Family to Family Network (Center for Family Involvement)
Description:
The Family to Family Network of Virginia, or F2F Network, an initiative of the Center for Family Involvement at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Partnership for People with Disabilities, has grown from one statewide Family to Family Health Information and Education Center begun in 2005 to a six regional office Family to Family Network where family members of culturally and linguistically diverse children and adults with disabilities (of all ages) have people in their own communities to call upon in their efforts to identify and obtain needed information, services and community supports.
The local networks provide:
- 1:1 emotional, informational and disability and community services and systems navigational support
- Family-friendly information and resource referrals on topics such as special education and early intervention services, health care and related financing (such as private insurance, TriCare and Medicaid), home and community-based Medicaid Waiver long term care services, disability services, and other community resources
- Expertise in military services for military families
- Expertise in autism through partnerships with local autism groups
- Expertise in Hearing Loss through collobaration with EHDI, DOE, and Hands and Voices
- Expertise in mental and behavioral health through collaboration with NAMI
- Leadership development to support families in advocating for and participating in the design of more family-friendly, effective service systems
- Connections to cultural brokers from culturally & linguistically diverse communities