Mission | Principles | History | Network | Regional Coordinators | Staff | Board
It is estimated that 10.2 million children in the United States have special health care needs. Like other children
and youth, those with special health care needs deserve a happy, healthy childhood and youth – attending school, enjoying
community events, living with their families, and worshiping with friends and neighbors – as well as the opportunity to become productive adults.
However, unlike other children and youth, ours also have challenging health conditions – physical, mental, or emotional – that can make their lives and their families’ lives more complicated. Any child or youth at any time could develop a disability or chronic health condition.
Family Voices is a national grassroots organization that provides information and education about ways to ensure and improve family-centered health care for children and youth with disabilities and chronic conditions. Across the country, our vast network includes:
- Thousands of families and friends of children and youth
- Volunteer Network
- Regional Coordinators
- Emerging youth leaders
- Staff
- Board of Directors
This network shares information, experiences, and expertise with other families, professional partners, youth leaders, and policymakers. We help bring the family perspective to policy discussions and decisions through our work with other organizations, health agencies and systems, and research projects across the nations.
With love and knowledge, we speak on behalf of our children and youth with special health care needs and support young people with disabilities in becoming selfadvocates.
To learn more about specific national projects please visit Projects. To learn more about the work of state Family Voices organizations, please visit Family Voices in Your State.
MISSION
Family Voices, a national grassroots network of families and friends, advocates for health care services that are family-centered, community-based,
comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent for all children and youth with special health care needs; promotes the inclusion of all families
as decision makers at all levels of health care; and supports essential partnerships between families and professionals.
PRINCIPLES
Family Voices believes that children and youth with special health needs face common problems caused by fundamental inadequacies in our health care system. Family Voices does not support any specific health care reform plan. Instead, the role of Family Voices is to advocate for the inclusion of a set of basic principles in every health care reform proposal. Those principles, which have been found effective in thousands of communities throughout the United States, are:
- Every child and deserves quality primary and specialty health care that is affordable and within geographic reach.
- Families are the core of this nation's health system, their children's most important health providers and caregivers.
- Quality health care is family-centered, community-based, coordinated, and culturally competent.
- Family-centered health benefits and services are flexible, and guided by what children and youth need.
- Strong family-professional partnerships improve decision-making, enhance outcomes, and assure quality.
- Families practice cost-effectiveness and expect the same from our health systems and services.
