The Department of Mental Retardation in Connecticut has adopted the statement and uses its concepts to guide public policy decisions about children with disabilities. Linda Goodman, a representative of that Department, says, "the policy of permanency planning has been adopted on an informal level in the training of the staff of our specialised foster homes and of other agencies with regard to special needs adoption. We organized a parents' conference recently in Connecticut to publicise your policy of family support services, and help in its implementation in existing services."
Describing Connecticut's new public policy initiative on family support, she says, "We are trying to consolidate our family support services in each of the six regions we administrate by establishing family support coordinators. Each family support cordinator will be responsible for supervising respite coordinators and other staff appointed for providing any other support service that would require them to go into a home and work with the family household as a team.
"We have funding for transportation, for the adaptive devices program, and for the services of a case manager to whom families receiving support services are assigned. We are also providing early intervention services for 650 families of children with severe disabilities of ages birth to three years.
"We are trying to procure budget allocations of $100,000 a year for minor home alterations and for implementing the Lekotek program, a Scandinavian-based program which offers educational materials and toys for children with severe disabilities. Families would make monthly appointments to discuss their child with the Lekotek leader and take some toys home with them. They would also be offered referral services whenever necessary."
Jeff Strully, director of the Association for Retarded Citizens in Colorado, describes its potential impact in Colorado as follows: "We are using the concept of family support to help us generate support from the state in terms of a commitment towards funding for providing services. Our long range plan is to keep families together, and the policy statement helps us to solidify our position. We are not directly involved in providing services, our primary goal being advocacy. The family support policy statement, which we fully endorse, supports our position towards this purpose and serves as a critical leverage that we use to procure the commitment of the bureaucracy and the state government."
The Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States (ARC-US) has adopted a policy statement that is a modified version of the Center's statement in support of families and their children. According to Sharon Davis, Director of Research and Program Services of the ARC-US, "the Children's Services Committee modified the original statement slightly to represent the ARC-US philosophy and presented it to the Board of Directors, which adopted it in May 1987." The fall, 1987 issue of the arc, the ARC-US newsletter, focuses on the statement and some of its implications, and will reprint the ARC-US version of the statement. ARC-US President Warren Tashjian's column will discuss the ARC's historical philosophy and position on family support and how that has culminated in adoption of the ARC-US "Statement in Support of Families and their Children." The issue also discusses policy implications of the Board's adoption of the statement.
Nebraska's legislature recently adopted what has become known as the "Family Policy Act (LB 637)." According to Dave Powell, ARC-NE Director, "it appears that the Center on Human Policy's statement in support of families and their children influenced the legislation, which reflects the philosophy and some of the language in the statement. I feel this is potentially the most important piece of legislation adopted this year by the Nebraska Legislature. It is unclear yet as to how the legislation will be implemented, but I feel that it will have many possible uses by advocates. The Family Policy Act applies to all children, including those with disabilities; we hope that it will prevent institutional placement of children, and if such placement continues to take place, the courts may be asked to interpret the legislative intent."
The Center on Human Policy is interested in learning about other states'
and organizations' responses to the Statement. Readers with such information
may call or write to Steve Taylor or Bonnie Shoultz at the Center.