News

Submit to the MCHB Chartbook!

02 Mar, 2010

As part of its 75th Anniversary, The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is producing a document that highlights the progress made over the past 10 years in moving toward the 6 MCHB goals. The document aims to describe concrete, positive changes that have occurred over the past 10 years for children, youth, and families. A variety of material is welcome, from photos and drawings to poems. ChampionsInC especially encourages you to think about how services have been better organized in your community so families can use them easily. 

A few guidelines to remember:

• Multiple submissions can be made from any person, community, or state.
• Keep submissions to 500 words or less.
• Deadline for submissions is March 15, 2010.
• The audience is all of our partners, families, youth, policy makers, legislators, and the general public.
• ANYONE is eligible to submit: parent, professional, community service organization, youth, medical community, grandparents, etc. 

Read the original announcement for more information.

Email Gloria Weissman: geeyogini@aol.com; or Maureen Mitchell: maureenva@yahoo.com with your submissions.

“Community Supports for Transition" Conference Call

19 Jan, 2010

Champions for Inclusive Communities would like to announce our participation in The Healthy & Ready to Work topical conference call, “Community Supports for Transition” on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 from 3:00 – 4:30 EST. Champions joins an outstanding panel of community service experts to discuss practical information and useful links to community resources and supports for the successful transition of YSHCN to all aspects of community living. It is hoped that participants will come away with an understanding of what community supports are available, including Medicaid waivers, transportation, housing, personal care supports, etc. 

Because of the large volume of requests to join the call, you are strongly encouraged to pre-register if you plan on participating. Because of the great interest in the call, HRTW has moved to a different conference calling system. If you are registered and plan on dialing in, please use the following number: 1-888-455-9768. Participant passcode is: 8876428

Publication Sheds New Light on Outcome 5

17 Nov, 2009

At Champions, we are always looking for ways to look at Outcome 5, organizing services for families of children and youth with special health care needs so they are easily accessible, in a new light. Based on the 2005/2006 National Survey of CSHCN, Outcome 5 was successfully achieved for 89.1% of families. But what does this mean? And what else can we learn from this broad statement?

A fact sheet recently published by Champions staff members “drills down” through the survey data to gain a better understanding of the issues families face and how those issues impact Outcome 5. The fact sheet also helps readers understand important factors that pertain to 1) the ability of families to access all needed services, 2) reasons why services were not received, 3) how well services are coordinated and who coordinates them, and 4) the impact on the family as they strive to get their needs met. This fact sheet has data from the National Survey and can easily be adapted to your state by following the step-by-step instructions.

Download Drilling Down to Understand Outcome 5: Services Organized so Families Can Use Them Easily (PDF).

Learning Community Opportunity

30 Sep, 2009

ATTENTION all CSHCN directors and their partners

How do you create a community-based service system?

Title V CSHCN programs are charged with developing community-based service systems that are family-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, and culturally competent. However, there are no “how-to” guides for states on how to do this across their communities.

Such a change from a centralized, specialty care model to one that fosters the 6 outcomes at the community level is not easy. ChampionsInC is looking for learning community participants interested in learning from one another on how to create a community-level infrastructure. We want states that can share what they’ve successfully developed as well as states that are interested in moving to a community-based model.  Download a summary of this learning community (PDF), then contact us about your willingness to participate.

NEW! ChampionsInC Community-based Assessment Tool

01 Sep, 2009

ChampionsInC has released an exciting new community-based assessment tool designed to assist CYSHCN leaders in a needs assessment process, with a focus on the state’s capacity in implementing community-based service systems. The tool is entitled Examining State Capacity for Achieving a Community-Based Service System for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs. We hope this is a valuable component for your upcoming Block Grant Five Year needs assessment. It can also assist at any point in your strategic planning. Specifically, the needs assessment seeks to answer the following questions:

1. Who are the best choices for state-level stakeholders to represent families, youth, community providers, and other important players in the service system?
2. What state level policies and practices should be in place to achieve the outcomes in our vision?
3. What policies and practices should be in place across communities in your state?
4. What are some data sources or ways to measure achievements for children, youth, and families

Basic elements of such a system at the state and community level are identified in a format that can be considered by a team of CYSHCN stakeholders. Resources for obtaining training and technical assistance related to the CYSHCN performance outcomes are also provided.