Washington Family Corner

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

Family Voices: www.familyvoices.org/states.php?state=WA
Partnering with professionals and families to advocate for health care services that are family-centered, community-based, comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent.

NAMI of Washington (National Voice on Mental Health): www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Your_Local_NAMI&Template=/CustomSource/AffiliateFinder.cfm&State=WA
Education, advocacy and support for persons with brain disorders (mental illnesses) and their families

Mental Health Services/DSHS: www1.dshs.wa.gov/basicneeds/
To find services in your area:Select Outpatient Mental Health Services and read about programs and eligibility, then scroll down to the map of Washington and click on your county of residence to find clinics in your area. Note: These links are available at the WSSEC web site. Just select Online Resources:Disability Organizations/Mental Health/WA State or National.

The Association for Retarded Citizen (Arc) Family Resource Guide www.thearc.org/familyguide/washington.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.

Peer Support to Families of Children with Special Needs
Most parents like to talk about their children, and who better to talk with than another parent? Parents enjoy learning through sharing their parenting stories and experiences with one another. Many times, parents of children with special health care issues have even greater needs for this kind of supportive connection as they deal with unique issues not commonly shared by all parents. Their friends and family are often unable to provide first-hand guidance because they lack the personal experience and knowledge of the child’s special health care need. As a result, a parent may feel isolated and alone. As a health care provider, you are a valued source for information, resource and referral. Helping parents get connected with peer support can make an important difference in the lives of children with special needs. There are a number of organizations in Washington State that offer peer support to families of children with special needs. Two state-wide organizations are:

Washington State Fathers Network
The Washington State Fathers Network (WSFN) advocates for dads who have children with special needs. The focus of WSFN is supporting fathers so families can more effectively address the many challenges children with special health care needs or disability present. The WSFN provides opportunities for dads to connect with other dads in sixteen settings across the state, and through an extensive web site with valuable connections to resources for dads and families. For more information, contact Greg Schell, Program Director:
425-653-4286
greg.schell@kindering.org
www.fathersnetwork.org

Washington State Parent to Parent
Washington State Parent to Parent (P2P) is a network of 29 community programs serving all 39 counties in the state. Activities include:

• Matching parents in one-to-one relationships with trained, experienced parents, based on similar diagnoses and family issues
• Providing personal support that differs from the support professionals provide
• Follow-up by the county coordinator on each P2P referral and match
• Social and recreational family events
• Support groups
• Information and education about disabilities and referral to services in the community
• Culturally-relevant services through ethnic outreach
• Training for parents who want to become Helping Parent volunteers

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 December 3, 2009