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Train the Trainer for
Parent Support Specialist
January 10-11, 2017
MS Department of Mental Health
Jackson, MS
Families as Allies 2017
New Year Open House
January 12, 2017
4:30 am - 7:30 am
840 East River Place
Suite 500
Jackson, MS
January 19, 2017
9:30 am
MS State Hospital
Pearl, MS
Open to the Public
Family Leadership Training and Community Meeting
January 28, 2017
Tupelo, MS
Details to be announced
Special Needs Symposium
February 9, 2017
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
New Summit School
601-366-0901
gretchen@parents-kids.com
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OUR NEW WEBSITE HAS LAUNCHED!!
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"I have told my family's story many times. I won't go into details here, but I do have some things I feel are important to be said. In all the recent news that has brought a tremendous amount of awareness into the workings and failings of our state's mental health system, so many are leaving out the most important factor.... Reality for the families. The staff and partners of Ms Families as Allies are working hard to keep our reality as parents in the forefront. I don't think there has ever been a more diligent or focused voice for our families as this group of caring and involved individuals."
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Legal News Related to Children's Mental Health
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Stand together with us to make public information that will help our children.
Sign our
petition.
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Do You Have Questions about Medicaid?
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JOIN US FOR A FUN EVENING AND A VISIONARY NEW YEAR !
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New Year Open House
January 12, 2016
4:30 to 7:30
There will be food, activities for children, and the chance
to visit with old friends and make new ones. Please come
join in the celebration and also share your vision for
Families as Allies in 2017.
840 East River Place
Suite 500
Jackson, MS 39202
601-355-0915
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GIVE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
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I AM FAMILIES AS ALLIES:
GRACE AND JOHN GALLAGHER
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In the midst of the holiday season, we at Families as Allies hope the Gallagher's story inspires you to
give generously, so that families across the state can support each other and work together on behalf of our children. Providing support through Families as Allies to a family like the Gallaghers for one year costs about $1,000 and means more children stay in school and more parents remain employed. Recent budget hearings revealed that providing institutional care to that same child for one year costs $60,000. Please join with us and invest your dollars in solutions that keep families together and allow children to grow up at home. You can
donate here.
The most important way each of us can give today and every day is by welcoming ALL families, including those whose children have mental health challenges, without judgment or blame. Mental health problems are common and real, yet families often don't seek help for their children because of the stigma associated with mental illness. We also urge each of you to work with us to make sure the right kinds of services and supports are in place to help children with mental health challenges. Follow us on
Facebook
to stay current on these opportunities.
Thank you for partnering with Families as Allies to ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their potential and to be successful. Nothing could be more important. I appreciate each and every one of you.
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Atlas Communications
Andrew and Rachel Canter
Jayne Buttross
Andrew and Jan Townes
Jack and Tessie Schweitzer
Howard Roffwarg and Joy Hogge
Families as Allies is defined by our core values:
Every Child and Family, Excellence, Partnership
and Accountability.
As part of our celebration, we honored groups and individuals who exemplified these values in their work this past year.
The Helen Reddy Johnson Memorial Award for Valuing Every Child and Family was given to Mississippi Public Broadcasting for its series Growing Pains. The series was produced by Kathryn Rodenmeyer and Dr. Rick deShazo who accepted the award on behalf of MPB. Ms. Rodenmeyer is shown here with FAA board president Carlyn Hicks (left) and Executive Director Joy Hogge (right).
The Rusty Turner Memorial Award for Excellence was given to Dr. Wanjiku Njoroge, medical director of the Young Child Clinic and a psychiatrist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Njoroge came to Mississippi as a trainer for the infant and early childhood mental health initiative, BuDS. She was honored not only for the excellence of her work, but also for partnering with families and the community in a sensitive and responsive way.
Our
Partnership Award
was given to Nita Rudy, from the national office of
Parents
for Public Schools
. Ms. Rudy was recognized for her collaborative work on the MDE's restraint and seclusion policy. She is shown here with FAA board president Carlyn Hicks (left) and executive director Joy Hogge (right).
Finally, the Accountability Award was given to two state representatives from opposite sides of the aisle: Representatives
Joel Bomgar
and
Jay Hughes
. They were both honored for their emphasis on transparency and their interest in children's mental health. We also thanked Representative Bomgar
for his openness to learning about employment approaches that help people with mental illness and teaching us more about the Out of Last Place Alliance he spearheads.
For more information about the event, the
people for whom our memorial awards are named
for the award recipients, you can read the Program. Families as Allies also produced an
Impact Report
for the event which we hope all of you will read and share.
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FAMILIES AS ALLIES AT THE NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE
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A team of people from Families as Allies attended and presented at the 27th Annual Conference of the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health in Phoenix, Arizona in November.
