Services for children and youth with special health care needs in Mississippi can be few and far between—fragmented, isolated, with access to providers limited. For the most part, families must adapt their lifestyles to access services for their children. The Institute for Disability Studies is partnering with the Mississippi State Department of Health, the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, families, self-advocates and other state and community-based stakeholders to identify system strengths and weaknesses and address barriers to the development of a system of community-based services that are family-centered and culturally competent.

The best health care solutions for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families according to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services include six positive outcomes:

• Family/professional partnerships at all levels of decision-making
• Access to comprehensive health and related services through a medical home
• Early and continuous screening, evaluation and diagnosis
  
• Adequate public or private financing of needed services
  
• Organization of community-based services so families can use them easily
  
• Successful transition to all aspects of adult health care, work, and independence

Primary emphasis in the MICS project is placed on medical home development, increasing the number of children who receive early and continuous screening, and youth transition.

Through training and technical assistance with health professionals, the MICS project will

• Increase the number of primary care providers in Mississippi that meet American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) criteria for medical home,
  
• Increase the number of children in Mississippi that receive an annual health and developmental screenings,
  
• Increase the number of families in Mississippi who are competent partners in making decisions about health care services and supports for CYSHCN, and
  
• Increase the number of transition-age CYSHCN who participate in person-centered planning (PCP) that addresses the individual’s ongoing healthcare, educational and occupational needs.

E-mail for more information.

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Survey for Pediatricians/Family Practitioners

*The funding for the study is granted by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).