.doc
This guide is written for families raising children with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities. It tells families about benefits, supports and services in their state that might help their child.

Note: The information provided on the state pages was submitted by the state medical home teams.As this is not an exhaustive list, please let us know if you have additions for your state resource page. You can contact us at: medical home@aap.org.

Last Updated July 29, 2005