WEB-BASED RESOURCE GUIDE

For Families and Providers of Children and Youth with

Special Health Care Needs

 

This web-based Resource Guide was created for families of children with special health care needs, and for individuals working with these families. Please note that the content of the pages you are about to visit are not authorized or under the control of the Rhode Island Technical Assistance Project (RITAP) or Rhode Island College (RIC).

 

It was created by: Denise Achin (Rhode Island Technical Assistance Project at Rhode Island College), Jane Azie (Empowered Families CEDARR Family Center), Dalida Frias (About Families CEDARR Family Center), Ana Gomes (Solutions CEDARR Family Center), Colleen Polselli (Rhode Island Department of Health), Danielle Proulx (About Families CEDARR Family Center), Donald Testa (Families First CEDARR Family Center), Carol Whitman (Department of Children, Youth and Families) and Catherine Willingham (Department of Human Services).

There are several options available to navigate the Guide:
(1) Enter "Control F" to initiate a search, or
(2) Click "Edit" on the control bar and click "Find on this page", or
(3) Scroll down the Table of Contents and click on the topic you would like to navigate to

This Guide will be updated periodically, to request any changes, including corrections or new resources, please send an e-mail message to: amoniz@ric.edu

 

Please include the direct URL for the resource being added. Thank-you!

We hope you find the Guide useful,

 

The CEDARR Web-based Resource Workgroup

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Adoption. 2

Assistive Technology/Durable Medical Equipment (DME) 3

Child Abuse & Domestic Violence. 5

Cultural and Linguistic Competency

Dental Care. 5

Department of Children, Youth and Families. 6

Department of Health. 9

Diagnosis Specific. 10

General 10

Attention Deficit Disorder 11

Autism Spectrum Disorders. 11

Blind/Visual Impairments. 13

Brain Injury. 13

Cerebral Palsy. 14

Developmental Disabilities. 14

Down Syndrome. 15

Epilepsy. 15

Hearing. 15

Lyme Disease. 18

Learning Disability. 18

Multiple Sclerosis. 18

Muscular Dystrophy. 19

Mental Health/Illness. 19

Tourette’ Syndrome. 20

Early Care and Education (Child Care) 20

Early Childhood Resources. 21

Energy/Heating Assistance. 24

Evaluation, Assessment, Diagnosis and Therapeutic Providers. 24

Family Support, Training, and Advocacy Resources. 26

Food and Nutrition Resources. 30

Housing. 31

Income Support 32

Interpreting Services. 33

Legal Assistance/Advocacy. 33

Medical Assistance. 34

Mental Health. 35

Pediatric Facilities. 37

Rehabilitation Facilities. 38

Rhode Island State Government 39

Secondary Transition Resources. 40

Service Coordination. 42

Sexual Abuse/Assault Agencies and Resources. 43

Special Education Resource. 43

Therapeutic Horseback Riding: 44

Therapeutic Recreation. 45

Transportation. 47

NON-WEB COMMUNITY RESOURCES. 48

Accessible Playgrounds. 48

Churches with social services/assistance throughout the State. 49

Adoption

    

State Supported

  • Adoption and Foster Care Preparation and Support

Recruits, trains and assesses families who are interested in providing a home for a child in state care.

            www.dcyf.ri.gov

  • Adoption Rhode Island

Provides family recruitment and child matching under contract to DCYF.

www.adoptionri.org 

  • Adoption Services Unit

Responsible for adoption subsidies, provides short-term services to families after adoption is finalized, and provides adult adoptees with information in accordance with RI law.

www.dcyf.ri.gov

 

Community resources

  • Adoption and Foster Care services:

 http://www.caseyfamilyservices.org

 

 

Assistive Technology/Durable Medical Equipment (DME)

 

  • 2007 Rhode Island Resource Guide to Technology for People with Disabilities: This document lists agencies and their contact information, including the Sargent Rehabilitation Center, in Rhode Island that provide technology support or services for people with disabilities.

http://www.ric.edu/uap/publications/ResGuideTech.pdf

  • All Tech: ALLTech identifies technology solutions to the educational, daily living, communication, and workplace challenges experienced by people of all abilities and ages.

www.alltech-tsi.org

  • Apria Healthcare: Apria Healthcare is America's provider of integrated home healthcare products and services. We are committed to full-service homecare solutions that give maximum independence to our 1.2 million patients leading nationwide.

http://www.apria.com/home/  

  • Assistive Technology Access Partnership (ATAP ): ATAP, the Rhode Island Assistive Technology Act Project (P.L. 105-394) is designed as a statewide partnership of organizations and agencies, each with a targeted assistive technology focus, working together providing information and improving access to assistive technology for individuals with disabilities.

