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Bringing Family Lived Experience To You
Accept, Advocate, Act
December 1, 2023 | Volume 2, Issue 3
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Note from the Executive Director
Social Justice for Families
We had an amazing time at our 34th Annual Conference: Advancing Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion for Families and Their Children! We heard from so many of our more than 600 attendees that this was the best conference yet. If you came to Chicago to be in community with the other social justice advocates you work alongside, support, and mentor, thank you for being such a key factor in creating an amazing opportunity to co-learn.
We got inspired by and celebrated acceptance with our keynote speakers' and breakout session presenters' stories, successful programs, advocacy efforts, and practical strategies for advancing #SocialJusticeForFamilies through family peer support! If you weren't able to join us in person, check out the photos, videos, and recap of the conference in this newsletter! We hope to see even more of you next year in Orlando, FL. Mark your calendars now!
As the winter holidays approach, we've planned some wellness and resiliency-themed events and resources to support yourself and families with whom you work. Keep working towards social justice with resources to observe Universal Human Rights Month in December. However you celebrate the holidays (or don't), we wish you a month of presence, community, and peace.
With hope,
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Lynda Gargan, PhD
Executive Director, National Federation of Families
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Advancing Social Justice for Families and Youth | | |
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Conference Details
- 629 attendees from 33 states and Canada
- 21 sponsors
- 32 exhibitors
- 90+ breakout sessions from 84 organizations
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Award Winners
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Reclaiming Children Award: Meri Viano
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Family Peer Support Award: Barb Greene
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Karl Dennis Unconditional Care Award: Linda Henderson-Smith
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Lifetime Achievement Award: Karl and Kathy Dennis
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Karl and Kathy Dennis
Kaleidescope (Retired)
Indiana
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Livestream Recordings Available
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Use Your Circles of Power, Your Voice, and Your Relationships
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Wise words were shared by Linda Henderson-Smith, NFF's newest Board Member and 2023 and 2022 keynote speaker at our annual conference. Listen to the complete social justice plenary panel with Linda, Josh Boynton, and Hasan Davis here. #SocialJusticeForFamilies | | |
Nationally Certified Family
Peer Specialist Videos
NFF has created three videos to help families, providers, systems staff, and anyone else unfamiliar with Certified Family Peer Specialists (CFPS) learn more:
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Your Voice Matters: 2 Key Surveys to Complete | |
NFF is looking for feedback on 2 key surveys this month. Please share them with your networks.
How Are Our Children and Families Doing, Really?: Edition 3
Please take a few minutes to complete the 3rd and final edition of our "How Are Our Children and Families Doing, Really?" survey. Please complete and share it with others. Input from families like yours is the most valuable resource we have. Your lived experiences are shared with SAMHSA and mental health and substance use prevention leaders. All families with children living at home-of any age are invited.
Expanded Definition of Family Peer Support
Please share your feedback on the newly proposed definition of Family Peer Support. Please select the version(s) below that best applies to you. It's just two questions!
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Legislative and Advocacy News | |
Advocacy for Parity
NFF has been active with our national partners in response to the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services’ request for comments about compliance with mental health parity and addiction equity in Medicaid and CHIP.
As the largest single source of funding for mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) services in the United States, Medicaid fills a critical role in supporting access to services and treatment for millions of individuals. We believe there is widespread noncompliance with the requirements of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) in Medicaid managed care, CHIP, and Medicaid Alternative Benefit Plans (ABPs). With tens of millions of individuals across the country enrolled in these plans, the lack of parity compliance is an urgent public health issue. Additionally, there is widespread parity noncompliance in Medicaid managed care, CHIP and ABPs and the current two-tier system in which those in public programs have less parity protections than those in private plans. The need for more CMS oversight of states’ compliance with EPSDT is particularly urgent in the context of SUD because few states have worked to ensure access to SUD treatment under EPSDT, in part due to a lack of understanding about the standard for youth with SUD or at-risk of SUD.
NFF has responded to the call for comments through our work in three separate collaborations. These coalitions were led by the Kennedy Forum, the Mental Health Liaison Group, and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Coalition. Learn more about parity and its importance to you by visiting ParityTrack and Don’t Deny Me.
