Marion Resources
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Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission
The Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission protects the rights and promotes the welfare of persons with disabilities.
Contact (866) 274-8023 or (866) 333-3362 (TTY).
Supported Decision-Making Act in Illinois
Illinois’ Supported Decision-Making Act ensures people with disabilities can get the help they need to make decisions for their own lives. The Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission has many resources to explain the Supported Decision-Making Act. These include:
“What Does All Kids/Medicaid Cover?”
All Kids/Medicaid covers many services including comprehensive medical, dental, vision and pharmacy benefits. Our Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) tip sheet “What Does All Kids/Medicaid Cover?” offers examples of what may be covered in a variety of areas such as vision, transportation and mental health services.
Please note: This document is meant to be a helpful guide. All Kids/Medicaid are not DSCC programs, and DSCC does not decide coverage for those programs. To learn more, visit the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services website.
Self-Administered COVID-19 Tests Available in 14 Illinois Counties
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is providing 225,000 free, rapid COVID-19 self-administered test kits through Project Access Covid Tests (Project ACT). Residents living in these specific zip codes in 14 Illinois counties can sign up for a home delivery.
Eligible residents can order tests on a first-come-first-served basis at AccessCovidTests.org. Each household will receive one kit containing five tests within one to two weeks after ordering. In this initial phase, there is a limit of one kit per household.
Parents Helping Parents (PHP) is a nonprofit organization providing training, individual assistance, information and resources about raising a child of any age with any disability or special needs diagnosis.
Protecting Youth Mental Health – U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory
The U.S. Surgeon General has released a report that highlights the critical state of youth mental health and the impact of COVID-19. It includes suggested actions and resources for family members and caregivers as well as young people, educators, community organizations and government agencies.
Parents Helping Parents COVID-19 Information
Parents Helping Parents, an organization devoted to supporting and educating families of children and youth with special needs, provides a wide range of COVID-19 information and videos to help families.
Topics include:
- When to Get Tested
- Optimizing Your Home Environment for Online Learning
- Town Hall on COVID Vaccine and Individuals with Disabilities
- Keeping Your Sanity
- Helping Your Youth/Teen with Anxiety in Unpredictable Times
- Caregiver Resources for Coping During the Pandemic
The Child Neurology Foundation provides a telehealth tip sheet to help families and children prepare for video or phone appointments and make them as comfortable and successful as possible.
Affordable Connectivity Program
The Affordable Connectivity Program(ACP) is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. It replaces the Emergency Broadband Benefit.
Eligible households receive:
- Up to $30 per month discount for internet service, including associated equipment rentals such as a modem
- Up to $75 per month discount for households on qualifying tribal lands
- A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)
- Low-cost service plans may be fully covered through the ACP*
ACP is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. The FCC provides a list of frequently asked questions and enrollment information for families. An ACP Outreach Toolkit is also available for consumers and program partners.
Rare Sisters Batten Foundation
The Rare Sisters Batten Foundation (RSBF) supports the development of medical research for treatments and cures for CLN3 Batten Disease and also provides monetary assistance to families with children diagnosed with Batten Disease, a neurodegenerative disorder.
Families with children diagnosed with Batten Disease may apply with RSBF for financial help to cover a wide variety of needs. Funds are awarded on a case-by-case basis and contingent on the availability of funds.