News from The Arc of WA/Parent to Parent

Parent to Parent of Washington State Newsletter

January, 2013

A Program of the Arc of Washington State
www.arcwa.org

1-800-821-5927

"A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other."

-Anonymous

Happy 2013 All -

Lets find ways this next year to get together, share more information/resources and support one another as we advocate for services for families

who have a person with a disability or special health care need.

As always the budget is bad and so more cuts are looming. And that is not even talking about the Fiscal Cliff. Which even Alexa had heard of

and wondered what it was.

Thank you for all your support and help last year. We have 19,000 families on our mailing lists across the state and interest from 3 communities about

establishing Parent to Parent programs there again- Island/SanJuan, Cowlitz and Klickitat. People know the value of getting connected to others - not feeling alone. What we can learn from one another and how we can support each other.

Take care,

Susan

Calendar of Events

NEW RESOURCES:

"Support For Children With Autism: Helping a Child Living with Autism to Deal With the Newtown School Tragedy" by Dr. Peter Faustino and Dr. Andrew Livanis

Autism Resource Guide developed by the Autism Outreach Project provides contact information for resources including family support, state and national organizations, and educational online resources.

University of Washington Autism Center - A nonprofit organization devoted to supporting families affected by autism spectrum disorders

Informing Families, Building Trust - A partnership for communication on developmental disabilities issues in Washington State

Washington State Office of the Education Ombudsman - Resolves complaints, disputes, and problems between families and elementary and secondary public schools in all areas that effect student Learning

Link: Washington PAVE Pipeline Newsletter - newsletter for WA PAVE

Family Voices of Washington State - "our mission is to support families and youth with special healthcare needs as decision makers at all levels of the health care delivery system."

Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Newsletter "Pulse" - newsletter for AMCHP

Fund the DDD Family Support Safety Net - Click here to read an issue paper by The Arc of Washington State regarding the possible elimination of four Individual and Family Services (IFS) programs by the Governor (one of these is Parent to Parent).

January 2013

Advocacy Days: Wednesdays starting January 23rd through April 17th. Click here to find out how you can learn about and participate in the legislative process!

March 2013

3/6 - 8: Special Education Conference, Shoreline Conference Center. Click here for more information.

3/30 - Family Support Conference, Spokane. Click here for more info.

May 2013

5/1 - 3: Infant and Early Childhood Conference - in Tacoma. Click here for additional information.

June 2013

6/19 - 21: "The Community Summit...Let's Get Connected" (Division of Developmental Disabilities) - in Ellensburg will bring together individuals committed to building inclusive communities...contact Monica McDaniel, Summit Coordinator with any questions at (206) 343-0881, #107.

August 2013

The next Arc National Conference will be in Bellevue in 2013. Click here to get more info when it becomes available.

Resource Links

Resource Links now on the Arc website in the Resource Library.

Click here to access the links.

Click here to find a local P2P Coordinator.