Illinois LEND Program Seeks Families to Help Understand Disability

Family partners will provide a firsthand perspective on how children and their families live with a disability.

The Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities Program (IL LEND)  prepares graduate students, working professionals, family members and others to serve as a leader in improving the quality of life of children and families with neurodevelopmental disabilities. The program focuses on leadership development, advocacy, research, community engagement and clinical skills for those who plan to work with people with disabilities. LEND’s ultimate goal is to improve the health and well-being of people with disabilities.

LEND is looking for families to participate in its “Family Visit Assignment,” which gives the program’s trainees a firsthand perspective of the many ways that children and their families live with a disability.

Participating families will host LEND family visits. During these visits, a small group (two to three people) will go to the family’s home for one to one-and-half hours and ask questions about their needs, services and supports they have accessed on behalf of their family member with a disability.

Families who complete the family visit are offered an honorarium payment of $50 from the University of Illinois.

To be eligible to receive the honorarium, families must:

•  Be able to provide a Social Security Number, Federal Employer ID Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
•  Not be employed by the University of Illinois (salaried or unsalaried)
•  If previously employed by the University of Illinois, be off payroll for 12 months

If you are interested in participating, please contact Regina Meza, Project Coordinator, at (312) 996-8905 or rmeza3@uic.edu.