Dr. Hogge
and
Family Partner Henry Moore
presented on
"Using State Challenges to Create Opportunities for Family-Driven Reform".
They described how, despite multiple legal and budget challenges in Mississippi, Families as Allies and the State have worked together to meet budget and accountability demands while still allowing Families as Allies to build grassroots family support throughout the state. The presentation also discussed how family surveys, town hall meetings, training, and mentoring of both families and providers are used to support family-driven system reform.
Laura Smith (left), Project Director of BuDs and Nikki Flippins, Training Director of Families as Allies, and Betty Turner, Family Partner, also presented at the conference. Their presentation introduced BuDS (Beginnings Determine Success), to conference attendees.
BuDS,
started through the 4-year SAMHSA grant to expand the system of care for children birth to five,
is a
joint infant and early childhood mental health collaborative between the City of Jackson, Mississippi Families for Kids, Families as Allies and other service systems and providers, education groups and grassroots organizations.
The trio discussed
the important role family-driven planning played in writing the grant and highlighted lessons learned and new directions that are emerging as the project moves forward.
In addition to the conference, the Families as Allies team appreciated the opportunity to see how Arizona has implemented the settlement agreement for J.K. v Humble, a lawsuit that challenged Arizona's failure to provide mental health services to children on Medicaid. The landmark settlement is reforming the state's behavioral healthcare system for children in partnership with families and the children themselves. We commend the leaders of Arizona's Medicaid system for including families and family run organizations in all aspects of planning and reform. You can learn more about
their
work on this video of a panel of Medicaid administrators, families and consumers.
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOY HOGGE ELECTED TO SERVE ON THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FAMILIES' BOARD
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Dr. Hogge was delighted to be elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Federation of Families while at the conference. She is also on the Board of the Family Run Executive Director's Leadership Association (FREDLA). "I cannot imagine two more meaningful organizations than the Federation and FREDLA - both are completely committed to families being partners in their children's care and doing so at all levels and in ways supported by research and what we know works," Hogge shared.
She went on to say, "This is a tremendous opportunity for Mississippi to partner not only with our organization, but also with the work and resources of these wonderful national partners to help make all of our child serving systems more responsive to families, efficient with their resources and collaborative with each other. I am humbled, honored and overjoyed by the possibilities this presents for children, families and our State."
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LOCAL YOUTH RAISES MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
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Please join Families as Allies and Representative
Kenneth Walker
in congratulating Matisse Pickett for being one of the first, if not the first, youth in this area to receive the International Bipolar Mental Health Awareness patch. Matisse did research on the brain and worked with her family, school and community to learn about children's mental health in order to receive the patch. Families as Allies extends our warmest congratulations and gratitude to Matisse!
Click here to learn more about the patch!
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HENRY MOORE HONORED FOR PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY
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Family as Allies staff member
Henry Moore received an award and gift of appreciation after speaking at the Byhalia Elementary School Exceptional Education Holiday Luncheon on December 3. The award was presented from Marshall County School District Special Education Department. The program was attended by parents, children, sponsors and teachers from Marshall County School District. During the sixty minute presentation,
Henry conducted the "What's Working?-What's Not Working?-What's Needed?" Needs Assessment with parents in the audience.
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DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH BOARD MEETING
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We want to thank the the Board of the Department of Mental Health for the opportunity to present at its meeting at the Mississippi State Hospital at 9:30 AM on
January 19th, 2017.
Dr. Hogge will update the board on our current contract with the department and how funds are used to learn what families need, make our system more responsive and support entities working with children.
This is an exciting opportunity to share about family driven care, the role of family-run organizations and the importance of community-based services in general. Families as Allies staff, board members and families
will be in attendance, and we hope our community partners and other friends, including all of you, will be there as well.
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BuDS PRESENTS AT
EXCEL by 5
12TH ANNUAL SUMMIT
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Families as Allies staff members Nikki Flippins & Laura Smith spoke at the Excel by 5 Building Partnerships for Children: 12th Annual Summit on
Thursday
, November 10, 2016 in Jackson, MS.
Excel By 5
is a Mississippi only community based certification designed to improve a child's well-being by age 5. The presentation was a part of the Health Track, where information was shared with participants about BuDS (Beginnings Determine Success), an infant and early childhood mental health collaboration between the City of Jackson, Mississippi Families for Kids, and Families as Allies.
Participants left with knowledge of efforts to build a pool of professionals throughout the state to serve children birth to 5 and developmental and social/emotional screenings in the City of Jackson Child Centers. Most importantly, a connection was created between health and mental health and how each affects the other, emphasizing the importance of addressing early social emotional/behavioral issues with the same effort and consistency as physical health issues.
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