Family to Family Iowa

The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) assisted the State’s Department of Human Services with the successful application for two federal grants to create the Family to Family Iowa, Iowa’s family support network and health information center. Child Health Specialty Clinics, Iowa’s Title V program based at CDD, and the State’s Department of Human Services served as the grantees for the two federal grants, one from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the other from Administration on Developmental Disabilities, until the spring of 2012 when sustainability of the family network was transferred to Ask Resource Center.

F2F goals include the development of a cohesive, coordinated, and culturally competent statewide network of certified family navigators/mentors. With technical assistance from CDD’s information and referral service, COMPASS, and the CDD Disability Resource Library, these navigators/mentors serve families with children and youth with special health care needs in making informed choices about health care and community supports or services for their loved ones. The F2F website helps assure Iowa’s network of family navigators/mentors have access to the resources needed to provide supports and services to families throughout the state.

For more information about Family to Family Iowa, contact Karen Thompson at (515) 243-1717 or (800) 450-8667 or [email protected].