March 2020 Newsletter
March 2020
Families
Empowering Families
In this issue: 
A message from the director
Coronavirus Info and Tips
Children’s Mental Health Day MiniGrants
DAIL and DMH Memo
A Message From the Director
 
Dear friends,
  
The last week or so has been stressful with all of the news of COVID-19 and the changes that have happened in many of our lives including the closure of all schools in Vermont. In this newsletter we share some resources to explain COVID-19 and ways to stay mentally and emotionally healthy during social distancing. We’re also including important information about the Agency of Education’s Continuity of Education Plan.
Even if you have to social distance it doesn’t mean you have to isolate. Reach out to a loved one on the phone or online! And remember, we’re here to help you as well! Our parent support providers work remotely so if you need help in the coming weeks navigating the changing educational and mental health services landscape or just some emotional support give us a call at
(802) 876-7021.
We are happy to announce that we’re looking for applications for our Children’s Mental Health Day mini-grants! Are you planning an event in May to raise awareness of children’s mental health? We can help you fund your event!
We also wanted to share a joint memo from the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Aging and Independent Living that was sent out at the end of February. It clarifies some of the services available for children with developmental disabilities.
 
Happy March,  
 
~Cindy
COVID-19 Info and Tips
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of information and changing advice about how to keep our families safe during the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve collected some helpful resources to explain the current situation to your children and ways to keep them learning while school is out.
Information resources
  • Green Mountain Self-Advocates made a plain language explaining the coronavirus and COVID-19 that you can find here. It is available in English and Spanish.
  • NPR has a comic for explaining coronavirus to kids.
Educational resources

The Agency of Education released a memo concerning Free Approprioate Public Education (FAPE) during the school closures.

You can read the memo here.
The takeaways are the following:

Each district must have a Continuity of Education plan that includes
  • Meal service for those who need it
  • Services for children with disabilities and special needs;
  • Working with the state to provide district-based options that meet the childcare needs of healthcare workers and other Vermonters essential to the response (EMS, Fire, LEO, National Guard personnel, etc.)
During the closure period from March 18 – April 6 regular education services do not continue and students are not expected to make educational progress.
If a school district provides supplemental enrichment materials during the initial closure those materials must be made accessible for students with disabilities.
If the closure continues past April 6th districts may be asked to provide more formal education. Once school does resume each Local Education Agency must provide FAPE to students with disabilities in accordance with their IEPs.

We’ll share more updates from the Agency of Education as they happen on our Facebook page.

In the meantime, here are some opportunities to keep your children engaged and entertained.

  • The Cincinnati Zoo is hosting live Facebook events each day at 3pm. They’re home to Fiona the Hippo and other wonderful animals. A great way to teach kids about animals and conservation!
  • E-learning for kids has hundreds of lessons for children in K-6th grade in numerous subjects.
Mental and emotional well-being resources
  • Social distancing can be especially hard for individuals with depression and anxiety. If you need someone to talk to you can always call the Vermont Support Line through Pathways Vermont. This warm line is staffed by individuals with lived experience so you can call to just talk about the stresses of your day. They’re open from 3pm-6am at (833) 888-2557
We are offering six $250.00 mini grants for Children’s Mental Health Day events across Vermont!
Are you planning to celebrate National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and Week to highlight the importance of positive mental health from birth? VFFCMH would like to invite you to apply for a mini grant to help pay for your event.  Funded activities and events can range from positive social opportunities, community organizing, or mental health awareness campaigns. Our goal is to assist and empower our communities to raise awareness of children’s
mental health and positively impact their
communities and the system of care.
 
Applications are due by April 3rd!
Downloaded applications can be emailed to pbacon@vffcmh.org or mailed to
Paula Bacon
The Vermont Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
P.O. Box 1577, Williston VT 05495
DMH and DAIL Memo
This memo was sent out on February 25th and we wanted to make sure all families that have children with developmental disabilities knew about it. You can download a pdf of the joint memo
here.
Here’s the clarification from the memo:
“We are sending this memo to ensure clarity about services and supports the State funds for children with developmental disabilities. Recently, state staff have been managing numerous situations in which families have been given inaccurate information and/or are struggling to understand the process to access services.
1.  First and foremost, it is erroneous to advise parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities that a child must be in DCF (Department for Children and Families) custody to access developmental disabilities services.
If you believe a child is in need of developmental disabilities services, they should be referred to the Developmental Service program at the Designated Agency.
2.  We expect the Developmental Service (DS) and Mental Health providers (MH) at DAs are coordinating, collaborating, and reaching out to state partners who are happy to problem- solve with you. Remember these situations can also be elevated through the Act 264 process. During the Act 264 process and Coordinated Services Planning, DS and MH partners should be at the table together in instances where there is a child with or suspected of having developmental disability and mental health needs.”
A message from your Vermont family run organization

Posted by on Monday, March 23rd, 2020 @ 5:44PM
Categories: News, Uncategorized

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