INFORM- Be prepared to share your expertise on your family; help children be ready to tell their story. - Know your family's comfort level; set guidelines for sharing sensitive personal information.- Have all relevant documents organized and ready; this can include data on strategies that haveand have not worked for your family.- Early on, define and share specifics on how you want to engage and communicate.

BUILD A TEAM

COLLABORATE & COMMUNICATE

FOCUS ON A VISION OF SUCCESS

MAKING SERVICES WORK FOR YOUR FAMILYNavigating partnerships with mental health and disability service agencies

 - Know your own role as well as others involved.- Respect what other team members have to say and contribute; let everyone's voice be heard.- If your experience or observations differ, ask for clarification and data from others.- Ask for specifics about available services and supports provided by agencypartners.

- Communicate your needs clearly; be explicit in requests and clarifications. - Value meeting times and agenda topics (focus on the tasks at hand and set other meeting datesfor other topic areas).- Prepare children and youth to participate in the process. Teach them skills they can use andshare with them what to expect in meetings and services.- Help the team identify who is responsible for next steps and set deadlines.

-Set measurable short-term and long-term goals: what do you want to see happen right away and what do you want to see in the future.

- Know and build on the strengths of your family and those around you.- Create realistic steps to reach goals; give your children, your family

and service providers time to achieve them.- Help your children recognize their strengths & build self-advocacy skills.

- Reflect on and celebrate your progress! Where did you start out, and where are younow? Even if you aren't at your goal yet, what actions can get you closer?

As you partner withagencies and

organizations,consider each other’s

skills and thinktogether about how to

combine them toreach a goal.

Self-advocacy is definedby as the ability to speak

on one’s behalf andrepresent personal needs

and interests.^

^ Kotzer, E. & Margalit, M. (2007). Perception of competence: Risk and protective predictors following an e‐self‐advocacy intervention for adolescents with learning disabilities*National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (2019). The Family Partnership Process: Engaging and Goal-Setting With Families

Contact us at NVFNetwork@gmail.com to learn how

we can help you!

This resource is intended to help empower families raising children and youth with mental health needsand disabilities to get the support they need as they navigate schools and other service systems.

NVFN is a network of nonprofitorganizations serving Northern Virginiafamilies and children. Our mission is toelevate the voices of families to improve

outcomes for children, youth and young adultsacross systems of care.

The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectualand developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion andparticipation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

thearcofnova.org

The Autism Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) builds community for over5,000 individuals and families affected by autism through education, advocacyand support.

asnv.org

CHADD is a nonprofit organization that provides information and support toparents of children with attention deficit disorders, adults with attention deficitdisorders, and others dealing with people affected by attention deficitdisorders.

meetup.com/novachadd

The mission of this organization shall be to ensure that all individuals withDown syndrome and their families receive the support necessary to participatein, contribute to and achieve fulfillment of life in their community.

dsanv.org

Formed Families Forward is a family-led resource center supporting foster,kinship, and adoptive families of children and youth with disabilities and otherspecial needs through training, peer supports, consultations & resources.

formedfamiliesforward.org

NAMI Northern Virginia and its volunteers work together to raise awarenessand provide education, advocacy, and support programs for people living withmental illness, families, students, educators, law enforcement, and the publicthroughout our neighborhoods.

nami-northernvirginia.org

Parents Of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC-NoVA) and itspredecessor organization has worked for more than two decades to improve thequality and quantity of education for students with autism in Northern Virginia.

poac-nova.org

PEATC is Virginia’s Parent Training and Information Center serving familiesof children with disabilities or suspected disabilities from birth through age 26and the professionals who work with them.

peatc.org

The Regratifying Foundation encourages youth in foster care to continue theireducation, learn about and consider professional careers and set future personaland career goals before they age out or emancipate from foster care.

regratifyingfoundation.org

Representing the approximately 29,000 Fairfax County Public School studentsreceiving special education, as well as their families, educators, and greatercommunity, SEPTA provides a supportive community and educational programming,staff mini-grants and annual awards recognition, and award-winning advocacy on alocal, state, and national level to meet the needs of our students.

fairfaxcountysepta.org

The Ryan Bartel Foundation is a Loudoun-based non-profit whose mission is to preventyouth suicide through awareness, upstream educational programs, and activities thatsupport and empower youth, families, and the community-at-large through acceptance,connection, resiliency, and hope.

ryanbartelfoundation.org