The LINK Volume 11 | June2023

MSDH Program Provides Families with Practical Prevention Measures

The Mississippi State Department of Health Lead Poisoning Prevention and Healthy Homes Program (MSLPPHHP) provides practical prevention measures through care coordination, education, policy intervention, and risk reduction activities for children and families.


Families of children with a confirmed venous blood lead level greater than or equal to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) receive care coordination services (i.e., telephone counseling, home visit; environmental assessments, lead poisoning prevention, healthy homes assessments, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome education; nutritional counseling and referrals) which are designed to identify lead and other environmental home health hazards and provide recommendations for decreasing hazards.

 

In addition to the above services, the program also offers training for childcare providers, community and faith-based organizations and the public. These trainings cover lead poisoning, healthy homes, and safe sleep. Participants will learn about sources of lead, effects of lead on young children, lead poisoning prevention strategies, eight principles of a healthy home and sudden infant death syndrome risk reduction strategies.

 

To schedule a training or to receive educational materials for distribution, please contact the MSLPPHHP at (601) 576-7620.


To learn more about the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Healthy Homes Program, register for MSPTI's upcoming webinar about the program on Tuesday, August 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Click here to register.

Click here to register!

Attention families and educators supporting students with IEPs! Check out CADRE’s new Working Together Online Learning Series and move toward more collaborative and productive IEP meetings: www.cadreworks.org/working-together.


The Working Together Series includes five interactive self-directed courses. These courses provide families and educators with a number of strategies for working together and through conflict. Anyone supporting children or youth with disabilities may benefit from this series, however, the setting in which collaborative problem solving and conflict resolution takes place within this series is typically the school or IEP meeting.

Event Recap

2023 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference

Born to be WILD Family and Friends Picnic

Play. Learn. Grow


These are the words that come to mind when I think about preschool and our youngest learners. But the reality is far different for many children and their families: suspensions, expulsions and other forms of exclusionary discipline remove children from their preschool environment and create stressful and isolating experiences.


What message are we sending to our 3 through 5-year-old children if one of their first educational experiences involves a disciplinary removal? How does this experience shape their perspective, engagement, sense of belonging and future approach to school?


Read More

Both Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans can offer formal help for K–12 students who are struggling in school. They’re similar in some ways but very different in others. This graphic compares them side by side to help you understand the differences.



Click here to download the graphic.

July


Navigating the IEP

Tuesday, July 11

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM


Click here to register


Importance of the Family Voice

Monday, July 17

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM


Click here to register


Communication Tips for Parents: Making Sure Professionals Hear You

Monday, July 17

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM


Click here to register


Power of a Personal Story

Tuesday, July 18

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM


Click here to register


Transition 101: What Parents Need to Know

Thursday, July 20

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM


Click here to register


Records: What to Keep and How to Organize

Thursday, July 27

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM


Click here to register



August


First Steps to Next Steps: Transition from Early Intervention to Early Childhood Special Education and/or Community Supports       

Thursday, August 17

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM


Click here to register


Lead Poisoning Program    

Tuesday, August 22

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM


Click here to register


Transition: Making the Move to High School (Tips for Parents)   

Tuesday, August 22

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM


Click here to register


Independent Living: Here We Come!    

Tuesday, August 22

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM


Click here to register


Getting and Keeping the First Job

Tuesday, August 29

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM


Click here to register


Steps for Success: Making IEP Meetings Work

Tuesday, August 29

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM


Click here to register


What Is SEL (Social Emotional Learning)? An Introduction for Families

Tuesday, August 29

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM


Click here to register


Navigating the IEP

Thursday, August 31

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM


Click here to register



September


Early Intervention: Written State Complaints

Tuesday, September 5

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM


Click here to register


Conflict Resolution: What is it?

Tuesday, September 5

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM


Click here to register


Early Intervention: Mediation

Tuesday, September 12

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM


Click here to register


Transition Exit Summary of Performance: What is it?

Tuesday, September 12

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM


Click here to register


Mapping Dreams: Transition to Adulthood

Thursday, September 14

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM


Click here to register


Early Intervention: Due Process

Thursday, September 14

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM


Click here to register


Bullying Prevention: How Parents and Families Can Help

Tuesday, September 26

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM


Click here to register

IDD Medicaid Waiver Fair

The Mississippi Association of IDD Providers in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Mental Health will host an IDD Medicaid Waiver Provider Fair in July at six different locations across the state (Tupelo, Brandon, Hattiesburg, Gulfport, Oxford, and Meridian). You will have the chance to talk to the providers in your area and learn more about the services that are available. All events will be held from 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at each location on the dates on the flyer. Please email questions to steven.allen68@aol.com or feel free to call Steven Allen at (601) 906-3871.

MSCCD's Families LEAD trainings

Pre-selected parents that successfully completed the Families LEAD Advocacy Academy participated in the next round of trainings: Serving on Groups in March and Leading by Convening in April. These parents are moving one step closer to becoming the first group of peer-to-peer mentors for Families LEAD.


Families LEAD is a collaborative project of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disables (MSCCD), MS Parent Training & Information (MSPTI) Center, Mississippi Center for Advanced Medicine (MCAM) with Dr. Victoria Kivlan, Pediatric Audiologist, and Toni Hollingsworth, Project Director of the Mississippi Hearing-Vision Project (MH-VP). The project is funded by a sub-grant from the Mississippi State Department of Health.


Families LEAD has three goals:

• Recruit and train family members of children/youth with disabilities and special healthcare needs as Positive Advocates, Peer-to-Peer Mentors, Family Trainers, and/or Family Leaders across the state.

• Provide technical assistance to ten trained Peer-to-Peer Mentors who provide support to matched families across the state.

• Support Family Leaders, Family Trainers, and Peer-to-Peer Mentors to engage in leadership positions locally, regionally, and/or at the state level.

Families LEAD will achieve its goals by using a three-tier process that trains families to become effective advocates, serve on groups, and become leaders.


For more information about Families LEAD, call (601) 969-0601 or email Brittany Greer, MSCCD Project Support Coordinator, at brittany@msccd.org.

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Do you have a personal story that would inspire and encourage others?

 

Are you a young adult with a disability that has grown into a strong self-advocate?

 

Please reach out to MSPTI to share your experience and be a guest on our video series Journey of a Disability Warrior: The Road's We've Traveled. We would love to hear from you and help speak your message of hope and perseverance!

 

If you would like to be a guest, please email brittany@mspti.org. 

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