These are the highlights of our upcoming events and a summary of our recent activity online. Not everything is included due to timeliness.

If an advertised event already took place, we've left it off. 

✨ Welcome to Idaho Parents Unlimited Motivation Monday! 💪🌟

During the Legislative Session, we're here to keep you informed and empowered! 🛠️💡

📅 On Mondays, look out for our posts packed with resources, information, and handy tips and tricks. 📝✨

📌 Here's where you can find Legislative Agendas and Committees: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025

https://ipulidaho.org/legislation 🔗📃

Let’s stay engaged, stay motivated, and make a difference together! 💬💪

[Week 2] Legislative Update This Week’s Highlights:



Key Legislative Actions:

STATE - Idaho House Bill No. 5: School Safety and Threat Assessment Teams

On January 13th House Bill No. 5 was referred to Judiciary, Rules & Administration. This bill aims to improve safety in Idaho's public and charter schools by creating Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) teams. These teams are responsible for identifying and addressing behaviors that might lead to violence in schools.

What This Means for You:

The establishment of Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) teams means schools will actively work to identify and address potential threats before they escalate. Parents of children with disabilities or behavior issues may have concerns about how these teams assess and address their child’s needs. It will be important for parents to stay engaged with their school’s processes to ensure their child is treated fairly and in line with their rights under the law.

FEDERAL: Update from Week 1 on Idaho’s Family Personal Care Services Program (Parents and Spouses as Paid Caregivers). The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare issued a notice that due to the public comment period closing January 31, 2025, they did not have CMS approval to terminate the program for that same date. The program will continue for the time being. You can continue to make comments here: https://1115publiccomments.medicaid.gov/jfe/form/SV_bDftFC87R3ENDPE

Get Involved!

You can use IPUL’s “Power of a Personal Story” template to craft testimony to share with legislators. Other testimony tips can be found in the padlet as well. You will find all our tips at this link https://shorturl.at/kSLOf

Looking Ahead:

Updates on upcoming legislative actions will be shared as they become available. Stay tuned!

Stay Connected:

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates, and visit our website for more resources: ipulidaho.org

Over on ipulidaho.org we have the latest edition of IPUL's Youth Corner up! This month's episode focuses on SMART goal setting, and is available in both English and Spanish - read it here: https://ipulidaho.org/ipuls-youth-corner/ipuls-youth-corner-january-2025/

🎙️ In this episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Samantha Foote, a board-certified Neurologic Music Therapist, to explore the fascinating intersection of music and brain science! 🧠🎶

✨ Samantha shares how music therapy supports children with disabilities in areas like:

🗣️ Communication

🕺 Movement

💖 Emotional Regulation

🤝 Social Skills

We also dive into positive discipline and chat about her inspiring podcast, "Every Brain is Different" 🌈🧠.

👉 Tune in to learn how music can transform lives, one note at a time! 🎵🎧

Add us on your favorite podcast platform or listen here:

https://rss.com/podcasts/unlimited-parenting-ipul

Find more at the links below!

https://www.boisemusictherapycompany.com/

https://www.everybrainisdifferent.com/

@boisemusictherapy on Instagram

Did You Know? 💡

Idaho Supports Medicaid Day at the Capitol is happening on Tuesday, January 28th at the Idaho State Capitol! 🏛️

This is your chance to join volunteers from across the state in advocating to protect access to affordable, quality health care for all Idahoans. 💪🩺

✅ Ready to make a difference?

Complete your registration to receive updates about the agenda and travel details in early January. https://shorturl.at/IFpTG

📧 Have questions? Contact Randy Johnson at randy.johnson@cancer.org for more information.

💬 Let’s work together to protect health care for Idaho families! Your voice matters.

We are so thrilled about having Gritman Medical Center as our client for a recent session of our Work of Art program in Moscow. Take a look at the amazing artwork that is now on display in their Outpatient Infusion Rooms. The students who created these beautiful pieces are so talented and are more prepared to become employed as a result of this incredible opportunity. Thank you, Gritman Medical Center for your support of this important program!

Gritman Medical Center posted:

These are just a few of the stunning pieces of art commissioned through the Idaho Parents Unlimited Work of Art program. Now proudly displayed in our Gritman Medical Center Outpatient Infusion rooms, these pieces bring light and beauty to our spaces, and smiles to the faces of our patients and staff.

The Work of Art program serves as a creative outlet for students ages 14-21 while also building important employment skills. This program inspires confidence, fosters independence, and opens doors to economic opportunities for the students. Since 2014 the program has grown to serve more than 500 students across the state of Idaho.

We’re grateful for the impact of this program and for the vibrant, meaningful art that now brightens our Infusion Rooms. Thank you to the Work of Art students, teachers Theresa Carter and Julene Ewert, and Idaho Parents Unlimited, for making a difference in the lives of our patients.

Learn more, and see all of the artwork, at gritman.org/artwork.man

Contact Idaho Parents Unlimited!

The best method to reach us for assistance is through the form on our website:  

https://ipulidaho.org/connect-with-us/ .

You can also leave us a message at our intake line.

(208-342-5884)  However you contact us, we will respond to any request in the order it is received. If you choose to call us, be aware that we use an automated intake phone system, so you will be leaving a message. (Please be sure the number you are leaving us can accept text or voice messages.)

For questions that are not about something in our scope of work, you can still leave a phone message as above, send the question to the form on our website, or shoot us an email at parents@ipulidaho.org.

We keep our website updated with new events and maintain a presence on Facebook, and Instagram

Programs and services offered by Idaho Parents Unlimited are supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education (H328M200033) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) Affordable Care Act Family to Family Health Information Center (H84MC12896), opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions of either department, endorsement is not assumed