CHILDREN AND FAMILY MENTAL HEALTH LINKS

Advocacy Organizations

Child Welfare League of America  http://WWW.CWLA.ORG An association of public and non-profit agencies devoted to improving life for at-risk children and families. Member agencies are involved with prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. They provide various services in addition to child protection, including kinship care, family foster care, adoption, youth development programs, residential care, child care, family-centered practice, and programs for pregnant and parenting teens. The focus of other member agencies include managed care, mental health, chemical dependency, housing, homelessness, and HIV/AIDS. For all of these areas, CWLA has program experts who consult, train and otherwise assist agencies to advance their practice.

Children’s Defense Fund http://WWW.CWLA.ORG The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind® and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. They pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick or into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown.

National Mental Health Association http://WWW.NMHA.ORG  Dedicated to promoting mental health, preventing mental disorders and achieving victory over mental illnesses through advocacy, education, research and service.

National Alliance for the Mentally ill http://WWW.NAMI.ORG The nation's leading grassroots self-help and family advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. NAMI has built its organization on four cornerstones: support, education, advocacy and research. NAMI's members work to bring hope and progress to thousands of people with mental illness

Educational Resources

PACER (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) http://www.PACER.ORG  An advocacy group whose mission is to enhance quality of life for families that have a child with any physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability. They have 25 assistance programs and offer many articles on disability-related education, including parent training , programs for students and schools, and technical assistance to other regional and national parent centers. PACER programs help parents to be informed representatives for their children. Through knowledge of laws, resources , parents' rights and responsibilities, families are better equipped to work with agencies and obtain appropriate help. Visit their website or call: 1-888-248-0822

Families and Advocates Partnership for Education http://WWW.FAPE.ORG  A federally funded partnership linking families and advocates with current research and promising practices. Its focus is the implementation of the IDEA (Individual and Disabilities Education Act) amendments of 1997. Website offers a weekly newsline of hot topics, IDEA laws and regulations, significant case decisions, and promising practices.

ERIC EC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education http://WWW.ERICEC.ORG One of 16 federally funded clearinghouses contained within the ERIC system, a nation-wide information network sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Library of Education. ERIC EC gathers and disseminates professional literature, information, and resources on the education and development of people of all ages who have disabilities and/or are gifted.

Facts on Specific Disorders

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry http://WWW.AACAP.ORG) The AACAP provides information on a variety of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. Their website offers a comprehensive list of free publications on learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, pervasive and developmental disabilities, and mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.

The National Information Center For Children & Youth with Disabilities http://(WWW.NICHCY.ORG) A national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and related issues for families, educators and professionals. Their special focus is on children from birth to age 22. NICHCY is one of four clearinghouses established by Congress to provide information on disabilities. Their services and materials are provided free of charge. Visit their website or call 1-800-695-0285 .

The Center for Mental Health Services http:WWW.MENTALHEALTH.ORG The Center is part of the Knowledge Exchange Network and provides information on CMHS programs and funding, consumer/survivor information, a searchable database, a catalog, and a list of all their publications. They also have important links to information on school violence prevention, the Surgeon General’s Report on mental health and the anti -stigma initiative.

Children & Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder http://WWW.CHADD.ORG A nonprofit parent-based organization formed to better the lives of the individuals with attention deficit disorders and those who care for them. To find out more about CHADD visit the website above.

SubstanceAbuse Prevention Online This has drug abuse prevention information for both kids and adults. http://www.health.org/ On the kids’ page, there is a link to a wonderful publication, SGR4KIDS, an anti-smoking publication. http://www.health.org/kidsarea/pubs/sgr4kids/sgrmenu.htm

OTHER HELPFUL FAMILY LINKS 

The Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry http://www.aacap.org/factsfam/index.htm  has sponsored an award-winning series of 56 fact sheets. They cover a variety of topics ranging from "Children and Family Moves" and "The Influence of Rock and Music Videos" to "Know When to Seek Help for Your Child"

Kids' Campaigns http://www.kidscampaigns.org/ This site is an internet resource which seeks to bring communities together to improve the lives of children. This is a clearinghouse seeks to help people get actively involved on children’s issues on either a large or small scale.

Practical resources for working parents http://www.familyinternet.com/ebaby/index.html>) Help and advice on trying to balance child care and a work schedule.

Kids-Health http://kidshealth.org/kid/

This is an interactive site for kids. It uses games and catchy graphics to help kids learn how to stay healthy and helps teach them about how their bodies function. This site requires a fast modem and an updated version of "Shockwave

Internet Safety Rules

Don't give out your name, address, telephone number, school, passwords or other personal information.

Don't buy anything on the Internet unless your parents say it's OK.

Don't ever get together with someone you met online unless your parents say it's OK. Some people online may not be who they say they are. From "Prevention Online" http://www.health.org/kidsarea/safe/safe.htm