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Medical Home & Care Coordination for Families and Caregivers

A medical home is not a building or a place. It is a way a medical team works together to make sure your child gets all the services they need. In a medical home, clinic staff will help you get appointments with specialists and make sure your child's medical records transfer over so they will know how to provide care. Coordinated care is valuable to all patients, but is essential for meeting the needs of children and teens with special health care needs. Going to a medical home clinic will help make sure they are finding the best ways to with their disability so they can live independent and self-sufficient life.

Youth Health Transition (YHT) is care coordination for emerging adults as they change from a pediatric to an adult model of care. Conversations about YHT should start as when your child is 12 years old. As your child gets closer to changing over to a new doctor, they should become more involved in conversations with their medical providers. These services help youth take control of their health so they can reach their full potential.

In order to have a smooth transition of care, children and teens should receive support from their doctors and family members on topics such as:

• Acquiring independent life skills
• Preparing for the kinds of health care they’ll need as adults
• Transferring to new providers without disruption of care

There are many benefits to making sure your child receives YHT services. Youth who successfully transition to adult care will:

• Have an easier time accessing health care
• Increase their ability to live independently
• Increase the likelihood of reaching social milestones
• Decrease health care costs

Transition Resources

• Family Involvement in the Transition Process
• Transition Guide - Information to help guide families and youth on the important Transition stages, with resources available in your region of the stat that can help
• Disability information from the federal government- Connecting the disability community to information and opportunities
• NICHY: Basic information about transition planning- National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
• Washington State Department of Health- Adolescent Health Transition Project: A Resource for Adolescents with special health care needs, chronic illnesses and physical or developmental disabilities
• Family to Family Health Information Centers (F2FHICs)- Information and training to families and youth to help them advocate for better health services and outcomes
• The Youthhood-Information to help youth with special health care needs plan for life after high school
• Got Transition? - Site serves as the basis for an information exchange about health care transition

Staying Healthy

• National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) - promoting effective parent involvement in secondary education and transition

Health Insurance Programs

• Quick Guide to Getting and Using Health Insurance
• Family Voices - financing health care links
• Healthy & Ready to Work: Choosing a Plan
• Medicaid Purchase Plan - Affordable health coverage for people with disabilities who work
• Supplemental Security Income - Federal program that provides cash to meet basic needs and in Louisiana provides Medicaid health insurance benefits
• Social Security Disability Insurance Program - Federal program that provides benefits for adults who became disabled before age 22

Employment/Education

• Social Security Administration Ticket to Work Program -An employment program for people with disabilities who are interested in going to work
• Louisiana Vocational Rehabilitation- One-stop career development
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth
• Youth @ Work English or Spanish (en Espanol)
• Easter Seals Job Training and Employment
• The National Center of Secondary Education and Transition
• Think College - Resources and strategies for transition aged students
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid-U.S. Dept. of Education
• Louisiana Department of Education- Career & Technical Education Programs
• Affordable Colleges Online: College Guide for Students with Disabilities - Advice and resources for loans, scholarship; best schools based on institution's disability services; distance learning tips; job resources; additional helpful resources.

Independence

• Find a certified driver rehabilitation specialist
• Louisiana Rehabilitation Services/Independent Living Program
• Centers for Independent Living
• Voter Registration
• My Must Have Papers Louisiana - A great information sheet on keeping and protecting your important personal records and information as you move to independence, adapted from the Northeast Massachusetts Community of Practice, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Department of Psychiatry. 

Advocacy

• Advocacy Center- Provides legal representation, information and referral outreach and training