Project Description:
PACER Center's Families Accessing Communities Together (FACT) Project will work with families to identify and provide effective family support services and leadership training for families of individuals with developmental disabilities from birth to age 25 in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Many families have expressed the need for assistance in navigating the multitude of public and private systems that provide services to meet the complex needs of their families. The FACT Project's innovative process will provide family-centered support services, improve the community's capacity to serve individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, and support systems change activities.
During the first year of the two project, FACT staff will meet with family members and community organizations to plan effective ways of meeting the needs as they are defined by the families. Collaborating with multiple service providers in the metro area, the project will use that information during the following four years to respond to the needs identified by culturally and racially diverse and underserved families of individuals with developmental disabilities.
Through family-centered activities, families will learn to use and build on their family's strengths and gain communication and advocacy skills. Families will also gain skills to effectively participate in systems change activities and promote family-centered community practices and structures.
PACER will work in collaboration with partners (the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, Protection and Advocacy, the University Center for Excellence, state and county developmental disability services, and other community organizations) to develop an innovative implementation plan that will provide comprehensive and casual family-support services, improve the community's capacity to serve individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, and support systems change activities. The target audience will be culturally and racially diverse and underserved families of individuals with developmental disabilities ages birth-25 years in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
The following four strategic goals will guide the FACT project:
1: Develop an innovative family support project implementation plan with partners that will promote collaborative community-based solutions for culturally and racially diverse and underserved families of individuals with developmental disabilities ages birth-25 years. PACER will establish an Advisory Committee composed primarily of family members and individuals with developmental disabilities to develop an implementation plan in collaboration with partner agencies. Two focus groups with underserved families will be held to help determine project priorities for the implementation plan. PACER staff will be trained in family- and person-centered planning and pilot the process with families.
2: Provide comprehensive family support, casual assistance, and information and referral to underserved families of individuals with developmental disabilities to promote family empowerment and family unity. In Years 2-5 FACT will provide comprehensive family support to at least 50 families and casual support to 125 families. Families and individuals with disabilities will learn to use their strengths and gain communication and advocacy skills through innovative activities. Services will be accessed from a wide range of organizations to build interdependence, integration, and community relationships. Brochures and a toll-free line with staff who speak Spanish, Hmong, Somali, and English will assist in information and referral.
3: Collaborate with families and partners in systems change activities that will increase access to needed services, improve community capacity to support families, and decrease family isolation.
Families will be empowered to participate in systems change activities to promote family-centered community practices and structures. Emerging family leaders will be identified and developed to increase project impact and sustainability. Staff will work with partners and Advisory Committee to identify systems change priorities to address on a collaborative level.
4: Implement rigorous evaluation plan in partnership with external evaluator to measure project effectiveness and family and systems outcomes. In partnership with an external evaluator, thorough formative and summative evaluation of project activities will be conducted to measure impact and ensure accountability. Data systems will record family outcomes in individual and systems change goals. Evaluations will measure family satisfaction, impact, outcomes, and effectiveness of services provided. PACER will regularly monitor the project timeline in relation to the budget and activities.
The FACT Project is funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) as a Project of National Significance.
Our role on this project is as a consultant regarding the evaluation plan, instrumentation, implementation, and reporting.
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Urban
