Thank you for helping Family to Family rise to success this past year!
Because of the generous support of all donors like you, we were able to help many individuals. Please know that 80% of your dollars go to program support.
Here are some highlights of the past year (July 2023-June 2024):
1. Provided case management to 805 individuals (from 47 different school districts) requesting information & referrals to resources this year:
20% requested information on navigating the special education process,
38% were looking for specific resources in the community,
20% requested information on how to navigate the adult service systems
13% seeking help with Medicaid waivers and social security, and
9% had other areas of need for information & support.
2. Trained 727 family members and 388 community members virtually in the community on a variety of disability topics.
3. Thanks to a grant from Houston Methodist, staff increased the special education capacity of 65 low-income, non-English speaking, or diverse families through intensive case management & training. Sixty (60) percent of the families had incomes below $50,000, and 38 of those families were Spanish-only speakers. These families’ children are often left behind and not provided with quality special education services. Staff also reviewed the Individual Education Programs (IEPs) of each of the families in order to help them understand their paperwork. IEP binders were mailed to all families that completed three training events. These binders help families keep track of evaluations, IEPs, progress reports, and provided the IDEA manual and procedural safeguards in their native language.
“This program is invaluable. I had no idea what I was doing and no idea what our rights were or what resources were out there. I can’t thank the ladies enough for what they’ve done for us.”
4. Our person-centered financial planning program ended mid year. Thank you to Diamond Client Group for their volunteer work with the program. All tools from the program have been added to Texas Project First on Creating A Plan for the Future.
5. Maintained the Texas Project FIRST website, which got over 57,000 page views per month, per Google Analytics.
6. Updated 1500 resources and added 84 new resources to the Texas Health & Human Services Navigate Life Texas website. Staff also wrote six blogs for the website.
7. Represented families on a number of stakeholder committees at the state level – Providing input for Region 10’s Special Education Information Center, Student Centered Transition Network, and at the Texas Education Agency Texas Continuous Improvement Steering Committees. Also represented families on The Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities (IDD) IDD project advisory council and the MH project advisory council, Community Resource Coordination Group (CRCG), the Texas ABLE program advisory board, and Texas A&M Center On Disability & Development Constituent advisory committee.
8. Held a successful Annual Conference & Resource fair thanks to a partnership with Houston Community College VAST Academy. Over 200 people enjoyed a day of networking and learning.
9. Offered our first ever Autism 101 Symposium. Thank you to Dr. Ken Montfort, Dr. Susan Catlett, and Jacquilyn Arias for sharing knowledge on autism, communication & behavior with over 100 families.
Our plans for 2022-26:
- Streamline case management & increase by 100% by 2026 (Baseline = 611 Unique/728 cases) through better use of technology and gathering information at community resource fair events.
- Streamline training & increase by 100% by 2026 (Baseline = 1111 all programs) through the online learning portal, bringing back our annual conference and adding targeted one day training.
- Provide information, referrals, training, and support to more families and youth, expanding more to underserved Houston communities of color through the addition of diverse staff.
- Improve our social media presence by contracting a social media marketer and videographer.
- Grow our Supplemental Security Income fee based assistance program, as well as increase free assistance to families of young children through a partnership with the Social Security Administration.
- Increase use of Texas Project First Website (Baseline 177249 users, 688209 pageviews/315786 unique, 233907 sessions) & increase earned income
- Increase corporate revenue streams in order to hire additional staff to help families & provide training.
Our goal is to provide parents with the necessary tools and training so they can ensure their children get a quality education so that their children with disabilities ultimately move on to further education, employment, or independent living (with or without supports) after high school. When families have information and training – they can make good decisions. When needs are met and supports are obtained, families are healthier, children benefit, and outcomes for young adults with disabilities are optimized.
When parents, along with educators and community members, come to recognize children for their abilities and not just their disabilities, they can begin to develop a vision for children’s future. Without a vision to guide them through the education and service systems, children will not receive the services needed to become successful adults.
Thank you for joining us as we look forward to another great year! Together, we are helping children soar to new heights!
Mary Jane Williams
Executive Director
