|
|
(802) 876-5315
1-800-800-4005
|
|
Strong Families. Strong Futures. |
|
We are working hard---still remotely---to be an integral part of your support, information and connection as families, schools, and communities. We really want to hear from you about your needs, many of which have been amplified by the pandemic, and how we can best help meet them. We will be reaching out to you and other stakeholders in the coming month or two as part of our strategic planning process, and hope that you will share your best thinking about our unique niche in Vermont’s nonprofit landscape. Help us imagine the future, and our most impactful role within it, from your perspective!
As the Legislature is convening for the new biennium this week, we continue to elevate family voices in advocacy for children and youth with disabilities or special health needs in collaboration with the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights and the Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance. As President Biden and his administration come into office in a few weeks, we are looking forward to new possibilities in policy-making that support all families in attaining better outcomes of health, education, and well-being, especially families whose children/youth have disabilities or special health needs. What are your hopes and dreams as family leaders and self-advocates talk with policy-makers and people who decide on the allocation of state and federal dollars that impact families and individuals with disabilities? I’d love to hear from you at pam.mccarthy@vtfn.org.
So much to do in the year ahead as we work together to promote strong starts, lift family voices for positive change, and advance inclusive communities! Thanks for the inspiration you always provide!
From the heart,
Pam McCarthy, M.Ed.
CEO/President
|
|
Vocational Rehabilitation Services for
Eligible High School Students!
|
|
High school students who are receiving special education services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or support through a Section 504 plan are eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services. VR Transition Counselors can provide services such as job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, counseling on postsecondary education at institutions of higher education, workplace readiness training, and instruction in self-advocacy. For information and resources related to transitioning to adulthood, check out VFN’s Transition Toolkit for Youth with Disabilities.
For more information on how VR services may fit into your high school child’s IEP or Section 504 or any other transition-related concern, please call the VFN helpline at 802-876-5315.
|
|
Mental Health Advocacy Day |
|
Mental Health Advocacy Day on February 1 from 10:00 - 2:00 pm offers a platform for family voices to be heard by policy makers. Your voice could be one of them! Sharing your story allows legislators a glimpse into the day-to-day challenges of living with mental health issues and highlights gaps and disconnects in the system. Family stories are powerful!
If you’re interested in sharing your story, poem, or other insights in a 3- to 5-minute presentation, Click here to register and guarantee your spot. You can learn more about the Advocacy Day event, 2021 legislative priorities, and how you can get involved at this link: Mental Health Advocacy Day If you have questions or need help with preparing your story, contact Vickie.crocker@vtfn.org.
|
|
Upcoming Sibshops in the New Year |
|
We will continue our virtual Sibshop format on Zoom during the New Year! SibShops are activities for brothers and sisters (age 6+) of children with special health care needs and disabilities. It provides them with a chance to connect with other children who get what it’s like to be a “sib.” We would love more sibs to join us in 2021! Contact molly.lawney@vtfn.org with questions, or to be added to our Sibshop email distribution list. Please also note that after the January Sibshops, all of our virtual activities will be held on one Saturday per month, from 9-10 am.
Sunday January 24 from 4-5:00 pm – Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Lab! I scream, you scream, we all scream for… Sibcream? Sibs who pre-register for this Sibshop will receive a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! While we munch on our frozen treat, we’ll get to learn a little about how their ice cream is made before heading into the Flavor Lab, where sibs will have a chance to vote on flavor combinations and invent their own ice cream flavor (not to be released to the public—sorry!). The theme of this Sibshop is individuality. If you had to describe yourself to someone—your unique “flavor,” so to speak—what would you say? How does your sibling affect your personality and interests? Do you think you affect your sib’s personality and interests, too? What else makes you, you? Register for Jan 24 Sibshop here! Please aim to register your child at least a couple weeks before this Sibshop to ensure that you get your coupon in time!