Amicus Briefs
This month NFF has joined as parties to two amicus briefs. An amicus brief is a legal document filed in appellate courts intended to assist the court by offering additional relevant information or arguments the court may want to consider before making its ruling. Amicus briefs are filed by a “friend of the court”—a third party who has a special interest or expertise in a case and wants to influence the court’s decisions in a particular way.
Protecting Youth in the Juvenile Justice System from Adult Incarceration
In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Fair Fight Initiative filed a federal class action lawsuit to prevent the transfer of children in the custody of Louisiana’s Office of Juvenile Justice to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, the notorious maximum-security prison for adults. In September 2023, the district court judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the State to remove all children from Angola, where they were housed in the former death row building, and cease using the facility to detain children involved in delinquency cases. The State appealed to the Fifth Circuit. Juvenile Law Center and Center for Children’s Law & Policy are filing an amicus brief in Smith, et al. v. Edwards, et al. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that NFF will be included in as an Amici Curiae. The brief will focus on the harms of incarcerating youth in carceral facilities designed for adults and the specific harms of housing youth in Angola.
Unnecessary Institutionalization
Under the leadership of the National Health Law Program, the Bazelon Center, and the Center for Public Representation, NFF joined an amicus brief in U.S. v. Florida, focusing on concluding that the family home is the most appropriate setting for children and, with supports, families want their children at home. NFF was proud to be alongside our partners from across the country in supporting this brief: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Child Neurology Foundation, Exceptional Families of the Military , Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Little Lobbyists, Mental Health, America Muscular Dystrophy Association. PACER Center, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law & Center for Public Representation.
In July, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that the State of Florida violates the rights of children with complex medical needs by keeping some children unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities, while placing other children at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization. Following a two-week bench trial in May, the court found that the children in nursing facilities are capable of living in the community. Based on the testimony of experts and family members during the trial, the court also found that parents and guardians of institutionalized children overwhelmingly want their children to live at home, but that they have not been given meaningful options other than institutional placement. The court’s decision, coming after nearly a decade of litigation, marks a major turning point in the treatment of children with disabilities in Florida and vindicates their right to community integration. Read the brief here.
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Keep Up with the Latest Legislative News
NFF's Legislation and Policy News for Family Advocates is the place to find the details on the bills, policies, and opportunities for input that family advocates need. Visit for the latest news and releases, proposed legislation and policies, and what's being implemented in both policy and legislation. It's updated monthly to give you the latest information in one place.
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ASK's New Executive Director
It is our great pleasure to welcome Latrieva Collins-Boston the new Executive Director of ASK Family Services, one of our Michigan affiliates. In her own words, 'I am so many things but most of all I am a person who wants to help others. I still believe in the “goodness” of mankind, and I enjoy leading an agency dedicated to helping families of children with developmental and mental health challenges in letting them know they are not “alone.”'
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| QUESTION: What was your favorite part of attending the 34th Annual Conference? | | | |
Responses from October Poll: How will you enhance your social justice toolkit at the conference?
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Before we took off for the conference in Chicago, we asked you what your plans were for enhancing your social justice toolkit at the conference. Nearly a third of you were excited for Hasan Davis's keynote about hope in social justice. About a quarter of folks were gearing up to learn about acceptance in Dr. Steven Loyd's keynote and another quarter of you were marking your calendar for some of the JEDI track breakout sessions. 20% of people were ready for the Saturday panel with Hasan Davis, Josh Boynton, and Linda Henderson-Smith. If you missed any of these inspiring keynotes, make sure to watch! | |
NFSTAC News and Highlights | | |
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Family, Youth, and Adult Peer Support Differentiated Infographic
Our new infographic is tool that can make it easier for you to explain how family peer support and lived experience is distinct from youth and adult peer support!
| NFSTAC invites you to submit requests for free technical assistance from our network of partners and subject matter experts. NFSTAC is driven by the needs of families and the workforce that supports families. You'll find education, training, and family support resources tailored specifically to families, the family peer workforce, communities, healthcare systems, clinicians, and educators. | |
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Family Connections:
Finding Joy in Holidays & Special Days
December 7, 1:30 p.m. ET
While we want to celebrate with the people we love, it’s not unusual to get overwhelmed just thinking about our loved ones on holidays and special days. Join noted expert on family partnership and self-care, Sue Badeau for practical solutions and strategies to mitigate our perceptions and expectations of upcoming events.
