Medical Home and Family-Centered Care
American Academy of Pediatrics has information and tools on providing family-centered care in medical homes. http://www.medicalhomeinfo.org/tools/family.html

TheDesk.info: E-News Update on the Medicaid Reference Desk
Check out this exciting website where you can find information about Medicaid services in your state. http://www.thedesk.info is an accessible website about Medicaid for use by people with disabilities. The site has information posted about all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
The team that created this website is now in the process of updating information in each state to keep it current.

Bright Futures Health Promotion
A national health promotion initiative with information and resources for families, health and mental health providers and the community regarding infants, children and adolescents.
This website also contains Mental Health Tools for promoting Social and Emotional Development including What to Expect and When to Seek Help.

These are tools for families and providers around the social and emotional development of infants, children and adolescents. It addresses when and how to seek help when there are concerns.  Available in English and Spanish.
http://www.brightfutures.org/tools/index.html

The Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health is available to search State and national health survey information for children and youth. It also contains a Medical Home Portal with information and resources on medical homes for children and youth.

District of Columbia’s Health Resources Partnership
Information about accessing and obtaining health services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Washington, D.C.
http://www.dchrp.info

Federal Resources on Disability and Health
As part of the Surgeon General’s call to action to improve the health and wellness of persons with disabilities, The US Department of Health & Human Services has complied a list of federal resources on disability and health which includes department websites for developmental disabilities agencies, aging and disability, the center on cast and access to health care as well as many others.
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/disabilities/calltoaction/factsheetresources.html

Accessibility and Mobility

Easter Seals Project Action
Bus stop accessibility assessment Toolkit and Bus Stop Check lists from Easter Seals Project Action which strives for accessible community transportation. The tool kit is available for download in pdf or text versions or print copies can be ordered for free.

United We Ride
This is the website for the Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) which is charged with coordinating efforts for human service transportation for individuals with disabilities and other citizens.  The website contains information about policies, resources, and emergency preparedness as it relates to transportation. 
http://www.unitedweride.gov/1_ENG_HTML.htm

Associations, Administrations and Organizations

The District of Columbia Department on Disability Services (DDS)
The mission of the DDS is to provide innovative, high quality services that enable people with disabilities to lead meaningful and productive lives as vital members of their families, schools, workplaces and communities in every neighborhood in the District of Columbia. http://dds.dc.gov

DDS is the lead agency for both the DC Developmental Disabilities Adminstration (DDA) and the Rehabilitation Services Adminstration (RSA).

DC Office of Disability Rights
The mission of the DC Office of Disability Rights (ODR) is to ensure that the programs, services, benefits, activities and facilities operated or funded by the District of Columbia are fully accessible to, and useable by people with disabilities. They offer investigation and ADA training services and are responsible for overseeing ADA compliance within DC, community integration planning and making recommendations to make DC more accessible. The ODR staff encourages you to visit their website frequently at http://odr.dc.gov/odr/site/default.asp and contact their office at (202) 724-5055 with any ADA or disability-related questions.

DC Department of Human Services
This is the District of Columbia Government department that administers the social service programs for residents of DC that need income, health care, food, family service, rehabilitation and disability related help. http://www.dhs.dc.gov/dhs/site/default.asp

211 Answers, Please
The DC Department of Human Services phone or online service for local and national social service information. Follow the links or dial 211 on your phone to get information about access to food, medical care, and government services and programs. http://answersplease.dc.gov/answersplease/site/default.asp

Division of Early Childhood
This DC agency supports child care in DC for children 5 and under, provides access to before and after school care for children 12 and under and manages the subsidized child care program. http://osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1224,q,561963,seoNav,%7C31193%7C.asp

DC Early Intervention Program
The early intervention program in the District of Columbia is for children birth to three who have delays in development or disabilities regardless of income. Provides evaluations, services and Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP). See the website for eligibility and referral information.
http://osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1222,Q,564133,PM,1.asp

Special Education
This office of OSSE is working with the DC Public Schools and Charter schools in the city to put into places improvements to the special education program to meet the needs of all students with special needs. http://www.osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1222,q,561151.asp

DC Department of Health
This department provides many health related services for DC residents including health care services for the uninsured, programs for mothers and children and assistance with accessing immunizations http://doh.dc.gov/doh/site/default.asp

