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The Connecticut Family Support Network is a statewide network of families who have children with disabilities and special healthcare needs. We are parents interested in helping other parents to find the supports they need to become their child’s best advocate. We assist parents directly, connect parents to each other for parent-to-parent support, offer help with navigating Connecticut's state service systems, provide training and offer information to parents and professionals regularly through email distribution lists.
"Help Us to Continue Helping Families."
To make a donation, click the "Donate" button or contact Jennifer Carroll, jcarroll@ctfsn.org Thanks!
~CURRENT NEWS AND EVENTS~
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CTFSN would like to thank everyone who came to our Alex and Ani Fundraiser on Monday evening, May 20th 2013 and also those who were unable to attend but still called in their orders.
Thank you for your support, it was a great success!
Shoppers making their purchases.
From left to right - Deborah Pagano (South Central Regional Coordinator), Jen Carroll (Board Director), Tesha Imperati (Interim Executive Director) and Karen Zrenda (Board Director) hosting our event on Monday night.
For questions contact Tesha Imperati, Executive Director
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CTFSN Presentations on Summer Camps and Recreational Activities for Children with Special Needs are complete
The CT Family Support Network hosts presentations on Summer Camps and Recreational Activities for children with special needs around the state each March/April. These presentations offer parents an opportunity to meet with representatives from local and statewide camps, share information with other parents and discuss funding resources.
If you are a parent or guardian of a child with special needs and missed these events, please feel free to check out our Recreational Resources pages, the Parent's Corner of our latest Newsletter or contact your Regional Coordinator.
- If you are involved in or have information about a Summer Camp or Recreational Activity for children with special needs please contact us.
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The Connecticut Family Support Network
One Voice Newsletter
Our latest Newsletter is available now!
Volume 05, April 2013
CTFSN Summer Camp Presentations - Southeast Regional Coordinator, April Dipollina, writes about how she started Summer Camp Presentations in her region and how they have progressed to our current statewide annual presentations.
A Walk on the Beach - Northeast Regional Coordinator, Peter Szruba, shares his family's experiences at Camp Harkness each summer. With information on how your family can experience this too.
Parent's Corner - Helpful ideas, information and links on finding summer activities for your child.
From the CTFSN staff....Enjoy!
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CTFSN Announces A New Program for Parents and Celebrates
the Success of our Parent Faculty!
Parent Mentoring Program
The CT Family Support Network is excited to launch a new program for families! We will be expanding our reach and support to families through our new Parent Mentoring Program. The CTFSN has always assisted parents by providing information and resources, as well as a connection to other parents for social support and networking when a parent makes that request. Often we are asked to connect a parent to another parent who has a child with a similar or related diagnosis or medical condition. We will be formalizing this process by developing a systematic approach to connecting and preparing parents as mentors. The CTFSN is developing a data base of "Mentor" parents, launching a referral system to get more parents connected to a mentor parent and developing and providing a training module for supporting "Mentor" parents with a process for and communication techniques associated with their role. For more information about the CTFSN Parent Mentor Program, please contact Jennifer Carroll at 877-376-2329 .
Parent Faculty Program
The CTFSN is proud of the rapid pace of growth within the Parent Faculty Program. As outreach to families has increased, a new group of parent leaders has begun to emerge. The CTFSN staff identifies these emerging leaders and invites them to join our team in a unique way. The Parent Faculty Program puts more parents of children with disabilities and special healthcare needs at the table (boards, committees, agency advisory councils, etc.) where folks are discussing, developing and planning programs that serve children with special needs - bringing the parent voice to the table. This includes diverse parents from varied rural and urban communities, across cultures, socioeconomic levels and languages. The CTFSN considers Parent Faculty members to be adjunct staff who also assist with training and other outreach activities. Parent Faculty members are paid stipends for their time, travel and childcare. These opportunities provide flexible, meaningful employment that capitalizes on parents' expertise earned in caregiving. These are rare opportunities to develop leadership among parents of children with disabilities, especially in communities where minority or disadvantaged families are often excluded or rarely valued for their parenting experiences.
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The CTFSN wants to hear from you!
We would like to hear about how our programs and services are doing for the families we serve.
Please (click here) to complete a brief seven question survey.
The CTFSN staff values your opinion and appreciates your feedback.
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