| Stay tuned for a special Family Connections companion toolkit to practice wellness and resiliency during the holidays. Check the NFSTAC Resources page soon! | |
Office Hour: Wellness and Resiliency: Supporting Holistic Well-Being
December 12, 3 p.m. ET
Nationally Certified Family Peer Specialist Wanda Douglas kicks off this Office Hour series designed to support family peers in building their Core Competencies. Join us to learn about holistic wellness practices that build resiliency for the family peer workforce AND families!
| NFSTAC webinars will be back in January! | |
NFSTAC partnered with Boston University's Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation to create this module to improve the behavioral health workforce's attitudes, beliefs, and practices to authentically partner with families in behavioral health care settings. From NOW until January 10, 2024, you can take a feedback survey at the end of the module to let us know how you liked it, what we can add, and whether or not you would include it in formal clinician training. Join us on January 11, 2024 for a pilot listening session from 12-1 p.m. ET to provide more feedback! | | | |
Celebrating Our Affiliates! | | |
51 NFF Affiliates and 4 National Partners
Attended This Year's Conference!
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We were so excited to see so many familiar faces at this year's conference. Thank you to our two host organizations, Association for Children's Mental Health and ASK Family Services! Several affiliates brought 20 or more staff and family members to the conference: Georgia Parent Support Network, Families Together in New York State, Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children, Reach Family Services, and Tennessee Voices! Other NFF affiliates and partners sent speakers, exhibitors, and attendees we were so happy to learn with: Allegheny Family Network, Center for Adoption Support & Education, Champions for Children's Mental Health, Child & Family Service, Dad's Federation of Families, Dads MOVE, Dekalb Families in Action, Delaware Family Voices, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, Each One Teach One Together, Families as Allies, Families Care, Family Advocacy & Community Training, Family Based Services Association of New Jersey, Family Involvement Center, Family Support Organization of Essex County, Family and Youth of Idaho, Father's Tree of Hope, FAVOR, Federation of Families of Central Florida, Filling in the GAPS, Haven of Hope, Hawaii Families as Allies, Indiana Family to Family, Magellan Healthcare Behavioral Health Management, Maryland Coalition of Families, Mentally Ill Kids in Distress, Mountain State Parent, Children, & Adolescent Network, My Girls, NAMI New Hampshire, Nevada PEP, North Carolina Families United, North Dakota FFCMH, NW Georgia Federation of Families, Oklahoma Family Network, One Dream Academy, Oregon Family Support Network, Parent Professional Advocacy League, Parents Helping Parents, Peer Specialists Limited, Sassy Moms Mentoring Other Mothers Successfully, South Florida Wellness Network, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, Standing Tall, Stronger Together, The Family Café, PAXIS Institute, Total Family Care Coalition, and Washington State Community Connectors.
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Interested in being a Featured Affiliate?
In January, we'd love to feature YOU! Reach out to dasby@ffcmh.org if your organization has a program, event, or great story to share!
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December Awareness Resources | | |
The month of December is Universal Human Rights Month. December 10th marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This landmark document preserves the inalienable rights all human beings are entitled to regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. Well-aligned with our own social justice efforts on behalf of families impacted by mental health and substance use challenges, this year's theme is Freedom, Equality, and Justice for All. We stand together with individuals and organizations across the globe this month and on December 10th in support of universal human rights. | |
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In December, we also recognize these awareness days:
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#CreateConnectCare
Creative Visions, Discovery Education, and InnerView have partnered to launch #CreateConnectCare, an innovative campaign that uses the power of creativity to promote mental health acceptance, connection, and support. When young people share their stories, they open up the conversation about mental health acceptance. Share this campaign with youth interested in contributing to online galleries, events, and exhibitions.
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In early November, SAMHSA released the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data report. Information about substance use, mental health challenges, and recovery of U.S. adults is collected each year and disseminated via report, infographics, slides, general highlights, and highlights by race/ethnicity. This is the most up-to-date population-level data available about behavioral health. Use these resources to better understand trends and the current state of behavioral health. Book mark these resources to use as you write grants, give testimonies, deliver trainings, and more! | | | | |
