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OPEN HOUSE AT THE LOCAL LIVING FAMILY CENTER - September 26, 2009

WHERE: Local Living Family Center 5501 N. Hwy 93 Florence, MT 59833 273-0142

WHEN: September 26, 2009 From 10 am – 2 pm

The Local Living Family Center has finally opened its doors in Florence!

Our purpose is to bring people of all ages, skills and abilities together
to create a network of support that will:

•Strengthen resiliency in parents and their children
•Provide Information and resource referral
•Engage families in lifelong learning activities
•Encourage volunteerism, leadership, and civic engagement

Click here to view the Parenting from the Heart Flyer.

Click here to view the invitation to the Open House at the Local Living Family Center.

Sesame Workshop- Resource for Families Experiencing Military Transitions

Link: Military Families In recognition of the contributions made by the United States Armed Forces, Sesame Workshop presents this bilingual educational outreach initiative designed for military families and their young children to share. This bilingual (English and Spanish) multimedia outreach program is designed to support military families with children between the ages of two and five who are experiencing deployment, multiple deployments, or a parent's return home changed due to a combat-related injury.

New Report on Severe Hardships for Middle Class Families Raising Children with Disabilities

Link: Family Support
Families with children with disabilities are struggling to keep food on the table, a roof over their heads, and pay for needed health and dental care. According to a new study of 28,141 households by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, these challenges are now falling on middle-income households and not just on poor families, as previous research has found. "The bottom line is that U.S. families raising children with disabilities are reporting severe hardships at rates that are chilling, including families that are solidly middle-class," says Dr. Susan L. Parish, the study's lead investigator and an assistant professor in the UNC School of Social Work. "We were shocked to find such high rates of hardship among upper-income families." The study, which is based on 2002 data from the National Survey of American Families, is being published in this month's journal "Exceptional Children.

How Learning Disabilities Affect Family Dynamics

Link: LD

The focus of identification and management of learning disabilities (LD) has been and continues to be primarily academic — how children’s strengths and weaknesses affect achievement in school. Yet parents often report that LD affects life at home, as well. In this article, Betty Osman, Ph.D., describes how learning disabilities impact family dynamics.

Does Your Estate Plan Put Your Child at Risk?

Link: Estate Plan

Most parents of children with special needs are well versed when it comes to their child's government benefits. They know not to give the child any money outright, to establish a standalone supplemental needs trust to protect their child's assets, and they know all of the ins and outs of the SSI and Medicaid application processes. What many parents don't often think about is the effect that their own estate plan can have on their child's benefits.

Case Illustrates Dangers of Leaving Money Directly to an Adult Child With Special Needs

Link: Court Case

In a recent New York case, a court ordered the trustee of a special needs trust to repay trust funds the trustee had misspent on herself and her husband. The case illustrates the importance of planning in advance for a child with special needs as well as of choosing the proper advocate for your child.

The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs Chartbook 2005-2006 is Now Available...

Link: National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs Chartbook 2005-2006

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau is pleased to announce that the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs Chartbook 2005-2006 is now available either online or you can request a hardcopy through the addresses listed at the end of this message. The chartbook provides both national and state-level data on children with special health care needs.

The chartbook reports that 10.2 million children in the United States have special health care needs; that number represents 14 percent of all U.S. children. More than a fifth of U.S. households with children have at least one child with special needs. Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are defined as having or being at risk for “chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional conditions that have lasted or are expected to last at least 12 months.”

The survey also found that:

* 16 percent of CSHCN are reported to not receive all the services they need;
* More than 94 percent of CSHCN have a regular source of care when they are sick. For 78 percent this is a private doctor's office; for 13 percent it is a clinic or health center; and for almost 4 percent it is another setting.

* 12 percent of families required mental health care or counseling related to the child's medical, behavioral or other health conditions; and
* 24 percent of families reported that a parent had to stop working or cut work hours to care for their children.

The survey screened 364,841 children for special health care needs and completed 40,840 interviews with families of CSHCN, covering a minimum of 740 CSHCN under the age of 18 in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia . Interviews were conducted with parents or guardians who know about the child's health.

NYTimes.com: More Families Are Shunning Inoculations

Link: NYTimes.com

More families are seeking exemptions from required vaccinations for their children, even after scientists and health experts have confirmed that vaccines do not cause autism. Some parents believe vaccinations should be a "personal choice," but a health expert said that the national schedule for vaccinations should still be followed because the benefits outweigh the risks.

Chron.com: Autism alters lives, but parents feel 'blessed'

Link: Houston Chronicle

For 23 years, Patrick and Sylvia Hamilton have shaped their lives around their son Michael, who has autism, without regrets. But the lack of community-based homes for adults with disabilities in their geographical area worries them: When they die or become too elderly to care for their son, they fear he won't have a safe place to live.

CNN.com: Life with Anthony

Link: CNN

For parents with three small kids -- Michael is 4, Jack's 3, and Anthony is 2 -- Lisa and Mike Spellman are surprisingly calm people. From the jumble of bright plastic toys, to the family pictures on every table, to the five baby gates in the downstairs alone, it's obvious that they've happily surrendered to parenthood. Lisa (a former attorney, now an at-home mom) and Mike (a neuroradiologist) take it all in stride, even when the volume in their Nashville house approaches deafening.