HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced $4.9 million in new and continuing grants to support the Family-to-Family Health Information Centers, primarily non-profit organizations run by and for families with children with special health care needs, including Vermont Family Network. Funding for the centers was extended through 2012 by the Affordable Care Act.
Created in 2005, the centers are state-wide, family-led organizations that provide information, education, training, outreach, and peer support to families of children and youth with special health care needs and the professionals who serve them.
"In the last year, the work of these Family to Family Health Information Centers has had a real impact on the families, and community and state systems that serve them," said Secretary Sebelius. "After working with these Centers, more than 90 percent of the families surveyed, reported they were helped in finding or navigating community services for their children with special health care needs."
The Family-to-Family Health Information Centers are staffed by trained family leaders who have children with special health care needs, and expertise in navigating federal, state and local public and private health care systems. These Centers are also staffed by and/or linked with health professionals. HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) oversees the program.
"More than 900,000 families of children with special health care needs were served at Centers in the past year," said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. "And over 400,000 providers and other professionals were able to benefit from their services, making invaluable information regarding the needs of these children more widely available than ever before."
Since the program's inception, Family-to-Family Health Information Centers have served hundreds of thousands of families and health care providers. Today's funding will support 51 centers, of which six are newly HRSA-supported (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, and Oregon). Each grant award is up to $95,700 per year.
Family-to Family Health Centers
Fiscal Year 2011 Competitive Awards
Organization
City
State
Raising Special Kids
Phoenix
Ariz.
Support for Families of Children w/ Disabilities
San Francisco
Calif.
Colorado Nonprofit Development Center
Denver
Colo.
PATH Parent to Parent/Family Voices of CT
Northford
Conn.
Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc.
Washington
DC
Delaware Family Voices, Inc.
New Castle
Del.
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc.
Dunedin
Fla.
Parent to Parent of Georgia, Inc.
Atlanta
Ga.
Hawaii Pediatric Association Research & Education Foundation
Honolulu
Hawaii
The Arc of Illinois
Frankfort
Ill.
Family Voices Indiana
Granger
Ind.
Families Together, Inc.
Wichita
Kan.
Bayou Land Families Helping Families
Thibodaux
La.
Federation for Children with Special Needs
Roxbury Crossing
Mass.
The Parent's Place of Maryland
Glen Burnie
Md.
Maine Parent Federation
Augusta
Maine
SEMHA PPA FCCYSHCN
Detroit
Mich.
PACER Center Inc.
Minneapolis
Minn.
Curators, University of Missouri
Kansas City
Mo.
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg
Miss.
Parents, Let's Unite for Kids
Billings
Mont.
Exceptional Children's Assistance Center
Davidson
N.C.
Family Voices of North Dakota, Inc
Edgeley
N.D.
PTI Nebraska
Omaha
Neb.
NH Coalition for Citizens w/Disabilities
Concord
N.H.
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey
Newark
N.J.
Parents Reaching Out to Help
Albuquerque
N.M.
Family TIES of Nevada, Inc
Reno
Nev.
Parent to Parent of NYS
Tupper Lake
N.Y.
The Oklahoma Family Network, Inc.
Oklahoma City
Okla.
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland
Ore.
Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership Center
Pittsburgh
Pa.
Rhode Island Parent Information Network, Inc.
Cranston
R.I.
South Dakota Parent Connection, Inc.
Sioux Falls
S.D.
Tennessee Disability Coalition
Nashville
Tenn.
Texas Parent to Parent
Austin
Texas
Utah Parent Center
Salt Lake City
Utah
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond
Va.
Vermont Family Network
Williston
Vt.
Washington PAVE
Tacoma
Wash.
The Arc Wisconsin Disability Association
Madison
Wis.
Non-Competitive Awards
Stone Soup Group
Anchorage
Alaska
Family Voices of Alabama Inc.
Mobile
Ala.
Arkansas Disability Coalition
Little Rock
Ark.
The University of Iowa
Iowa City
Iowa
Idaho Parents Unlimited Inc.
Boise
Idaho
Comm for Children w/ Special Health Care Needs
Louisville
Ky.
Family Voices of Ohio
Columbus
Ohio
Family Connection of South Carolina, Inc.
Columbia
S.C.
West Virginia Parent Training and Information, Inc.
Clarksburg
W.Va.
Parents Helping Parents of Wyoming, Inc
Buffalo
Wyo.
For more information on the program, and other HRSA maternal and child health programs, visithttp://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/. For additional information on the Affordable Care Act, visit
http://www.healthcare.gov/index.html .
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov .
SOURCE Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) ROCKVILLE, Md., May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --