Happy End of January from

Hartwood Foundation, Inc.

           HARTWOOD FOUNDATION

Wishes you a happy and warm end of January

The residents of Hartwood Foundation are happy that January is coming to a close. It was a brutal stretch of record cold weather that blanketed our region, and we are hoping for warmer weather in the months to come. The snowfall was beautiful and nice for the extended period on the ground.

We had a magnificent 2024 as we accomplished great things/events throughout the year and are very excited at what 2025 will bring to our residents!

Hoping your 2025 has kicked off in a positive way for You and Your Family!

"You're SO Amazing!" and "A Little Like Magic" are among the winners of this year's Schneider Family Book Awards. (Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House)

Children’s Books Recognized For Inclusive Storylines

Several books are gaining accolades for their portrayal of the disability experience as part of a special set of awards handed out alongside the venerable Newbery and Caldecott Medals.

The American Library Association announced three winners and six honorees of its Schneider Family Book Awards this week.

The awards, given annually, recognize authors and illustrators for books that embody an “artistic expression of the disability experience.” Books are chosen in three categories aimed at different age groups — younger children ages 4 to 8, middle grade students ages 9 to 13 and young adults, considered to be ages 14 to 18.

Several books are gaining accolades for their portrayal of the disability experience as part of a special set of awards handed out alongside the venerable Newbery and Caldecott Medals.

The American Library Association announced three winners and six honorees of its Schneider Family Book Awards this week.

The awards, given annually, recognize authors and illustrators for books that embody an “artistic expression of the disability experience.” Books are chosen in three categories aimed at different age groups — younger children ages 4 to 8, middle grade students ages 9 to 13 and young adults, considered to be ages 14 to 18.

The winner in the younger children’s category is “A Little Like Magic,” the story of a girl who uses a wheelchair who’s nervous to attend an ice festival. She loses her horse figurine at the event and discovers magic in the cold when she returns to search for the lost item.

Honor books in the young children’s category include “Monster Hands” about best friends who use rhyming ASL to deal with their fear of a monster under the bed, and “You’re SO Amazing!” about a child with limb differences who’s sick of people telling him how great he is for doing ordinary things.

The library association gave the middle grade award to “Popcorn,” which follows the ups and downs of a boy with anxiety and OCD as he navigates picture day at school. The honor books in this category are “Louder Than Hunger” about a young teen with an eating disorder and “Shark Teeth,” about a girl with an unstable home life.

In the young adult division, the winner is “Chronically Dolores,” the story of a girl with a chronic bladder condition who strikes a plan with a new friend with autism to win back her former best friend. Honor books for young adults include “Light Enough to Float” about a teenager dealing with an eating disorder and “On the Bright Side,” which finds a high school student who’s deaf adjusting to a mainstream school with the help of a boy who’s learning about a life-changing diagnosis.

The Schneider Family Book Awards were announced at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX conference in Phoenix. Winners will receive $5,000 and a commemorative plaque at the organization’s annual conference in June.



This article was published in Disability Scoop by Shaun Heasley on January 21, 2025.

Mark your calendars as we are excited for our 22nd Annual Hartwood Open Golf Tournament slated for

Thursday, June 26th, 2025.

If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please reach out to ajoskuie@hartwoodfoundation.com.

We are grateful for your continued support!

Virginia making strides in disabilities arena, but more work needs to be done

Twelve years after Virginia was found not to be meeting the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, the state has made enough progress to minimize the court’s involvement in the future.

A 2012 settlement agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Department of Justice was ended by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last week.

The consent degree was replaced with a permanent injunction that was approved by the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Justice.

While progress has been made, the injunction makes it clear there is more work that needs to be done.

The injunction, which has a timeline of seven years, contains expectations for services and support to individuals, a quality management system, compliance monitoring, maintaining a publicly accessible document library and retains an independent reviewer.

Virginia is also required to conduct rate studies of certain services and to make efforts during the upcoming legislative sessions to fund implementation of the rates recommended by the studies.

“We are pleased to see the permanent injunction signed, marking a significant step forward in the 2012 case against Virginia for failing to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act’s integration mandate,” said Tonya Milling, executive director of The ARC of Virginia, a statewide advocacy organization made up of people with developmental disabilities, their families and allies. “This decision reflects sustained work by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to achieve compliance with quality indicators and establishes a lasting framework to ensure people with developmental disabilities have access to inclusive, community-based lives.”

Milling said she is “optimistic” that Virginia will follow through on its commitment to individuals with developmental disabilities. The main types of developmental disabilities include autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, Down syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“We were pleased to see legislative leadership present in court and are optimistic that this demonstrates their commitment to supporting the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities,” she said.

Virginia entered into a settlement agreement with DOJ in 2012 to resolve an investigation into Virginia training centers and community programs and noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Virginia closed four of its five outdated institutions for people with intellectual disabilities, called training centers. The training centers that closed as part of the settlement with the DOJ included the Southwestern, Northern, Southside and Central Virginia training centers.

The Southeastern Virginia Training Center, or SEVTC, in Chesapeake remains open.

The permanent injunction will terminate and replace the settlement agreement and minimize the need for active court oversight, according to the governor’s office.

“We want to make it very clear to Virginians: we will not stop here,” said Nelson Smith, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. “We will keep working to ensure individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have even better access to quality providers and life-changing waiver services, and this work is an enduring commitment.

“We are committed to giving Virginians with disabilities the supports and services they need to live their best lives, full of possibilities, in their communities.”

This article was published in the Augusta Free Press on January 20, 2025 by Crystal Graham

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