Family to Family Trains Parents as Mentors
The Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs has a unique program to provide support to parents of children with disabilities.
The Family to Family Health Information Center (F2F HIC) is led by parents of children with special needs who, as parents themselves, have experienced first-hand the maze of services and programs designed to help their children.
The F2F HIC helps parents and families understand and access the available programs and services their children need through education and peer support.
The F2F HIC also assists families and individuals with special health care needs and the professionals working with them by providing information about resources and options so that everyone involved can make informed decisions.
F2F HICs promote access to community-based, self-directed services. F2F HIC also offers workshops and trainings, and encourages collaboration between families and professionals to improve services.
The backbone of the F2F HIC is the group of support parents available to mentor other parents and family members of children with special needs.
A support parent is a veteran parent or primary caregiver of an individual with special health care needs who is willing to help other families in situations similar to those they have faced.
Support parents offer caregivers the opportunity to connect with someone who understands the challenges they face and how to address those challenges.
The F2F HIC program is funded through a federal grant awarded to the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Parents and caregivers interested in finding a mentor or volunteering to become a support parent can contact:
Western Kentucky: Sondra Gilbert // Sondra.gilbert@ky.gov
1600 Breckenridge Street, Owensboro 42301 / (270) 852-5533
(877) 687-7038 ext. 2125
Eastern Kentucky: Debbie Gilbert / DebbieA.Gilbert@ky.gov
310 Whittington Parkway, Louisville 40222 (502) 429-4430 ext. 2069 // (800) 232-1160.