Family Resource Center
Carousel's Family Resource Center provides information and referrals,
public awareness and outreach, education, training and peer support for
individuals with developmental disabilities, families of children with
special needs, professionals and other community members who assist them
so that they can make informal choices regarding support, services and
life options.
The Family Resource Center is committed to providing services with a
spirit of compassion and respect for individuals and families while honoring
the diverse cultural values of the South Central Los Angeles, Westside,
Harbor and Lanterman Regional Center communities.
The Family Resource Center is an integral part of Carousel's Early Intervention
Program and is the focus for family support and the building of partnerships
among families, adults with developmental disabilities and professionals.
Philosophy
The Family Resource Center (FRC) promotes individuals with developmental
disabilities and families as the primary decision makers, respecting their
values, goals, preferences and choices. The FRC is committed to using
collaborative approaches that foster and nurture cooperation, teamwork
and partnership among individuals with developmental disabilities, their
families, service providers, professionals and the community.
The FRC strives to provide services that are timely, flexible, accessible
and responsive to the needs of individual users, and respect the cultural
and ethnic diversity of the communities served.
Goals
- To develop and maintain resource information for families of special
needs at-risk infants and toddlers in all areas related to developmental
disabilities, services, supports and community resources.
- To serve as an information and referral clearinghouse for children
with developmental disabilities, their families, professional and the
community.
- To maintain a multi-media resource library electronically linked to
other sources.
- To coordinate a wide variety of education and training opportunities,
including service coordination, leadership development and advocacy
training to meet the needs of children with developmental disabilities,
their families, service providers and professional staff.
Carousel's process to incorporate State Interagency Coordinating Council
(ICC) Guidelines involves the development and implementation of a plan
which addresses:
- Parent to Parent Support
- Information and Referral Support to families
- Community Outreach and Awareness
- Personnel Development for families and professionals
1. Parent-to-Parent Support
The Family Resource Center (FRC) provides parent-to-parent support
in a non-clinical atmosphere. The FRC operates with a FRC Coordinator,
a staff of parents and volunteers whose similarities mirror those of their
peers and who are reflective of the ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity
of the community.
The FRC provides individuals with developmental disabilities and their
families with referrals to local, state and national support groups. A
comprehensive list of support groups is maintained by the FRC and is available
through the Helpline.
2. Information and Referral Support to Families
The FRC functions as a repository of materials and provides a wide
range of information on Early Intervention Services and relevant topics
of interest to both families and professionals. Informational support
for families will also be provided via the local resource directory and
statewide central resource directory.
3. Community Outreach and Awareness
Pursuant within the goals of the mission statement, the FRC maintains
a Helpline, Local resource directory, statewide resource directory and
a local multi-cultural media and multi-cultural library providing informational
resources on developmental disabilities, early intervention services,
training and support groups.
4. Personnel Development for Families and Professionals
The FRC achieves it's personnel developmental goals through the FRC
coordinator by hiring qualified staff members and utilizing volunteers
who will be co-trained by the FRC Coordinator as well as professionals.
Parent mentors will be available to provide advocacy and support to families
with Part H eligible children during the IFSP process. Parent-Professionals
will provide telephone assistance, peer support and make appropriate referral
to Early Intervention and community resources.
|
