Wisconsin families provide one of the state's greatest strengths. As the "constant" in the child's life, the family can provide the love, security and long-term support needed by children with special health care needs. One of the goals of the Southeast Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs is to promote family-to-family support networks to assure that all individuals have access to support services in their community.

To meet this goal, the Southeast Regional Center is actively working to identify and support opportunities in their communities. This is accomplished through the development of the County Parent Liaisons network, the identification of resources that empower parents such as local family support groups, parent newsletters, listservs, and sponsorship of trainings by the Center. For information in Spanish on how to start a support group click here.

In addition, nearly 100% of the staff of the Southeast Regional Center are parents of children with special health care needs. They can provide one on one support to families, a listening ear from someone who's been there, and connections to resources. Recognizing that there is a continuum of parent opportunities that range from "distant" (listservs) to interpersonal (one on one matching), staff can help parents identify and express what would be most helpful to them at any point in time.