What's Happening
SAVE THE DATE: JOINING VOICES CONFERENCE
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hoagland-Pincus Conference Center
222 Maple Avenue
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
For directions, visit
Hoagland-Pincus Conference Center.
This is a free day of learning and networking for families with children and youth with special healthcare needs (including mental, behavioral, emotional needs) Check back often for updates, the conference brochure and registration information.
Public Service Announcement for the MA Family-to-Family Health Information Center
Think your family is overincome for Medicaid, but have a family member with a special healthcare need or disability?
Listen to the following
PSA MP3 File and call 1-800-331-0688, ext. 210 for FREE, individualized assistance in understanding your family's eligibility and application for MassHealth - the Massachusetts Medicaid Programs - even if you have private health insurance.
Family Centered Care Self-Assessment Tools
Family-centered care is one component of the Medical Home. It addresses the partnership between the family and health provider that is so essential to ensuring quality healthcare for a child, while at the same time supporting the family's needs for information, as well as connections to services and supports. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) states: Family-centered care assures the health and well-being of children and their families through a respectful family-professional partnership. It honors the strengths, cultures, traditions, and expertise that everyone brings to this relationship. Family-centered care is the standard of practice that results in high quality services.
Family Voices, with funding from the MCHB, has developed a Family-Centered Care Self-Assessment tool. These materials were designed to assist both families' and primary health care settings' awareness about the implementation of family-centered care. The provider version of the tool provides an organized way for outpatient care staff to identify what they do well, and create a plan to address areas that need improvement.
Download the Family-Centered Care Tool Users Guide at
Family Centered Care Tool User's Guide.
Download the Provider Version of the Family-Centered Care Self-Assessment Tool at
Provider Version of FCC Tool.
The goal of the family version of the tool is to help families understand their role as a partner in their child's health care, and their role in helping to develop practices and policies in the healthcare setting.
Download the Family Version of the Family-Centered Care Self-Assessment Tool at
Family Version of FCC Tool.
Resource Alert
Newspapers, radio and other media are full of updates about H1N1 or Swine flu. Learn more about this flu, and tips for keeping your family healthy at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Massachusetts Family-to-Family Health Information Center has a new brochure MassHealth: Eligibility & Application for Children, birth - 18 years . This informational brochure for families raising children and youth with special healthcare needs, provides an overview of the MassHealth programs for children with special healthcare needs, as well as the eligibility criteria and application process. Download a copy at here.
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