Family Voices Indiana

Good news Indiana! We are delighted to announce that Family Voices Indiana is now a non-profit organization and the official national Family Voices State Organization Affiliate. We welcome and encourage your membership and involvement in this important effort to support families in our state. Read on!! Family Voices Indiana has been serving Indiana families and their professional partners since 1997 as an all volunteer effort. It is our mission to meet the information needs of families while supporting the role of the family voice in advocacy. Families at all stages in their journey of raising children with disabilities and special health care needs often comment that they are overwhelmed by the complexities of the systems and services they encounter. FV Indiana believes that families have much to contribute in strengthening these systems as they provide the invaluable reality check that can only come from end users. We currently directly serve over 5,000 families statewide, includi

Family Voices Indiana has received several questions about how recently announced changes to Medicaid covered services will impact children. We encourage our members to view the official Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning (OMPP) announcements at: http://www.indianamedicaid.com/ihcp/Publications/bulletin_results.asp It is important to note that several of the limits on services apply to adults, 21 years old or over, and not to children. Changes in reimbursement rates do impact all Medicaid recipients. We encourage families who are concerned about the impact of reimbursement rates on access to continue to work with providers, case managers and others to identify providers who can meet your care needs. Questions about changes should be directed to: Medicaid Customer Assistance at (317) 655-3240 in the Indianapolis local area or toll-free at 1-800-577-1278.

FV Indiana shares the following from one of our partner organizations: South Bend, IN – November 19, 2010 – The Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs (IN*SOURCE) , is issuing a statewide invitation to individuals and organizations to step up and make a difference in the lives of youths with disabilities and their families. According to Rich Burden, Executive Director, the main source of funding for the organization recently changed from a grant to a contract. This change calls for the organization to pay for operating expenses that would previously have been paid by grant funds and then wait for reimbursement from the state. “Our contract with the state will continue to provide a stable source of long-term funding, Burden says. “However, the change means we now have to pay our expenses up-front and then wait to be reimbursed by the state.” According to Burden, IN*SOURCE needs to raise $70,000 over the next few months to continue assisting Hoosier families, and meet th