Saturday February 20 from 9-10:00 am - Who Dunnit? Put on your detective cap and join us on Zoom to solve some silly mysteries! The theme of this Sibshop is forgiveness. We all struggle to do the right thing sometimes; what are some situations where you wanted to be forgiven? What can stand in the way of forgiving someone even when we want to? We will discuss how empathy, or trying to understand another person’s feelings, can help us move past anger and frustration, and toward forgiveness. Register for Feb 20 Sibshop here!
|
|
New! Virtual Support Parent Training Dates! |
|
Would you like to support other parents that have a child with a disability or special health care need? Could you draw on your own experience to offer empathy, inspiration, and a listening ear in times of need? If so, you might be ready to become a trained VFN Support Parent! We are very excited to announce the launch of our new virtual Support Parent Training. This free, three-hour training offers an opportunity for connection, learning, and self-reflection, all from the comfort of your own home!
|
|
The new year brings a new Puppet program! “Kindness” will debut in January, thanks in large part to the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation. We heard from families, children and teachers who were struggling with how we communicate differently now - often online, and if in-person, with masks on. It changes how we interact. In this program, we dive into what to do if someone is unkind, how we can be clear with our communication, and ways to show kindness and be upstanders for others. This is our second virtual program offering, and it includes both a live, interactive portion with a puppet plus a professionally filmed piece. Thanks to Matthew Binginot (seen here in his studio) for working your creative magic to film and edit the show! This fall and early winter, the puppet programs have reached 1,000 people! We are still connecting with children in a meaningful way, one Zoom square at a time.
“You did very well having different sections of the presentation including active engagement. This worked well as a Zoom. Well done figuring out how to do that!” Teacher, Union Memorial School
|
|
New! Funding Opportunities |
|
Vermont Family Network’s Medically Necessary Supplemental Fund is available to families with an unmet need related to their child’s diagnosis. The income eligibility is generous at 500% of Federal Poverty Level. Apply for up to $1,000 to offset your child’s medically necessary unmet needs. This could include medications, hospital bills, co-pays, therapies, equipment, etc. As the Social Workers at VT Dept of Health are busy with contact tracing, please contact joanne.wechsler@vtfn.org or Betty.Morse@vermont.gov for more information or to apply.
|
|
Contact Us. We Will Listen! |
|
Helping Vermont Families thrive for more than 30 years |
|
Upcoming Events - Register today! |
|
January 26 from 3–4:00 pm – “Learning From Home? Remote Learning Tips & Tricks for Families and Practitioners.” Families and educators alike have needed to quickly adapt to accessing a remote education environment. Join us as we share practical tips and tricks for both parents and practitioners in navigating and maximizing remote education during the pandemic.
Presenters: Meagan Roy, CVSD Director of Student Support Services; Deb Morris, CCC-SLP (CVSD Early Education); Amy Coach-Dietz, CCC-SLP (Shelburne Community School). Register here.
February 10 from 10-11:00 am – COVID 19 Updates and Vaccines. Join us for an interactive session with Lakeside Pediatrics’ Dr. Greg Connolly, M.D., F.A.A.P., where he will help interpret the most recent news around COVID 19 and the vaccine with a focus on questions posed by families who have children with disabilities. Register here.
February 25 from 10-11:00 am – Dual Enrollment. Join us to learn more about Dual Enrollment Programs that allow high school students, including students with disabilities, to take college courses while still in high school. Participating students earn college credits, reducing the time it takes to get a college degree all while challenging themselves through a college-level curriculum. Presenter: Jess DeCarolis, VT Agency of Education – Student Pathways, Division Director. Register here.
March 4 from 10-11:00 am – Supported Decision Making.
Join us to learn more about Supported Decision Making which is an alternative to guardianship. Through this process a person with a disability makes their own decisions by using support networks to help understand the issues & their choices, asking questions in a language they understand, & communicating their own decisions to others. We will provide a general overview of Supported Decision Making and share the practices and procedures that are currently being used in Vermont. Presenters: Cammie Naylor, MSW, Esq., Staff Attorney with Vermont Legal Aid and Jamie Rainville, VFN Co-Director Family Support Health. Register here.
VFN Annual Conference SAVE THE DATE - April 8 and 9, 2021
Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey! More details about our virtual conference will be coming soon…
|
|
(802) 876-5315 / 1-800-800-4005
|
|
Office
600 Blair Park Rd, Ste 240,
Williston, VT 05495
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
