Children with Special Health Care Needs Program

Autism Task Force. The Caring for Washington Individuals with Autism Task Force was created by Senate Bill 5311 during the 2005 Legislative Session to study and make recommendations to the legislature regarding the growing incidence of autism and ways to improve the delivery and coordination of autism services in the state. The Department of Health is the lead agency in providing staff for the work of the task force. The final report and recommendations on how to best prevent, identify, treat, and accommodate the needs of individuals with autism and their families has been completed and submitted to the Governor and the 2007 State Legislature. Link to Autism web page.

Epilepsia en Washington: Improving Access to Care for Children and Youth. The Children with Special Health Care Needs Program has been awarded a new three year federal grant to focus on improving a community-based system of services for children and youth with epilepsy, beginning with medically underserved and rural areas of central Washington where there is a significant Hispanic population. Epilepsy is a challenging condition that affects from 6,100 to 15,000 children in Washington. It can seriously affect their lives by causing severe seizures, injuries, lifestyle restrictions, stigma, and depression, all contributing to a poor quality of life. Children with epilepsy who live in rural, under-served areas of Washington and who speak a language other than English have even more difficulty managing their epilepsy because they have less access to the range of needed health care services. The grant will focus on five distinct groups within these communities: parents of children with epilepsy, youth with epilepsy, primary care providers, specialty care providers, and care coordinators for children with special health care needs. Activities will include organizing focus groups, parent trainings, youth advisory groups, learning collaboratives for providers, and multidisciplinary committees. The grant activities will be accomplished in partnership with the Epilepsy Foundation Northwest, parent organizations, local health departments, community health centers, specialty and community-based providers, and public schools. The grant will run from September 2007 through August 2010.

Washington Integrated Services Enhancement Grant (WISE for CSHCN). The WISE Grant was a federally funded four year grant (6/01/01-5/31/05) to improve statewide systems for children with special needs and their families. The four goals of the grant were: Care Coordination, Common Enrollment or Application, Blended Funding, and Integrated Data. Link to the WISE web page.

Medical Home Leadership Network. The Medical Home concept is promoted through a contract with the University of Washington. A Medical Home is an approach to providing health care in a high-quality and cost-effective manner through a partnership between families and providers. Children receive the care they need from a pediatrician and other health care professionals and are able to access all the medical and non-medical services needed to help them achieve their maximum potential. The Medical Home Leadership Network at the University of Washington, together with the CSHCN Program, is working to create more medical homes for children in Washington.

Provider Education. The CSHCN Program staff provides and supports training and technical assistance to providers. The CSHCN collaborates with local health jurisdictions, pediatric specialty hospitals, managed care plans, Medicaid, the Infant Toddler Early Intervention program, universities, and others to assure appropriate and adequate training opportunities for a variety of providers.

CSHCN Assessment. The CSHCN Assessment Plan creates a systematic approach to developing and using data about children with special health care needs to improve statewide services.

Birth Defects Surveillance. The CSHCN Program participates in birth defects surveillance to monitor trends and respond to public concerns.

Nutrition Services. The CSHCN Program contracts with the University of Washington Center on Human Development and Disability to support a statewide network of community-based nutritionists who provide nutrition services to children with special health care needs.

Feeding Team Services. The CSHCN Program contracts with the University of Washington Center on Human Development and Disability to support a statewide network of community-based, interagency, interdisciplinary feeding teams that provide feeding assessment and follow-up services to children with special health care needs.

Adolescent Health Transition Project. The CSHCN Program contracts with the University of Washington Division of Adolescent Medicine and the Adolescent Health Transition Project (AHTP) to provide education and information through a variety of media and forums on health and life transitions for youth with special needs.

Family Leadership. The CSHCN Program is committed to involving families of children and youth with special health care needs as decision-makers in program planning and policy development. We strive to ensure that families are provided with services and supports that are integrated, family-centered, and culturally competent. The program has a full time Family Consultant who takes a lead role in identifying and developing opportunities for families to become involved at the level where they are most comfortable.

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Page last updated: 09/28/2007