SPAN Staff Contribute to New Issue of People & Families Magazine

People & Families is the New Jersey Council on Disabilities' (NJCDD) nationally recognized magazine, focused on issues of importance to the developmental disabilities community in New Jersey. Published three times per year, the organization's latest issue includes articles with quotes and contributions from several SPAN staff members.

Quotes and contributions were made to the following articles by SPAN's own Josie Badger, Diana Autin, Nicole Pratt and Lauren Agoratus: Transition Planning: Teaching Independence, Not Reliance; and Navigating the Medical Maze, Medical Transition from Childhood to Adulthood.

Our own Paulina Vargas tells her story in a by-line entitled Paulina Vargas: Learning to Navigate the System with Help from Special Child Health Services.

To access the latest issue and read all of the outstanding articles, click here.

Call for Proposals!

The 2025 SPAN Parent Leadership & Advocacy Conference

We are excited to announce the upcoming SPAN Conference on September 27, 2025, and invite you to submit a proposal to present at this significant event. This year’s theme is "Parent Leadership in Action: Creating Stronger Communities". We are eager to feature thought-provoking and impactful sessions that address key topics related to parent leadership and its role in strengthening families and communities.

CONFERENCE TRACKS:

The SPAN Conference 2025 will focus on five core tracks, and we are looking for dynamic sessions in the following areas:

1. Family Engagement: Strategies, practices, and success stories of fostering strong family involvement in education, advocacy, and community initiatives.
2. Education: Best practices and innovative approaches for parent involvement in educational systems, improving student outcomes, and fostering community-school partnerships.
3. Policy and Systems Advocacy: Effective advocacy and policy change strategies that empower parents to influence and improve local, state, and national systems that affect children and families.
4. Youth Leadership: Elevating youth voices in community action and leadership roles, focusing on how parent leaders can support and guide youth to become effective change agents.
5. Health | Wellness | Mental Health | Self-Care: Addressing the critical areas of health and wellness, mental health, and self-care, and how parents and communities can work together to support the overall well-being of families.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES:

We are seeking proposals for workshops, panel discussions, and presentations that provide valuable insights, practical strategies, and relevant research. Proposals should focus on one or more of the above tracks and highlight how parent leadership can create stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

To access the proposal form, click here.

Please be as specific as possible. Proposals should be submitted by May 9, 2025. If proposals are accepted, notification of acceptance will be sent out by May 23, 2025. 

The Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities Introduces Health Care Transition Toolkits

To help prepare youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) for their health care transition, six toolkits were developed through a joint effort between LifeCourse Nexus, Family Voices, SPAN, and Got Transition. This project is supported by the Administration of Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The toolkits aim to help readers learn and get ready for moving to adult health care and living a healthy adult life. They offer valuable information and resources to help them during this time of transition. Each toolkit will focus on a different topic about health care transition.

To read more and access the toolkits, click here.