Family Voices Indiana

Several BDDS offices have moved locations in the state of Indiana. Some of these moves also resulted in a change of phone #. Since Family Voices advises families to contact the local BDDS office at least annually, we want to ensure that our members have accurate office contact information (this new list was current as of 10/6/2009) The following offices have moved or will be moving: Districts 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 We encourage families to stay abreast of these changes. The information can be found here: http://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/2639.htm If we discover other changes in the future, we will try to alert you to those. The Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services (BDDS) is a department of the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDRS). Individuals with developmental disabilities may apply for services and access information regarding case management, HCBS Medicaid Waiver services, residential and group home servic

Family Voices would like to thank Jill Smith for sharing this opportunity for families to give input on the Proposed Rule Revisions for Educator Preparation and Accountability (REPA). From Jill Smith: Did you know that the Proposed Rule Revisions for Educator Preparation and Accountability (REPA) cannot be amended without your comments? As it now stands under the current proposal, there would be no early childhood licensure, which we believe will be detrimental to the quality of care and education that young children will receive. Please review REPA as posted on the Indiana Department of Education's website, then respectfully encourage the Professionals Standards Board to take these actions: Establish licensure in Early Childhood Education specific to children from birth to age 8; and Establish an early childhood special education (interdisciplinary) license specific to children from birth to age 8 You can communicate your support of these licenses by attending one of the publi

Take the “Our Voice … Our Vision … Our Future” Online Survey Today! The Arc of Indiana is excited to share survey results gathered at our 2009 Conference, "Our Voice … Our Vision … Our Future," and invites those who could not attend the conference to let their voices be heard by taking the survey online. If you live in Indiana, and you have a family member with an intellectual or other developmental disability, or you are a self-advocate, or you are a professional in the field of developmental disabilities, please take a few minutes to complete the online survey. Taking the survey is easy. Just click here to get started: Our Voice ... Our Vision ... Our Future - Online Survey Participants at the conference used a hand-held voting device to respond to a series of questions in several broad topic areas: Early Identification and Early Childhood Education Post High School Education / Training Future Planning and Guardianship Training for Families and Caregivers Self-Advocacy

IN CISS Project Parent Consultant Position Description: Title: IN CISS Project Parent Consultant DUTIES and BASIC FUNCTIONS: Parent Consultant is responsible for providing the parent perspective to the IN CISS Project. The consultant will provide the parent perspective in developing/selecting educational materials and information and developing policies and procedures for the IN CISS project. Parent Consultant will assist the IN CISS Project Facilitator in meeting (IN CISS Advisory Committee and Learning Collaborative) and training preparation, staffing of the IN CISS Advisory Committees, reviewing Learning Collaborative/Quality Improvement Tool Kit materials, and providing parent perspective training and technical assistance to the QI medical home team practices participating in the Learning Collaborative. The Parent Consultant will assist the project and the practices in the identification, recruitment and training of parents for participation on practice teams and