Support for Families (continued)

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The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY, www.nichcy.org) provides educational information and technical assistance to family members, advocates, and professionals. NICHCY maintains a collection of resource publications and fact sheets that help family members locate assistance in their local communities. Since 1922, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC, www.cec.sped.org) has provided both family members and professionals with support services, including national and regional conferences, journals, and political activism on behalf of children with disabilities. While CEC provides support activities for all types of disabling conditions, other national organizations provide support services for families of children with specific disabilities. Chapters of the Learning Disabilities Association (www.ldanatl.org) and Association for Retarded Citizens exist throughout the country (www.thearc.org). These organizations provide family members with information on recent developments in research and teaching children with specific impairments. Family members or educators who wish to contact any of these organizations can get the necessary information from websites and state department of education offices.

Many organizations and agencies are eager to help support families, yet each year countless family members struggle alone, unaware of the support network that is available to help them. By providing family members with names of local and regional support agencies, teachers can help ensure that their classroom efforts are complemented by help outside of school. Mild disabilities are more than just a school problem; learning disabilities, mild emotional disorders are family problems. When families are supported at home, children with special needs have a better opportunity to overcome their intellectual disability in school and in the community.

Government Programs

Because federal grant funding is cyclical and subject to legislative approval, changes in funding priorities and appropriations are frequent. Updated information regarding federal assistance to enhance families involvement in schooling can be obtained through the U.S. Department of Education website at www.ed.gov. The following is a brief list of important federal assistance programs.

WIC (www.fns.usda.gov). The Special Food Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federal grant program for which Congress authorizes a specific amount of funds each year. A family of four that earns $31,593.00 or less annually meets WIC assistance guidelines. The WIC target population is low-income, nutritionally at-risk women and children. Specifically included are:

• Pregnant women (through pregnancy and up to 6 weeks after birth or after pregnancy ends): one in four new mothers participates in WIC
• Breast-feeding women (up to infant's 1st birthday)
• Non-breast-feeding postpartum women (up to 6 months after the birth of an infant or after pregnancy ends)
• Infants (up to 1st birthday): WIC serves 45 percent of all infants born in the United States
• Children up to their 5th birthday

WIC operates through 2.000 local agencies in 10,000 clinic sites and in 50 state health departments. \nC pro\ides nutritional assistance to pregnant women and children through supplemental nutritious foods purchased at retailers with vouchers, nutrition education and counseling in WIC clinics. and screening and referrals to other health, welfare, and social services.