Me a Family Leader? Yes. You!
You advocate for your child with special health care needs every day. Take your experience and work with other parents, caregivers and professionals to make sure that the voice of families is heard when policy decisions are made.
Start Your Advocacy Journey:
WiFLI is a leadership experience for families who have children with disabilities or special health care needs. Four Saturday sessions will build your leadership, communication and teamwork skills to shape change.
Families benefit when there is one reliable, statewide source for trustworthy and accurate information. Wisconsin’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) offer this for adults, but there is no statewide, coordinated effort to connect families who have children with disabilities to the supports and services they need.
Our advocacy event will increase your advocacy skills and connect you with your state legislators.
We monitor changes in state and federal law and advocate for policies that benefit families with disabilities. And, we join with coalitions that advocate for health and disability issues.
Budget and Policy Items that We're Tracking
May 2022 • 2022 Policy Priorities
March 2021 •Disability Resource Center for Children and Families Proposal
March 2021 • Family Voices Budget Summary for Children’s Issues
January 2021 • Survival Coalition Budget Priorities 2021-2023
January 2021 • State Budget Update
August 2020 • Issues that Impact People with Disabilities (background for Nov 2020 Election Candidates)
June 2020 • The Impact of School Closures on Families and Students with Disabilities
March 12, 2020 • Supports for Children with Disabilities
March 12, 2020 • Policy Priorities for Children with Disabilities and Their Families
July 19, 2019 • Impact of 2019-2021 State Budget on People with Disabilities
June 6, 2019 • Important Budget Updates for Children with Disabilities
March 1, 2019 • Statement on Governor Evers Proposed Budget for Children with Disabilities.
March 2, 2019 • State Budget Summary – What’s In the Governor’s Budget?
Materials to Use in Your Advocacy
Survival Coalition
The Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations is comprised of more than 40 state and local disability organizations. For more than 20 years, Survival has focused on changing and improving policies and practices that support people with disabilities of all ages to be full participants in community life. See current updates here.
Council for Children with Long-Term Support Needs
Nearly 10,000 children in Wisconsin have disabilities requiring long-term support. The Council for Children with Long-Term Support (CLTS) Needs is charged with making recommendations to the Secretary to ensure consistent statewide services address the needs of these children and their families. You can read the latest recommendations here.
March 2019 • Recommendations for Family Support and Disability Resource Centers
March 2019 • CLTS Council 2019 – 2021 Budget Recommendations
January 2019 • Map of Children’s Long-Term Support Enrollment and Waitlist
Use your story to make a positive impact in your community.
Families as Advocates and Change Agents (video 15 minutes)
Your Voice Counts! Advocacy and Storytelling
Learn how to build lasting partnerships with your legislators.
Who represents me at the State Capital?
How can I Connect with Members of Congress?
Developing Your Message for Legislators (video, 9 minutes)
Take your advocacy journey to the next level by becoming part of a team to create change.
Ways to Engage in Systems Change
Advisory Roles Families Can Play