Resource: Outreach Services of Indiana

FV Indiana often hears our members' frustrations related to the difficulty of identifying and connecting with needed resources. In an effort to address this, we will be periodically sharing contact information and descriptions of existing statewide resources. We will distribute these via our listserv and posts on our Blog. If there is a statewide resource you would like us to consider highlighting, please contact us at FV.indiana@gmail.com. Our inaugural resource is Outreach Services of Indiana.

ABOUT:
Outreach Services of Indiana is a project of the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA); it began as a small regional project in 2002 and has recently expanded to a statewide project. Outreach provides staff training, technical assistance, consultation and backup service provision throughout Indiana to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, service providers, and case managers. Adults and children who live in Indiana and have an intellectual or developmental disability qualify for Outreach Services at no cost. Anyone, including a family member, can refer someone to Outreach Services. You will find a Referral Form in the yahoogroups files.


Services provided include:

Technical Assistance and Consultation

The Outreach team provides technical assistance and consultation regarding state of the art best practices to consumers, their families, service providers, case managers, and state staff in the areas of behavior, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, nutrition, nursing and adaptive equipment repair. Outreach staff is available to provide person specific consultation via the phone, e-mail, or in person in a timely manner during normal business hours. References, resources and current literature are provided through the Outreach Team and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. The Outreach Team is a local source of information. Outreach also provides consultation with psychiatrists is available weekly in northern, central and southern Indiana for persons for whom psychiatric services are not available or for those who present unusual challenges. This psychiatric consultation is not meant to replace psychiatry providers in the community. In-patient services are not provided. Medical consultation is available in instances that present complexity in the coordination of care or in unique situations where primary care physician would like consultation related to conditions associated with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Training

The Outreach team develops training curriculums in both informational and train-the-trainer formats, coordinates, and provides trainer and staff training on contemporary topics and best practices for consumers, their families, service providers, case managers, and state staff. The goal is to have common or uniform training curriculums available to promote consistency of performance among disciplines and agencies. This approach will enable direct support professionals to be productive in working with individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Clinical Services

The Outreach team provides limited back-up services when services are not available and the need is considered urgent. These include behavior, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, nutrition, and nursing.

Human Rights Committee

The Outreach Human Rights Committee is available to review restrictive plans for anyone in the state with intellectual/developmental disabilities who does not have access to a Human Rights Committee. Plans can also be reviewed to provide another opinion to existing Human Rights Committees.

Examples of issues addressed by Outreach are listed in the yahoogroups files.

Contact Information:
Phone: 866.429.5290
Fax: 812.265.7444
Outreach@fssa.in.gov


If you have concerns or problems with this program you should contact:
Cindy Speer
Outreach Director
(812) 265-7492
Cynthia.Speer@fssa.in.gov
or

Jennifer Hatchett
Director Bureau of Quality Improvement Services
Jennifer.Hatchett@fssa.in.gov