Indiana Family to Family

Save the Date!  Our 6th Annual Heart to Heart Conference will take place virtually on September 29th, 2022.  

  English Flyer by Indiana Family to Family on Scribd

  From  The National Institute of Mental Health Date/Time:  January 14, 2022, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET Location:  Virtual  This NIMH-hosted webinar will provide an opportunity for diverse stakeholders, including school administrators, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders, to learn about new and innovative practices in school-based suicide prevention. There will be a particular focus on identifying and supporting high-risk youth, as well as opportunities for evaluating these efforts. Register for this webinar

From the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability We all know some individuals and organizations in the community who are amazing disability advocates.  Please submit your nomination for the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability's 2022 Inclusion & Accessibility Awards  by using the link below.  The award recipients will be announced in March for Disability Awareness Month. Nominations for 2022 FMDAM Awards are now open.  The deadline for nominations is Friday, January 14, 2021.  Please use this link to submit your nominations: https://www.fishers.in.us/999/March-Disability-Awareness

 Original  by Michelle Diament  published by Disability Scoop here Three decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act took effect, new research finds that many physicians remain unaware of their obligations under the law when caring for people with disabilities. More than a third of doctors surveyed had little or no knowledge about their legal requirements under the ADA and 71% did not know who determines reasonable accommodations. The findings come from a survey of 714 doctors in outpatient practices across the nation that was  published  this month in the journal Health Affairs. “Despite the fact people with disabilities comprise 25% of the population, they often confront barriers to basic health care services such as physical examinations, weight measurement and effective communication with their physicians,” said Dr. Lisa I. Iezzoni of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, the lead author of the study. “The lack of knowledge about who makes accommodation d

  From  Work to Include Newsletter For young adults with disabilities and their families, the transition from high school to adult life can be a challenging experience.  Even though transition planning is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for all students who have an individualized education program (IEP), beginning by age 14 or 9 th  grade in Indiana, adults with disabilities still struggle to achieve competitive employment and engage in continued education and training. For example, the national rate for youth with disabilities, ages 20–24, was about half that of their peers without disabilities (38% and 67%, respectively) (Child Trends, https://www.childtrends.org/). The ideal outcome of good transition planning is the uninterrupted movement to adult life, including postsecondary education or training and/or community employment, leisure time opportunities, and community living.      The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates tha

Last Wednesday morning House Bill 1073 was heard in the House Roads and Transportation Committee. This bill updates Indiana's Motor Vehicle Protection Act (Lemon Law) to include accessible vehicles. Currently, if an accessible vehicle is pronounced a "lemon" after trying to fix it four times, there is no financial help or protection for the vehicle owner. Since accessible vehicles are very expensive, we need to update this law to include them. House Bill 1073 will be amended and voted on by the House Roads and Transportation Committee next Wednesday, January 12th. Click here to learn more about this bill

As part of its ongoing efforts across many channels to expand Americans’ access to free testing, the Biden-Harris Administration is requiring insurance companies and group health plans to cover the cost of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests, so people with private health coverage can get them for free starting January 15 th .  The new coverage requirement means that most consumers with private health coverage can go online or to a pharmacy or store, buy a test, and either get it paid for up front by their health plan, or get reimbursed for the cost by submitting a claim to their plan. This requirement incentivizes insurers to cover these costs up front and ensures individuals do not need an order from their health care provider to access these tests for free. Beginning January 15, 2022, individuals with private health insurance coverage or covered by a group health plan who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test authorized, cleared, or approved by the U.S. Food and

  AAHD has recently become acquainted with the streaming service, StreamYard. This program has allowed them to conduct Facebook live events with various CIL staff members and people with disabilities on topics such as Medicaid coverage/services that benefit people with disabilities. AAHD is looking to identify participants for brief interviews, ranging from 10 to 20 minutes for more of these live events, that would ideally start by the end of January/beginning of February. Topics will be focused on the benefits of coverage and moving from coverage to care in a variety of areas, including prescription drugs, access to specialists, rehabilitation/habilitation, mental health, and medical devices. The ideal person would have coverage through a private insurer, but we are also interested in Medicaid stories.

From NIHCM Foundation's  Newsletter With COVID cases on the rise nationwide, driven primarily by the Omicron variant,   more children than ever are testing positive . In the last week of 2021, roughly 325,340 children tested positive, up from 198,551 cases the week prior. Additionally, a   record level   of children under five are being hospitalized; as of January 1st,   more than four in 100,000   children aged four and under were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 infections, a rate more than triple this time last year.  Schools:  The rise in pediatric cases has led many schools to take  aggressive measures  to prevent the spread of COVID-19, from remote learning to daily at-home testing. Facing  staffing shortages , some states are advising teachers that have tested positive but are asymptomatic that they  may return to work after five days instead of ten .  Vaccines:  12- to 15- year olds are now authorized to receive the Pfizer  booster shot  and are advised to do so five mon

CIDA is excited to share a Korean translated version of COVID-19 Materials for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Care Providers. The original materials were developed by the Center for Disease Control ( CDC ). CIDA completed the translation with COVID-19 Funding from the NYS Disability Planning Council (NYS DDPC). You can download the materials from CIDA's website COVID-19 resource page:   https://cidainfo.com/ko/covid-19-assistance/

Thursday, January 27 @ 1:30 pm  -  2:00 pm Finding time as a parent to embrace self-care is challenging, but supporting our own mental and emotional wellness is important not only for ourselves but also for our children. Join Child Care Answers to learn simple ways to take time for ourselves and how investing in our own mental and emotional wellness supports our children and their social emotional development. Register

  From  Covering Kids & Families of Indiana Concerns regarding the end of the public health emergency (PHE) and the expected impact on Medicaid enrollees maintaining coverage continue. Of particular concern is the ability of states to contact enrollees given the pandemic's impact on housing stability. Indiana, like many states, has continued to process renewals but many consumers have not responded with the necessary information to verify their ongoing eligibility. Navigators and all social service workers are encouraged to assist consumers in notifying the state of any changes in contact information. Many consumers will benefit from education and counseling on what the end of the PHE will mean for them. Consumers who enrolled during the PHE may not be familiar with requirements such as POWER account payments for HIP or premiums for some children covered by Hoosier Healthwise. Some consumers who will be over income for Indiana Health Coverage Programs and may not be aware that