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Data Provided By
Lycoming County United Way
General Information
Description of Agency
Provides emotional and informational support to families of children who have special needs, most notably by matching parents seeking support with an experienced, trained 'Support Parent'. Most Parent to Parent programs are cross-disability, special health care need and mental health challenges, offering a wide range of support including children who have AIDS, severe behavioral and emotional challenges, and/or children with acquired disabilities or who are born prematurely
History
"The first formally organized Parent to Parent program, the Pilot Parents Program, was started in Omaha, NE by a young mother of a child with Down syndrome. She worked closely with a social worker at the Greater Omaha Arc who shared her vision of a program to foster 1-1 connections between parents. The program grew rapidly and within a few years the founders received a federal grant to train others to replicate the Pilot Parent model. Parent to Parent programs began to spring up nationwide, fueled by the energies and commitments of parents who believed fervently in their importance."
