Family Support Resources
FacingDisability provides stories, hundreds of paralysis resources and up-to-date information on spinal cord injury. The organization works with medical experts from major hospitals, universities and rehabilitation institutions nationwide to provide insight and inspiration. FacingDisability resource topics include:
- Disability advocates
- Family and caregiver support
- Assistive technology
- Financial assistance and government programs
- Education and employment
The Family Caregiver Alliance’s mission is to improve the quality of life for family caregivers and the people who receive their care. The Family Caregiver Alliance website provides in-depth information and tips on a variety of caregiving topics, including legal and financial planning, advanced illness and end of life, self-care and more.
Resources are available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and more.
Family Economic Mobility Toolkit
The “Family Economic Mobility: Taking Charge of Your Future” toolkit offers families help to set financial goals and create action plans for tracking progress. The toolkit includes a series of videos and an online resource guide with links to agencies and support programs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families provides the toolkit.
Family Justice Center in Peoria
The Peoria County Family Justice Center is a multi-disciplinary response team designed to provide services and support to victims of domestic violence, while simultaneously holding offender’s accountable.
Family Matters Parent Training & Information Center
The mission of the Family Matters Parent Training and Information Center is to build upon families’ strengths, empower parents and professionals to achieve the strongest possible outcomes for students with disabilities, and to enhance the quality of life for children and young adults with disabilities.
Family Resource Center on Disabilities (FRCD)
The Family Resource Center on Disabilities (FRCD) is the Chicago metropolitan area’s Parent Training and Information Center. The FRCD can help you learn about your rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), make informed decisions about your child’s individualized education program (IEP), obtain appropriate services for your child, communicate more effectively with school professionals and more.
The FRCD serves the following eight Illinois counties: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.
You can contact the FRCD at (312) 939-3513 or info@frcd.org.
Family Voices of Illinois & F2F Health Information Center
The Arc of Illinois Family to Family Health Information Center is a free service for families of children and youth with special needs. The Center is a collaborative project with Family Voices of Illinois and provides families tools to make informed decisions, advocates for improved public and private policies, builds partnerships among professionals and families, and serves as a trusted resource on health care.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a list of organizations that provide information and resources for and about fathers and their important role in the lives of children.
Fathering a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Child: An Onboarding Checklist for Dads
The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Parent to Parent Committee developed a checklist written by fathers of children who are deaf or hard of hearing(D/HH) for dads or any person who feels that they fulfill this role in a child’s life.
“Fathering a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Child: An Onboarding Checklist for Dads” provides information and action steps to support and encourage fathers to take an active role in every aspect of their child’s life from the start. The guide shares information from a dad’s perspective on topics including:
- The ” new dad” learning curve
- Language and communication
- School and legal rights
- Well-being
Financial Planning for Parents of Children With Disabilities
The PACER Center offers “A Financial Resource for Parents of Children With Disabilities” to help you plan for your child’s financial future and overall well-being. This resource helps walk you through getting organized, life and disability insurance and various aspects of planning for you and your child.