SCDHEC: Division Of Children With Special Health Care Needs: Parent Resources

Children With Special Health Care Needs

Parent Resouces

CRS Parent Resource Coordination
Parent Resource Specialists provide parent to parent support, community information and resources to the CRS patient and their families. They are unique among CRS staff since each is the parent of a child with special health needs.

Parent Advisory Council
The Parent Advisory Council was begun in the late 1980's by a CRS Social Worker. In 1990 it became a working council, assisting the Division in planning and evaluating service delivery. In 1992, the Maternal Child Health Block Grant gave support for having such councils, to help assure family-centered care. Since 1992, the Council has increased in size from one parent per health region to two parents per region.

Since 1992, the Council has produced a quarterly newsletter "Children are Special" written by families for families of children with special health care needs. The Council has designed a Family Information Packet, a Personal Medical History Folder, adapted a coloring book for use in all the regions, and has sent parents to various conferences and trainings. The first Parent Satisfaction Survey measuring results was completed by parents who visit the CRS Clinics, with Parent Advisors. Each health region in the state has one Advisory Council member (Parent Resource Specialist) working in the clinics, helping clinic personnel, as well as connecting with families. It is the hope of the Council that families will find that having a parent to connect with and talk with will help services be even more family-centered than before.

Parent Resource Specialists

REgion	Counties	Name	Telephone
Region 1	Anderson, Oconee, Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, Greenwood, McCormick, Saluda	Teresa Griffin or Mary Gambrell	(864)260-5559 (864)227-5938
Region 2	Greenville, Pickens, Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union	Debbie Gaines or Tracey Channell	(864)282-4300 or (864)596-3308
Region 3	Chester, Lancaster, York, Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Richland	Janet Jones or Cheyenne Leitzsey	(803)286-9948 or (803)929-6405
Region 4	Chestefield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion, Marlboro, Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, Sumter	Kathi Gulledge or Becky Brown or Veronica Hodge	(843)661-4835 or (803)773-5511
Region 5	Bamberg, Calhoun, Orangeburg, Aiken, Allendale, Barnwell	Hope Jamison, or Suman Rani Marks	(803)536-9060 or (803)642-1651
Region 6	Georgetown, Horry, Williamsburg	Dena Crenshaw	(843)365-3136
Region 7	Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester	Sheila Dull	(843)792-3561
Region 8	Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, Jasper	Elone Wilkerson	(843)525-4075

Parent Newsletters
The CRS "Children are Special" Newsletter is a quarterly publication written by parents, for parents and families of children with special health care needs. The Parent Advisory Council chooses the focus for each edition of the newsletter.

Care Line
No one better than a parent of a child with a disability understands the frustrations of needing services and not knowing where to turn to get them. The Care Line has a parent of a child with special needs on staff to answer questions and to direct calls to appropriate agencies or resources. The Care Line also:

Provides valuable information for parents, family members, caregivers, friends, educators, and medical professionals who interact with children who have disabilities.
Acts as a central starting point for information and resources.
Assists families in finding a Medical Home (regular doctor).
Connects families with support groups or one-on-one support from another parent of a child with a similar disability.
Has many statewide resources for families.

Call and ask to speak to the CRS Parent Resource Specialist at 1-800-868-0404.

Links To Other Resources