Goal 1

Strengthen linkages between Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and family support organizations at the state and local levels to benefit families with children with developmental disabilities.

Objectives

1. Integrate Aging and Disability Resource Center activities (Office of Long-Term Care and Olmstead) and Infant-Toddler activities (Division of Public Health (DPI) with the Strengthening Families One Stop.

2. Continue the statewide family-led collaboration teams made up of family members, key planners and policy makers, and DHHS and Family Support Network of North Carolina (FSN-NC) representatives to facilitate service and resource integration.

3. Integrate the activities of the local Children’s Developmental Services Agency (CDSA) and FSN-NC to pilot a family-centered service model to ensure that families are able to access information, resources, and services in their community.

Goal 2

Establish a model of service coordination that involves parents as service coordinators collaborating with professional service coordinators (CDSA and hospital-based).

Objectives

1. Develop an innovative family-centered strategy for family assessment, service planning, monitoring, evaluation, and follow-up that empowers families and provides feedback to the service system.

2. Recruit and train parents who have had experience in the child-serving system to provide service coordination (in collaboration with professional service coordinators) for families in need.

3. Prepare professional and parent service coordinators for effective collaboration.

4. Pilot a culturally appropriate model of family support that responds to the family’s needs and priorities and increases access to information, resources, and services.

Goal 3

Utilize and refine an information and referral (I&R) system for the Strengthening Families One Stop

Objectives

1. Pilot use of technology and information system for an efficient and effective strategy for information and referral.

2. Pilot use of technology and information system for an innovative strategy for service planning, implementation, and follow-up.

Goal 4

Facilitate statewide replication of the Strengthening Families One Stop based on pilot activities.

Objectives

1. Recommend changes in policy and practice to promote system change for family support based on pilot findings.

2. Engage state-level elected officials and representatives of formal and informal resources to promote statewide implementation.

3. Facilitate collaborative activities for future statewide replication.

4. Assess the cultural relevance of aspects of the Strengthening Families One Stop for family support for other communities in the state.

5. Use the established system for communication among project participants, including the website and listserv.

6. Explore integration of parent service coordinators into the NC’s early intervention system.