The Connecticut Family Support Council: About the Founders of the CTFSN

The history of the CTFSN is found in one of Connecticut's greatest assets for families, the Connecticut Family Support Council. Established by statute in 1994, the Council is a collaboration of state agency and family advocate members who were given a mandate to assist state child-serving agencies to:

  1. Establish a comprehensive, coordinated system of family support services
  2. Maximize efficient and effective use of state and other resources for families
  3. Identify and address the needs of families raising children with disabilities
  4. Promote state-wide availability of such services 

Early on the Council recognized that Connecticut families required assistance negotiating service systems and advocating for their children. In 1999 they established the first iteration of the CTFSN to fill those gaps. Since then the CTFSN has evolved to a stand-alone organization meeting the needs of families and collaborating with the Council to promote improved systems of family support. 


The Family Support Council Vision

The CT Family Support Council envisions communities across Connecticut in which familys of children with disabilities are:

  • Strengthened to nurture and enjoy their children at home and in their communities
  • Supported to meet their children’s unique health, educational, recreational and vocational needs
  • Informed to help make choices and decisions regarding the services, supports and resources available to them.
  • Assisted by community based services to meet the individual needs to their children and the inherent potential of all children to contribute to their communities
     

Appointed Council Members

Robyn Trowbridge,
Co-Chair, Meriden		 Moira O'Neill
Office of the Child Advocate/Secretary		 Lisa Sheppard,
Co-Chair, Fairfield
Margaret Cohan,
Madison		 Merva Jackson,
Hartford		 Jennifer Carroll,
Glastonbury		 Mona Tremblay,
Putnam
Tesha Imperati,
North Haven		 Alice Buttwell,
New Milford		 Karen Hlavac,
Wallingford		 Cathy Adamczyk,
Ansonia


   
Kathleen Bradley, Dept. of Children and Families Sylvia Gafford-Alexander, Dept. of Social Services Colleen Hayles, State Dept. of Education Ann Gionet, Dept. of Public Health
Maureen Smith, Advocate Elaine Zimmerman, Commission on Children Jim McGaughey, Office of Protection and Advocacy Dr. Mark Greenstein, Birth to Three Council (SICC)
Kathleen Reddington,
Dept. of Developmental Services