COVID-19 Resources
Tips for Being an Effective Teleworker
The Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology provides these tips to provide teleworking strategies and best practices for employers and employees.
Though they were designed with people with disabilities in mind, they provide information that can be useful to anyone who is transitioning to remote work.
Tips for Coping with a New Baby During COVID-19
Information from HealthyChildren.org.
Tips for Families: Receiving Early Intervention Services Through the Phone, Tablet, or Computer
Tips for receiving remote Early Intervention services
Tips for Helping Students With Hearing Loss in Virtual and In-Person Learning Settings
Teachers and administrators can take steps to meet the unique challenges that virtual and modified in-person learning environments will pose for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Both formats have challenges, but schools and teachers can help children be successful. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides these tips for virtual and in-person learning settings.
Tips for Teens on Talking With Your Parents or Guardians About Vaccines
Talking with family members about vaccines and healthcare choices can be stressful and scary, especially for teens. The Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) has created a “Tips for Teens – Talking with Your Parents or Guardians About Vaccines” handout in English and Spanish to help teens navigate those tricky conversations.
Tips on Face Masking for Children During COVID-19
The Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics developed this infographic based on information for children and parents on masking. Governor Pritzker announced that Illinois residents will be required to wear masks/face coverings in public spaces beginning May 1, 2020. This infographic answers questions for patients and families on children wearing masks during the pandemic.
Tools for Supporting Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Youth
Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has left many children and youth vulnerable to feeling stressed, anxious or depressed. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine website features information and tools for teaching skills that can help children and youth cope with some of the challenges associated with the pandemic such as:
- Changes in their routines
- Breaks in continuity of learning or health care
- Missed significant life events
- Lost security and safety
Individuals can explore the site’s tools focused on children or teens, learn more about the cognitive behavioral therapy practices that went into them, and find additional mental health and wellness resources. These resources are also available in Spanish.
Travel Considerations for People with Down Syndrome [COVID-19]
Information from Advocate Medical Group Adult Down Syndrome Center
The Tri-State Foodbank partners with southern Illinois agencies to provide food assistance in Alexander, Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Johnson, Lawrence, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, Richland, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne and White counties.
For information about program requirements and hours of operation, please contact the partner agencies directly.
U.S. Department of Education “Return to School Roadmap” for 2022-23 School Year
The U.S. Department of Education has released the “Return to School Roadmap,” a resource to support students, schools, educators, and communities as they prepare to return to safe, healthy in-person learning this fall and emerge from the pandemic stronger than before.
The Roadmap provides key resources and supports for students, parents, educators, and school communities to build excitement around returning to classrooms this school year and outlines how federal funding can support the safe and sustained return to in-person learning. It includes:
- A fact sheet for schools, families, and communities on the Return to School Roadmap
- A checklist that parents can use to prepare themselves and their children for a safe return to in-person learning this fall, leading with vaccinating eligible children and masking up if students are not yet vaccinated.
The Education Department also has two publications focusing on strategies and practices important for schools to use to regarding COVID and reopening safely.
Volume 1 provides families, schools and the community key health and safety measures for reopening schools. Volume 1 highlights factors that need to be addressed for specific groups of students, including students with disabilities, one of the groups hardest hit by the impact of COVID-19.
Volume 2 provides more specific practices for meeting the basic and other critical needs of students.