Arkansas Federation of Families for
Children's Mental Health (AFFCMH) was organized in 1995 by Jane
Burgan, a parent and longtime advocate for improving services to
families and friends of children with special needs. Once
organized an affiliation with the National Federation
Organization was established. Jane and the original board
members recognized that the system serving children and youth
with special needs was fragmented and broken. They
dedicated themselves to training, informing and supporting
families to become effective advocates for themselves and their
children. They worked with providers and agency
professionals to bridge the gaps to achieving effective service
delivery for the families who sough their services.
The AFFCMH approach to empowerment
helped families and caregivers become effective self-advocates
using the following steps:
- Believe in yourself
- Get informed
- Realize you have rights
- Discuss your concerns
- Be assertive and persistent
- Ask for help
- Use communication skills
A number of local support groups and
local advocates were developed across the state of Arkansas.
Annual training meetings were held and individual support for
families who called for help was provided.
The organization lost its funding base
in 2001, but continued assisting families on a person to person
voluntary basis, until 2002.
In 2006, through funding from the System
of Care cooperative agreement awarded to the State of Arkansas
by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration) the AFFCMH was revitalized. This coincided
with efforts at the State level to implement System of Care as
the policy for the State of Arkansas.
In the summer of 2006, Arkansas began
its journey to develop a better system of care for children by
assembling a group of stakeholders and charged them with the
task of identifying the solutions. The AFFCMH engaged in
this process with this group of stakeholders. The first
priority of this group was to insure that parents and families
were engaged in the process. First Lady Ginger Beebe led a
listening tour throughout the state to gain insights from the
experience of parents. AFFCMH's executive director and
other federation members acted as facilitators on the listening
tour.
One of the primary issues raised on the
listening tour was the lack of family support. Parents
repeatedly stated "I wish someone would have told me about
this earlier". Almost every parent mentioned struggles
with finding information, locating providers/resources and
lacking knowledge about the supports available to them and their
rights concerning the service. Parents also talked about
the need for respite care or help in caring for their child.
It is clear that parents are searching for a parent driven
support and information network.
The AFFCMH has responded by creating or
supporting support groups in a number of counties. The
AFFCMH has created a respite voucher program and is working to
expand the availability of respite to families across the state
of Arkansas. The AFFCMH continues to be engaged in a
leadership role in the development and implementation of System
of Care within the state of Arkansas.