http://www.atap.ri.gov/   

  • Assistive Technology Access Project (ATAP): provides links to AT providers in the State of RI:

http://www.atap.state.ri.us/atappartners.htm 

  • ATAP Resource Center at the East Bay Collaborative: provides information and training to families and school districts on AT.

http://www.ebecri.org/custom/assistive_technology.html

  • Center for Communication Disorders

www.childrenhospital.org/clinicalservices 

  • Claflin Equipment Sales & Service: Our mission at Claflin Equipment Sales & Service is to be a unique resource for medical equipment and its related services. Our state of the art web site, ClaflinEquip.com,  allows customers to access and research over 10,000 medical equipment products and to place and track orders online 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

http://www.claflinequip.com/ 

  • Lincare: The mission of Lincare is to set standards of excellence for providing respiratory care, infusion therapy and medical equipment to patients in the home. Our company's success, which is characterized by responsiveness and clinical excellence, has been founded on the dedication of our professionals to quality care. Physicians, care givers and patients trust Lincare to provide the quality care they expect and deserve.

            http://www.lincare.com/

  • Meeting Street Center: link to its assistive technology, sensory integration and audiology and version link:

http://www.meetingstreet.org/matriarch/MultiPiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_31_A_PageName_E_specialtyservicesoverview 

  • People Actively Reaching Independence (PARI): PARI was incorporated in 1980 as a "consumer-directed" Independent Living Center. Our staff works with people with any kind of disability to identify goals and provide training, equipment, advocacy, and counseling to help them to achieve their goals. Whether the consumer is seeking medical resources, new ways of performing activities of daily life, transportation, housing, or ways of becoming involved in the community, the PARI Independent Living Center is the individual's professional resource for reaching independence

http://www.pari-ilc.org/

  • Regional ADA and IT Technical Assistance Center: Adaptive Environments promotes design that works for everyone across the spectrum of ability and age and enhances human experience. We provide easy access to information and guidance about the civil rights laws and codes that provide a bedrock of accessibility in the US. We provide education and consultation about strategies, precedents and best practices that go beyond legal requirements to design places, things, communication and policy that integrate solutions to the reality of human diversity.

www.adaptenv.org 

  • Sensational Child Inc.: The Sensational Child offers an array of services, within one multi-faceted center, to improve the quality of life for children with disabilities and their families.The Sensational Child is a source for therapy tools and equipment, books devoted to special needs, quality developmental toys, items used in sensory integration therapy, as well as adaptive equipment for better organizational, daily living and life skills.

http://www.sensationalchild.org/

  • South County Surgical Supply: South County Surgical Supply, part of South County Hospital Healthcare System, is a full-service retail provider of medical equipment, offering sales and rental of a comprehensive line of the latest in home healthcare supplies and durable medical equipment

http://www.schospital.com/surgical_supply.cfm?mid=1&sid=2&thid=4&level=3  

  • TechACCESS: TechACCESS of RI is a private, not for profit resource center that serves people with disabilities who are interested in assistive technology.

http://www.techaccess-ri.org/  

  • Vanguard Home Medical: With local market knowledge, customer sensitivity and consistent quality, Vanguard Home Medical Equipment is dedicated to delivering services to patients that enhance their quality of life. We are committed to exceeding industry standards and our customers' expectations by constantly looking for ways to improve the way we deliver patient care. This commitment to quality has helped define Vanguard Home Medical Equipment as the leading provider for healthcare services in Rhode Island.

http://www.airproductshealthcare.com/locations/vanguard.htm   

 

Child Abuse & Domestic Violence

 

  • Department of Children, Youth, and Families

www.dcyf.ri.gov

www.child-advocate.ri.gov

  • Prevent Child Abuse Rhode Island

www.preventchildabuse-ri.org

  • RI Children’s Prevention & Protective Services

www.satrc.org

 

Cultural and Linguistic Competency

 

  • National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC)

The mission of the NCCC is to increase the capacity of health and mental health programs to design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems. The NCCC web site gives you access to the following cultural and linguistic competency resources: frameworks and models; guiding principles; policies; self-assessment tools; and links to other resources. Clicking on "Links" gives you access to the following: resources for families; government resources; university centers, foundations and nonprofit organizations; accessibility on the web...

http://www11.georgetown.edu/research/gucchd/nccc/index.html 

  • The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt)

NCCRESt works with state and local school systems to address ingrained practices that contribute to perpetuating disparities in access to learning by providing technical assistance and professional development to schools and their communities, including resources for early