About Family Voices Family Voices, Inc., was founded in 1992 by family leaders concerned about the changing health care environment and the implications for our children with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other special health care needs. Based in New Mexico, Family Voices, has developed an extensive network of state and regional coordinators-all of whom are family members of children with special health care needs (CSHCN)--and has formal state chapters in a number of states including Tennessee. The network leaders work with families and professionals at the local, state, and national level to improve health care and related services for children. Family Voices of Tennessee started in 1993 as a program of the Tennessee Disability Coalition and became the first state chapter formally sanctioned by the national organization in the last quarter of 2000. Family Voices of Tennessee was one of six Family Voices state programs during 1999-2001 to participate in a pilot program to develop Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2FHICs). These F2FHICs are designed to be family-friendly places to learn about health care service systems and programs for children with special needs. Their purpose is to provide training or assistance to families in navigating various service systems, including Medicaid and TennCare, SSI for Children, Title V (Children's Special Services), Early Intervention (TEIS), and other programs. In the spring of 2001, Family Voices of Tennessee received a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in collaboration with the Tennessee AAP Chapter to develop an outreach and training program to promote Medical Homes for CSHCN. A Medical Home is not a place, but a philosophy that pediatricians have a shared responsibility with families in coordinating care and services to meet the needs of the child and family. Working in concert with pediatricians, other health care providers, state administrators, family representatives and advocates, our goal is to facilitate Medical Homes for all children in Tennessee. Family Voices of Tennessee Activities - Educating families and professionals about quality programs and best practices for children with special health care needs - Assisting families to navigate health care and related service systems and avoid or overcome barriers to care for their children - Training families to be the best possible advocates for their children's health and training professionals to work with families - Supporting families to have a voice in the design, development, implementation, and monitoring of health policies and programs for children and families - Working with professionals and families to improve children's health policies and programs in ways that are helpful to families - Promoting family-centered care, family/professional partnerships, and Medical Homes for children with special health care needs - Helping document family needs and family stories as a basis for policy planning and service implementation - Outreach to families and professionals to raise awareness for children's health issues and build the network of Family Voices Join the Family Voices Tennessee Network...It's FREE Name: _______________________________________________________ Are you related to a child/individual with a disability or chronic illness? Yes ______ No ______ Do you work for an agency that helps children with special needs? Yes ______ No ______ Name of Agency (if applicable) ___________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip code __________________________________ Home Phone: __________________ Work Phone: __________________ Fax #: __________________ Home Phone: __________________ Email __________________ Would you like to subscribe to one or both of our email listservs? ChildHealth listserv: Yes ______ No ______ Disability listserv: Yes ______ No ______ Please tell us about your child or family member with special health care needs or disability (include name, age, male/female, diagnosis or condition, services needed, etc.) _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ THANK YOU! We promise to respect the confidentiality of the information you shared with us. For additional information or assistance, please contact: Dara Howe State Director Family Voices of Tennessee c/o Tennessee Disability Coalition 480 Craighead Street, Suite 200 Nashville, TN 37204 Phone: 615-383-9442; ext. 13 In-state toll-free number for families: 1-888-643-7811 Fax: 615-383-1176 Email: familyvoices@tndisability.org