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Exceptional Children's Assistance Center's Executive Director To Retire
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After thirty-three years of service, ECAC's
founder and Executive Director, Connie K. Hawkins is retiring.
Connie grew ECAC into a statewide full- service parent center. During her tenure Connie developed a
state and national reputation as an advocate for the health and educational rights for families of children and youth with disabilities and special health care needs.
"We have such deep gratitude for Connie's leadership and especially her vision . . . Connie's retirement will cap more than three decades of service, achievement and growth. Connie
leaves us with a tremendous legacy." ~ Azell Reeves, ECAC Board member
The lives of children and families in North Carolina are forever changed due to her tireless efforts to raise the bar for education and health services, and most of all, ensuring that children and families have opportunities to live the fullest lives possible.
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Be a Part of Empowering Families & Improving Lives!
Your support makes a big difference for children and families in North Carolina. Please consider a donation today!
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Proposed Changes to ACA and Medicaid
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Congress will vote this week to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act ( ACA). The proposed legislation includes a proposal to block grant or capitate Medicaid. Medicaid, a public insurance program, covers nearly two million of NC's children and adults> of those two million, a significant minority are individuals diagnosed with special health care needs and developmental disabilities. Medicaid covers costly medications, therapies, supplies, and other expenses.
Since Medicaid began in 1965, the federal government and states have shared the costs of providing services to those eligible. The proposed legislation in Congress now would change the nature of the program. It is expected that States will bear a larger and larger share. One way of managing the cost would be to cut benefits. R
eductions may cut reimbursement to providers, making it harder for patients to find the specialists they need. Families could also pay more for care, children will lose services, and Medicaid coverage to some children with special needs may be denied.
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Health Care Reform Resources
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Below are resources that address the proposed federal health care reform efforts:
For easy to understand graphics about Medicaid-covered individuals in NC click
here
The bipartisan Congressional Budget Office created some charts comparing the ACA and the ACHA. To see the charts click
here
A blog form the Lucille Packard Foundation, "Impact of Proposed Changes for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs" can be read
here
The Commonwealth Fund shares a Health Indicators Scorecard for 2013-2015 that highlights ACA data and can be seen
here
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NC Medicaid's Innovations Waiver
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Last year NC Innovations Waiver changes were approved by the federal agency that oversees Medicaid services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Waiver helps Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) live a more independent lifestyle. For a list of Waiver Services, click
here.
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Congratulations to Our Partners!
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Every year the national Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) acknowledges the outstanding work that individuals and organizations do to support women and children's health. This year three of our partners were selected as
prestigious Maternal and Child Health award winners at the AMCHP Annual Conference!
The Merle McPherson Leadership Award for exemplary contributions to further family professional collaboration was awarded to Rylin Rodgers of Indiana. Rylin, the founder of Family Voices Indiana, is a national leader dedicated to impacting systems that serve families raising children with disabilities and special health care needs.
The Vince Hutchins Leadership Award for leadership in promoting a society responsive to the needs of women, children, youth and families was awarded to Dr. Lewis Margolis.
Dr Margolis, a pediatrician and epidemiologist, is associate professor of maternal and child health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He is a leader with the UNC MCH Ledership Training Consortium, an interdisciplinary and
interprofessional effort to build capacity for MCH leadership development in graduate training programs and is a liaison among UNC, Title V and other public health programs, engaging in projects that translate research into practice.
The NC Division of Public Health Children & Youth Branch's Innovative Approaches project received the Best Emerging Practice award and was selected for inclusion as an emerging practice in Innovation Station, a searchable database of promising and best practices in Maternal and Child Health.
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New Faces at NC Title Five Agency
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ECAC welcomes new state leaders charged with the responsibility for ensuring the health of NC's mothers and children, including children and youth with special health care needs. Please help me welcome Dr Kelly Kimple, the new NC Title V director, and Marshall Tyson,the CYSHCN program director.
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Healthy Weight in Kids with
Developmental Disabilities
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Staying at a healthy weight is important for all children's bodies as they grow and develop. No two children are the same, including children with special health care needs, but there is a basic formula around maintaining healthy weight. Balancing the amount of energy a child takes in through food and drink and the energy they use for growing and enjoying play and physical activity helps a child stay healthy. For more information click
here
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ECACHealthOnline
is a monthly newsletter brought to you by the . . .
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North Carolina Family to Family Health Information Center, a program of ECAC. ECAC is dedicated to improving the health and education of children through an emphasis on children and youth with disabilities and health care needs.
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