Resource Directory /

Olney Resources

  • Get Out the Vaccine

    Get Out the Vaccine is a website from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities that provides information to help people with disabilities and their families make informed decisions about being vaccinated for COVID-19.

  • A Family Toolkit: Pediatric-to-Adult Health Care Transition

    Got Transition and its National Family Health Care Transition Advisory Group have developed a new toolkit for families to use to guide their youth’s transition from pediatric to adult health care.

    The Family Toolkit includes easy-to-use resources for youth and families to help youth assume more independence in taking care of their own health and using health services. Materials include a transition timeline, questions to ask your doctor, what turning 18 means for one’s health and more.

  • Bright by Text

    Bright by Text is a free text messaging service that delivers high-quality information to families to help them foster a child’s healthy growth, based on their exact age and developmental stage.

    Available in English and Spanish, the service covers children from prenatal through age 8.  Topics covered include brain development, speech and language skills, social-emotional development, reading and writing skills, nutrition, mental health, school readiness, and more.

    All information is provided by trusted content partners, including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sesame Street, PBS Kids for Parents, and Zero to Three.

    Families can sign up by texting BRIGHT to 274448, or by using the form on the Bright by Text website. Text messages are customized by the child’s due date or age and zip code.

  • The Autism Collective

    The Autism Collective is a collaboration of Easterseals Central Illinois and OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois. The collective is working to end the isolation felt by those living with autism by uniting experts and connecting families.

    The collective coordinates early identification, diagnosis, therapy, services and support. Its care coordination services are available throughout Illinois (outside of Chicago).

  • A Parent’s Guide to Self-Care

    It’s easy to view self-care as a low priority when your child is diagnosed with a serious illness. Your role as a parent and parenting partner has unexpectedly changed. The child has urgent and complex medical needs; you must manage appointments and service providers, and learn new information about the disease and medical treatment—all while tending to the needs of other family members, work and/or other responsibilities.

    The Courageous Parents Network provides this guide to help parents make time and find ways to take care of themselves.

  • PCs for People Computer Equity Network

    PCs for People is a national nonprofit social enterprise working to get low-cost, quality computers and internet into the homes of individuals, families, and nonprofits with low income. By recycling and refurbishing computers, PCs for People provides a valuable service to businesses, families, and the planet by keeping computers out of landfills and repurposing them to advance digital inclusion.

    To be eligible, residents must be below 200 percent of the poverty level or enrolled in income-based government assistance programs, such as free or reduced school lunch, Medicaid or SNAP.

    Visit www.pcsforpeople.org/illinois/ or call (618) 215-3787 for more information.

  • Bilingual Parents Video Library

    The Illinois Resource Center has put together a library of videos for bilingual parents with videos in French, Tagalog, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, Spanish and English.

    Each video showcases subjects and information relevant to parents, caretakers and community members, such as the role of Bilingual Parent Advisory Committees, financial aid for college, tenant rights, multilingual student rights and more.