Family Support Mission

To provide families & individuals with resources and information and to facilitate access to supports and services.

Our Vision:

All individuals, guardians and family members of a person with a developmental disability will be able to find and access all supports necessary to meet their specific needs. Families & individuals will be given the tools they need to act as partners in the planning and delivery of available services.

How We Provide Family Supports:

At the Trudeau Center, Family Support is not a program or a stand-alone activity. Our Family Support Coordinator works within the agency, at all levels, and with each program or department. Her role is not defined by regulation, but by what is needed on an individual basis. As a family member herself, her role is often to provide a parent perspective to staff, to program planning and to advocacy groups. She provides information and resources to staff to assist them in their daily work, and to friends and families on an individual basis.

The Family Support Coordinator coordinates workshops and training events for families, on topics that will assist them in planning for their family member. She administers the annual mini grant program, which makes available funds for people to access to enhance their lives and those of their family member. Assistance with transition from school to an adult service provider is another key component. Workshops, tours and individual counseling are available throughout the year.

New referrals to our adult programs are directed to the Family Support Coordinator for agency and program-specific information, as well as tours of the various programs. Any friend or family member with a question or concrn about accessing services, information about the state systems, or individual planning, is encouraged to contact the Family Support Coordinator for assistance, whether or not they receive services from the Trudeau Center.

Advocacy efforts are coordinated with the assistance of the Family Support Coordinator. Information regarding federal, state or local legislative changes or proposals are diseminated through her office. Her participation on statewide committees and action groups is one way to keep families up-to-date on issues that can impact services and supports for our family members. Organized phone call days, letter writing campaigns and statehouse rallies are some of the ways familes have been asked to participate in advocacy activities.

For questions, appointments or other information, please contact the Family Support Coordinator at 739-2700 extension 260 or pgoes@kentcountyarc.net