DC Public Schools
Public school system for the District of Columbia. The website features a page on the Office of Special Education and Early Stages center for referring young children over the age of three who may have developmental delays or disabilities. http://dcps.dc.gov

DC Child and Family Services Agency
This agency provides child protective services, foster care and adoption programs in the District of Columbia. Information about becoming an adoptive/foster parent or reporting child abuse and neglect can be found on the home page. http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/site/default.asp

Institute for Family Centered Care
Organization that provides information and resources for families, service providers, educators and administrators about are interested in advancing the practice of family centered care. http://www.familycenteredcare.org

Institute on Community Integration
A center dedicated to improving community services and social supports for persons with developmental disabilities and their families in the in the US and abroad. They house programs for people of all ages and include early childhood, school age, transition and adult and community living information and resources. This center is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the University of Minnesota.
http://ici.umn.edu

George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, HEATH Resource Center
A national clearing house on post secondary education of people with developmental disabilities. HEATH disseminates information on educational support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, and opportunities at American campuses, vocational-technical schools and other post secondary training entities. They have an newsletter, sponsor training events, have information on pre-college programs and financial aid information.
http://www.heath.gwu.edu

Internet Resources for Special Children (IRSC)
Has a list of links by category for resources and information about a wide variety of developmental disabilities effecting children.
http://www.irsc.org

Emergency Preparedness

Autism Safety Project
Autism Speaks started the Autism Safety Project which provides first responders with information and guidelines for communicating with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in emergency situations. One-page fact sheets can be emailed or printed for distribution to law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical services, and others.

Emergency Check List
A helpful checklist for emergency preparedness for people with disabilities and persons aged 65 and older appears at the end of the newsletter.

Links:

• Inclusion Preparedness Center: Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities and other Vulnerable Populations works to ensure that all individuals are included in the development and implementation or emergency and disaster plans including evacuations and sheltering and consideration of the communication, transportation and medical needs of persons with disabilities, and other special populations. http://www.disabilitypreparedness.org/
   
• National Capitol Region Disability Preparedness Initiative is designed to implement a series of activities that will enhance ongoing UASI emergency planning in the National Capital Region by incorporating into it new preparedness planning for individuals with disabilities and other special needs.  Building an enhanced and sustainable preparedness and response capacity for the NCR should include the 20% of our fellow citizens who have disabilities that may limit their ability to hear or see warnings, to leave their home, or to care for themselves. The proposed activities will contribute to meeting UASI objectives. http://www.disabilitypreparedness-ncr.net/
   
• US Department of Transportation Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities. The information on this site is intended to inform people with disabilities about the federal government’s efforts to work with the disability community around emergency preparedness. http://www.dotcr.ost.dot.gov/asp/emergencyprep.asp
   
• The Needs of People with Psychiatric Disabilities During and After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Position Paper and Recommendations, recently released by the National Council on Disability (NCD).
  http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/peopleneeds.htm
   
• Saving Lives: Including People with Disabilities in Disaster Planning (NCD’s 2005 report)
  http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/saving_lives.htm
   
• The National Organization on Disability has an Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI) for people with disabilities with links to research papers, products and services and video clips on the subject. http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=11
   

Employment

DisAbility Online
The US Department of Labor and Training Adminstration (DOLETA) develops and implements workforce policy and programs to support people with disabilties in accessing and navigating programs to obtain and retain jobs. Many employment resources and programs to prepare for and access employment can be found on this website. http://www.doleta.gov/disability/

Employer Assistance & Recruiting Network (EARN)
This is a free job network service that connects employers with job candidates.  Both job candidates and employers sign up with EARN.  In addition EARN promotes employer practices that allow recruitment and retention of employees with disabilities. 
http://www.earnworks.com/

Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities (LEAD)
This national outreach initiative was created by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to increase the number of individuals with disabilities employed by the federal government.  The program educates employers and conducts focus groups with employers and interested parties to come up with solutions to the declining numbers of people with severe disabilities employed by the federal government.
http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/lead/index.html

Federal Hiring of People with Disabilities
The U. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has section on their website about the hiring authority regulations specifically used to hire people with disabilities.  The Federal Register notice announcing the authority and questions and answers are available.
http://www.opm.gov/disability/hrpro_3-02.asp