Indiana Family to Family

The Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services and the Bureau of Quality Improvement Services strive to connect people with disabilities and their providers to supports to live their best life. To further this mission, BQIS would like input from stakeholders to prioritize training topics for providers. Please complete the survey on or before  Sept. 3, 2021 . The survey is available by clicking here:  Training needs survey . The survey should take about five minutes to complete. Your input is an integral part of ensuring quality home-and community-based services. Thank you in advance for your feedback on how to support our provider community with providing effective supports and services to get individuals closer to their definition of a good life. If you have questions, please contact BQIS help at  BQIS.Help@fssa.IN.gov . We look forward to continuing to educate providers to empower individuals to live, love, learn, work, play and pursue their dreams!   The DDRS is a program of the

From  Covering Kids & Families of Indiana   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified long COVID as another term for post-COVID conditions. According to the CDC, post-COVID conditions “are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience more than four weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even people who did not have symptoms when they were infected can have post-COVID conditions.   The US Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services issued a new resource that builds on guidance previously issued by the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services concerning long COVID as a disability that may give rise to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 services.   This resource has four sections: Background Information on Section 504 and IDEA What Is Long COVID and What Is Its Impact on Children and St

  From  Covering Kids & Families of Indiana Governor Holcomb announced the establishment of a Public Health Commission to review Indiana’s public health system and make recommendations to improve its funding, operations and structure. “Our public health system has been around for almost 140 years, and it’s overdue for a thorough look so that we can best position it to provide excellence to Hoosiers for the next 100 years,” Governor Holcomb said in a news conference. “This review, coupled with our ongoing commitment to improve key health indicators, will best position Indiana to be a great state to live, work, play and invest in and grow a healthy workforce.” The commission will be co-chaired by former state Senator Luke Kenley and former State Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe, who now serves as Chief Executive Officer of the CDC Foundation. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box will serve as the commission’s secretary. The commission will include the following subgroups: Em

Mental Health America , Doors to Wellbeing , and the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion want to learn more about campus peer support programs across the US! Peer support is essential to promote student well-being in higher education. Student leaders across the country are taking the lead in starting and sustaining peer support organizations to create more inclusive and accessible environments on their campuses. Through our new Peer Support in Higher Education Survey, we aim to better understand the current landscape of peer support programs on campuses and explore the strengths and challenges of student organizations. Through this survey, we will: Document the availability of peer support in higher education Identify the needs and experiences of students leading and accessing peer support programs Develop a national database of college peer support programs Take Survey

From Mental Health America Despite growing attention to wellbeing and mental health conditions in higher education, conversations and recommendations often exclude students with mental health disabilities. Mental Health America’s (MHA) new report,  Supporting College Students: Mental Health and Disability in Higher Education , highlights members of our most recent Collegiate Mental Health Innovation Council (CMHIC) and documents challenges and opportunities for increasing accessibility in higher education. Recommendations for campuses include: Partnering with students to educate the campus community on mental health disabilities and accommodations Celebrating and educating students on disability culture and contributions through courses in disability studies and disability cultural centers Partnering with students with disabilities to train disability services staff to understand and develop appropriate accommodations Partnering with students with disabilities or disability services st