Institute for Disability Studies
Family Health Notes
April 2017
Inside this issue:
1) Health and Education Empowerment Day – April 29, Poplarville
2) “Let's Talk About It” Educational Seminar – April 8, Jackson
3) 2017 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference – June 15-16, Jackson
4) MegaConference Awards Nominations – Deadline April 21
5) U.S. Department of Education Seeks Comments on New IDEA Website
6) New Health Section on PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition Website
7) Reaching People in Multiple Languages
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1) Health and Education Empowerment Day – Apr. 29, Poplarville
Are you the parent of a child with a disability or special health care need? Learn how to be a more effective partner in your child’s health care and education. Attend the free Health and Education Empowerment Day for families of children with disabilities on Sat., Apr. 29, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at Pearl River Community College in the Crosby Hall Olivia Bender Cafeteria at 101 Highway 11 North in Poplarville. Learn about care coordination and medical home, Medicaid waivers, IEP services, procedural safeguards, advocacy and communication, People First language and disability etiquette. There will be a panel on bullying that features the reporting process and a glimpse into actions and reactions from both sides. The Health and Education Empowerment Day is sponsored by the Mississippi Family to Family project of the Institute for Disability Studies, The Arc of Mississippi and LIFE of Mississippi. Parents, advocates, educators and medical professionals can benefit from this training which will feature local and statewide resource information. CEUs have been applied for. For more information, contact Family to Family Parent Coordinator Keishawna Smith at 1.866.883.4474 or ksmith@ihl.state.ms.us.
2) “Let's Talk About It” Educational Seminar – April 8, Jackson
Join the Mississippi Sickle Cell Foundation for an educational seminar on Sat., Apr. 8, from 10 a.m. until 12 noon at the Jackson Medical Mall Community Room at 350 West Woodrow Wilson Avenue in Jackson. Mississippi Family to Family Parent Coordinator Keishawna Smith will be one of the speakers. For more information, call Keishawna at 601.432.6929.
3) 2017 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference – June 15-16, Jackson
The Mississippi disAbility MegaConference is the state’s largest conference for people with disabilities, their families, and professionals. Presenters and exhibitors share the latest information and innovations about topics such as health care, education, employment, mental health, safety, and much more! For more information or to register, visit http://msmegaconference.org/.
4) MegaConference Awards Nominations – Deadline April 21
Do you know a person, several people or an organization doing stellar work to progress the IDEA or the ADA? Don’t let their hard work go unnoticed, nominate them for the 2017 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference Champion of the ADA or Champion of IDEA Awards. For more information and nomination forms, visit http://msmegaconference.org/awards.
5) U.S. Department of Education Seeks Comments on New IDEA Website
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is seeking input from users of the website, IDEA.ed.gov, as part of their effort to provide updated, easy-to-navigate IDEA resources to children with disabilities and their families, teachers, administrators, advocates, and other stakeholders. OSERS has posted a blog for comments. OSERS appreciates suggestions for improving their online resources to ensure that infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families have the supports and services they are entitled to under the IDEA. To leave a comment, visit http://bit.ly/2lSZzvr.
6) New Health Section on PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Education Website
The new health section on PACER’s National Parent Center on Transition and Education (NPCTE) website includes a rich variety of resources and specific information on important issues such as health transition planning and the IEP, transitioning to health care providers who serve adults, building self-advocacy and self-care management skills, and financing your young adult’s health care. In addition, the health section of the website includes a comprehensive health assessment transition planning checklist, designed to be completed by parents and youth together. Visit the new website at http://www.pacer.org/transition/learning-center/health/.
7) Reaching People in Multiple Languages
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) envisions an America in which all populations will have an equal opportunity to live long, healthy, and productive lives. NIMHD is committed to supporting research and communications efforts to improve cultural competency and health literacy. NIMHD offers a language access portal as a resource to stakeholders who work with health disparity populations with limited English proficiency to help improve language access to health information produced by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. For more information and to access the portal, visit https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/edu-training/language-access/index.html.
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Family Health Notes is sponsored by the Institute for Disability Studies (IDS), Mississippi’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at The University of Southern Mississippi. IDS provides university training, community service activities, research and information that promote the independence, productivity, and community inclusion of individuals with disabilities and their families. For more information about IDS, visit http://www.usm.edu/disability-studies or call 1.888.671.0051 (TTY). To make a tax-deductible gift to IDS, visit http://www.usm.edu/disability-studies/support-ids.
The Family-to-Family Health Information and Education Center (F2F) is a family-focused, family managed resource center that empowers families of Mississippi children with special health care needs to be partners in the decisions made concerning the health of their children. F2F is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (GR#H84MC07948).
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