Montana Transition Resources, Rural School Outreach, Montana DeafBlind, and Family to Family Health Information Center Project Updates
Busy Conference Season
The Montana Transition Resources, Rural School Outreach, Montana DeafBlind, and Family to Family Health Information Center project staff are in the midst of conference season and are enthusiastically connecting with partners around the state, sharing resources, and providing technical assistance.
In August, several staff traveled to Helena for the 10th Annual Great Beginnings, Great Families Conference hosted by DPHHS. It was an excellent opportunity to connect with maternal, child, and adolescent professionals, advocates, support staff, and providers to improve the health and well-being of Montanans and to increase the efficacy of maternal, early childhood, and youth programs throughout our state.
September meant a trip to Fort Peck Community College in Poplar for the ADA Celebration and Resource Fair. Parents and professionals visited the Rural Institute vendor table to gather information about health care transition, deafblindness, less restrictive alternatives to guardianship, Olmstead focus groups, and more.
Project staff were back in Helena in October for the 2024 . In addition to networking and providing technical assistance to conference attendees who requested it, project staff shared resources focused on topics such as early identification of deafblindness, health care decision making skills, and health care transition planning. Project staff also unveiled and took orders for the first of four health care transition posters.
Early Identification of Deafblindness Advisory Council meetings
For the third consecutive year, the Montana DeafBlind Project hosted a series of Early Identification of Deafblindness Advisory Council meetings. This year’s Zoom sessions were held on September 4th and 11th, and brought together parents and professionals committed to ensuring positive outcomes for children who experience an impact to both their hearing and their vision. During the meetings, which were once again facilitated by Dr. Susan Bashinski, council members reviewed progress, discussed where we are at now with early identification efforts, and decided on next steps.
CIF Awarded!
In 2015, the RIIC established the Community Investment Fund (CIF). CIF awards support innovative projects or programs that help Montanans with disabilities live, learn, work and play alongside people without disabilities. Consumer Advisory Council (CAC) members use their leadership and advocacy skills to review each application, evaluate the merits of the proposals, and award the funds.
The 2024 fund recipient is Missoula Adaptive Recreation & Sports (MARS) for their Adaptive Nordic Ski Program. The program will run for the 4 Sundays in February, 2025. The purpose is to provide an accessible location, accessible equipment for those who need it, adaptive instruction and assistance for people with disabilities to be able to Nordic ski.
The CIF committee thanks all this year’s applicants and congratulates MARS on their award!