We interrupt the mundane this week to bring you this special edition of our MassFamilies Family Leaders in Action. You may already recognize her, but we’d like to introduce you to Loida Love Dominguez. Loida is a Family Leadership Series graduate and strong voice for parents of children with disabilities in Massachusetts (and beyond). We […]
Our partners at Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL) sit at the table with partners on the Children’s Mental Health Campaign. PPAL is the only family organization at the table to provides the family voice. The Campaign partners have asked PPAL to bring families to listening sessions (Starting next Monday, February 28th – see schedule and links […]
Our partners at The Arc of Massachusetts is working to collect input from individuals and families regarding the MassHealth Prior Approval or Appeal Process. As part of an internal assessment with HMA, The Arc hopes to gather insight based upon your personal and/or family experience navigating the prior approval or appeal process for eligible MassHealth […]
Below is a testimony from one of MassFamilies’ family leaders in legislative action, Sagrario Guerro, regarding two items of legislation being looked at in the Massachusetts Legislature. Mi nombre es Sagrario Guerrero soy parte de la Comisión legislativa de MassFamilies. 1. Estoy aquí hoy para testificar por HB3865, HB56, una ley para garantizar el acceso equitativo a la […]
THIS JUST IN! There is an opportunity for MassFamilies members to participate in two (2) upcoming virtual public hearings regarding a number of our legislative priorities coming up this week that we thought Mass Families and Allies would want to be aware of. The Joint Committee on Education is looking for public testimony on the bills listed below. We are hoping […]
More than 70 family members, self-advocates, professionals, and policymakers showed up to share with and listen to one another on April 5 for our kick-off OUR VOICE community call. A BIG THANK YOU to Representative Kip Diggs Representative Andres X. Vargas Neha Singh Senior Policy Aide for Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz Danielle Allard Chief of Staff […]
Do you or a loved one have an Intensive Supports Waiver, Adult Supports Waiver, or Community Living Waiver? The public input process is open for amendments to these waivers. You can find the following information on the mass.gov website by following this link: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/home-and-community-based-services-waiver-renewal-and-amendment-applications-public We hope you’ll use your voice to share your experience and […]
The thoughts below were written by Roxi Harvey, an ABC and FLS alum who assumed a leadership role in the Boston SpEd PAC during COVID and recently published an article she co-wrote with Emma Fialka-Feldman. The link to the OpEd is below. What new leadership roles have you stepped into in this pandemic? What has […]
A new Position Paper is hot off the presses here at MFOFC today. Thanks to the last 30 years of building strong family leaders in Massachusetts, we have learned a lot about what it means to help families imagine better. MFOFC recognizes, like many here in Massachusetts and across the nation, that Supported Decision-making is […]
Bill H.123, An Act regarding the use of aversive therapywould prohibit the use of procedures which cause physical pain or deny a reasonable humane existence to persons with disabilities. We just received word a hearing has been scheduled on 09/24/2019 from 10:00 AM-01:00 PM at the Statehouse in B-1. If you would like to give […]
