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What's New: The State Public Health Autism Resource Center

December 10, 2013

AMCHP's mission is to support state maternal and child health programs by providing national leadership on issues affecting woman and children. In support of this mission, the State Public Health Autism Resource Center (SPHARC) has several new activities planned, along with presentations, webinars and technical assistance opportunities designed to aid and assist ASD/DD grantees.

Directing Actions Through Activities (D.A.T.A.): Peer-to-Peer Update

Since 2008, AMCHP's SPHARC has organized the Peer-to-Peer Exchange Programs as a mechanism for states to learn from one other about building systems of care for children and youth with autism, share lessons learned and best practices, and develop plans of action for moving ahead. On Aug. 7-9, for the first time, the SPHARC Peer-to-Peer Exchange was organized in partnership with AUCD's ITAC to facilitate instruction and information sharing amongst ASD/DD Grantees and their state or neighboring LEND program through the illustration and use of concrete examples; how to identify, collect and evaluate data to assess the impact of their pilots, programs and projects on systems of care for children with ASD/DD. ASD/DD and LEND grantees from nine states (CO, CT, GA, ME, MD, OH, TN, UT, VT) participated in the exchange, which was co-hosted by Connecticut and Maine.

Participating states shared strategies and developed actions plans to enhance data collection and create partnerships in their states. This was a great first step in the discussion of data collection! As follow-up, SPHARC will be hosting a technical assistance call in December on Value Stream Mapping (a technique presented during the meeting) and continue to explore opportunities to further the discussion. Resources from meeting are posted here on the SPHARC website.

ASD/DD at the 2014 AMCHP Annual Conference

AMCHP's 2014 Annual Conference will be held January 25-28, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Washington in Washington, DC. There will be several exciting sessions and events related to ASD/DD and that feature CAAI grantees!

CAAI Grantee Meetings:

  • Autism Planning & Implementation Grantees Meeting - Monday, 1/27/14 from 5:00-6:30 PM
  • Act Early Networking Event  - Date/Time TBD

 

Workshops:

  • Achieving Service Coordination for Families of CYSHCN through a Title V Funded Innovative Partnership - Sunday, 1/26/14 from 1:00-2:00 PM
  • Building Comprehensive and Culturally Competent Systems of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs: Challenges and Opportunities (featuring State Autism Grantees from Massachusetts and Washington) - Sunday, 1/26/14 from 1:00-2:00 PM
  • Care Coordination: Empowering Families-  A model for partnership between Regional Genetics Collaboratives, Title V, and Family Programs - Monday, 1/27/14 from 10:30-11:30 AM
  • Integrating the CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." campaign in MCH Programs in Indiana, Virginia, and Wisconsin to Improve Early Identification of Developmental Delays and Disabilities - Tuesday, 1/28/14 from 12:00-1:00 PM
  • Strategic Partnerships for ASD Data Collection and Evaluation: The 2013 SPARC/ITAC Interdisciplinary Peer-to-Peer Exchange - Sunday, 1/26/14 from 4:45-7:00 PM; and Monday, 1/27/14 from 8:00-9:30 AM

For more information about the conference, visit www.amchp.org/Calendar/Conferences/amchp-conference/Pages/default.aspx.

Coming in 2014!

Over the next year, SPHARC will be updating its website and some new resources, including the Online Learning Modules and Environmental Scan of State ASD/DD Activities. Stay tuned to the website for more information: www.amchp.org/spharc!