LaVergne Named Director of IDS Mississippi Family to Family Project

Dr. Leslie LaVergne has been named project director of the statewide Mississippi Family to Family Health Information and Education Center (MS F2F) at The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) effective June 1.

LaVergne has been working as coordinator of IDS' Pediatric Evaluation and Diagnostic Services (PEDS) team and as a family navigator to families of children with special needs through IDS' Mississippi Early Childhood Inclusion Center. She has provided support to families in obtaining resources and referrals.

She also serves as Mississippi's Act Early Ambassador for Learn the Signs. Act Early., a program funded by the Centers for Disease Control to promote messages and activities through collaborations within the state to improve screening, diagnostic, and referral services for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.

LaVergne will bring her expertise to the new four-year grant period for MS F2F, refunded from June 2018 through May 2022. MS F2F is Mississippi's Family to Family Health Information Center (F2F HIC), one of 50 located across the United States through funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB).

The statewide project has begun its twelfth year of service working to empower Mississippi families of children with disabilities statewide to be partners in the decisions made concerning the health of their children.

For more information about MS F2F, visit https://www.usm.edu/disability-studies/family-2-family-overview.