Great Resources on the Web
The Little Friends Center for Autism was created in 2004 as an affiliate of Little Friends, Inc. The Center was created in order to build on the expertise that Little Friends has developed in serving children with autism and their families, and create a "one stop" resource center for families throughout the Chicagoland area.
LFCA provides comprehensive diagnostic and evaluation services, training for parents and professionals, consultation, and educational materials. Our desire is to help families by sharing the knowledge we have gained since the early 1980's while specializing in serving children with autism.
You can visit their website for a listing of upcoming trainings by going to
www.littlefriendsinc.org/lfca.asp
W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s mission is to support children, especially vulnerable children, and families to be successful individuals as well as successful contributors to their communities. Their communication, evaluation and policy toolkits, designed for their grantees, are useful to a broader audience. Read the contents at
www.wkkf.org
The National Foster Parent Association offers online courses to help foster and adoptive parents develop leadership skills. Many elements of these on-line courses are useful for all parents. Visit www.nfpainc.org and check out the Surviving Leadership Training module where you can learn about qualities and styles of leadership and ways to support parent leaders, including ideas for mentoring new parents into leadership roles.
The Seven Changes Workbook (English, Spanish & Portuguese) will assist in the ability to brush up on skills and help others learn the art of communication with this workbook. Good leaders are good communicators. Check out the workbook at
www.newconversations.net/workbook
ChildRite Medical Supplies
ChildRite Medical Supplies is a provider for Illinois State Medicaid. Services they provide include a variety of incontinence products and durable medical equipment for children with developmental delays that are paid for via Medicaid. ChildRite will ship all products and equipment directly to the child’s home as approved on a monthly basis. As your child grows and progresses, sizes and product type changes are handled as needed. Eligibility for this service is re-evaluated monthly.
To qualify for this Medicaid funded program, the following criteria must be met:
- Child must be 2 years of age
- Incontinence program: Child must have a diagnosis that impacts their ability to be toilet trained.
- Therapy items: Requires a letter of medical necessity for the needed item equipment.
- Durable Medical Equipment: Requires a letter of medical necessity for the needed item equipment.
- Child must have a Medicaid number or Medical Insurance. (Note: not all medical insurance companies reimburse for this program. Call 217-787-2203 and ask our Medicaid special if yours does. Please have a copy of your card and policy ready when you call.)
- Copy of Physician Orders for incontinence products, therapy items, or Durable Medical Equipment with qualifying diagnosis codes.
For more information and to see if your child qualifies for this program, please call 217-787-2203 and ask for Kevin Schaul, Owner/Program Manager.
Financial Assistance for Conferences:
The ARC of Illinois has consumer stipends for parents of individuals with disabilities and people with disabilities to attend conferences. Contact them at 708-206-1930 or online at www.thearcofil.org.
Expanded Public Health Insurance – Illinois' FamilyCare
It was announced in November 2007, that Illinois is expanding access to healthcare for uninsured parents. The income eligibility has been raised to make Illinois’ FamilyCare program available to more families. FamilyCare offers healthcare coverage to parents living with their children age 18 and under. FamilyCare also covers relatives who are caring for children in place of their parents. It covers doctor visits, limited dental care, hospital services, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment and more. The new income limit allows an annual income of $82,600 for a family of four - up from $38,202.
Parents must be uninsured in order to qualify for the expansion, or meet an exception, such as a losing healthcare coverage as a result of a job loss. Health Insurance for the children of these parents is the Illinois’ All Kids Program.
Premiums range from $15 - $140 per adult. Co-pays will be $2 to $5 for doctor visits and prescriptions.
For more information on FamilyCare, visit: www.FamilyCareIllinois.com
Be sure to click on the News tab for more information on the following news or opportunities...
- Young Children and Family Military Deployment
- EC-TIIS Online Courses Offered
- Podcasts By LitTech!
- Potential Funding for Families’ "Medical Needs"
- Training for Preschool to Kindergarten Transition
- Special Needs Car Seat Program Helps Keep Kids Safer
- Tech on the Go
Heard It Through the Grapevine, occasionally STARnet will get some detailed information about specific parent meetings. (Find ongoing Parent Support Groups information on the "Support Groups" link on the left side of this page)
Advocates for Access-Parents’ Nights
July 7, 2008 7:00-8:00pm
October 6, 2008 7:00-8:00pm
Advocates for Access (formerly the Central Illinois Center for Independent Living) sponsors quarterly Parents’ Nights- an all inclusive effort to bring parents from all the area disability support groups together to share resources, events, communications, struggles and successes.
Advocates for Access4450 N. prospect Rd., Suite C* in Heritage Square in Peoria Heights
For more information, call Dorothy Anello at 682-3500.
Save the Date! Finding Our Voices, Claiming Our Futures
November 8, 9:00-3:30pm
Peoria, IL
A Summit for Individuals and Their Families Concerning the State of
Developmental Disability Services in Illinois
- Where We’ve Been
- Where We Are
- Where We Need To Be
Empowering Ourselves to Change A Broken System
For more information: Tri-County Disability Advocated
intheknow@familysupportnetwork.org
or (309) 693-8981