Home  |  Staff  |  Campus Map
Calendar of Events, Presentations, & Support Groups
Resource Directory  |    Legislation  |   Library   |   Notebook Trainings   |   Links
In the News  |  Join Mailing List  |   Email

The priorities of the Family Focus Resource Center are to provide information, referral services and support to families of children who are developmentally disabled, delayed or at risk for delays. Funding is provided by California's Department of Developmental Services'. The FFRC follows the recommendations of the Family Centered philosophy so our consumers achieve their maximum potential by providing resources to their families. In-kind services are provided by the College of Education, CA State University, Northridge and the Santa Clarita Valley Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA). The FFRC has a Board of Directors with 51% of the membership composed of parents representing the multiethnicity of our area, the diverse disabilities and at-risk conditions.

A parent mentor is a volunteer parent familiar with the transitions and service agencies that provide services to infants and toddlers with special needs. They can assist with transition from hospital to home based programs, home-based to community-based programs, and community-based programs to preschools in the special education component of public local education areas or private preschools in the community. They are experienced in the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) and the Individual Education Plan (IEP) for preschools. Volunteer parents are trained to be empathetic listeners, offer coping skills for obtaining services, organizing your child's personal records and dealing with professionals, family members and other people in the community. Volunteer parents respond to a request within 48 hours and they represent the diverse population and languages in our community.

Programs and seminars are provided on pertinent information relevant to families concerns and interests. Such topics might include transition guidance, health, education, self-esteem, nutrition, communication, child development, and behavior management. See the Calendar of Events for upcoming schedule.

A quarterly newsletter is developed, printed and distributed to parents and professionals concerned with the care of infants and toddlers with special needs. In addition to advertising upcoming educational conferences and trainings, the newsletter provides information on health tips, newly established programs and acknowledges the contributions provided to the resource center from the community and through grants.

The Family Focus Resource Center has available at no charge to parents of infants and toddlers with special needs a Parent Record Notebook to help parents organize their child's records and keep them in a useful binder. These notebooks can be obtained by visiting the FFRC and are available through their regional center service coordinator or early intervention programs. They are available in English and Spanish.

The Family Focus Resource Center works on all levels of referral and appropriate resources for families of children with special needs to assist parents and professionals develop goals and strengthen relationships between families and agencies.

1. Resource Directory : The Resource Directory contains referrals to medical services, nursing services, child care, infant developmental programs, physical therapy, audiological services, support groups, parent education, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, vision therapy, transportation, recreation, counseling and social services. This directory is available in English.
2. Lending Library: The Family Focus Resource Center has a lending library with instructional audio cassette's, booklets and pamphlets, books and video's.

Parent support groups in English or Spanish are offered in collaboration with the Family Focus Resource Center, Northridge Hospital Medial Center and the N.L.A. County Regional Center. Childcare is provided at no charge. See Support Groups for schedule and location.

1. Moving On To Preschool:The Family Focus Resource Center in collaboration with the North Los Angeles County Regional Center, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Santa Clarita Valley Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA) have developed in English and Spanish a manual to explain the different programs and options available for toddlers transitioning at three years of age into preschools in the area.

2. Private Preschools and Child Care Centers: The FFRC has complied a list of private preschool and child care centers in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys that provide services for infants and toddlers with special needs and their families.

A warm line is available for parents and professionals to call for appropriate referrals and support. There are answering machines at both sites and calls will be returned within 48 hours.