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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, Wisconsin Family Leadership Institute
  • Advocacy for Change Conference
  • Policy Topics
  • Advocacy Toolkit

WiFLI, Wisconsin Family Leadership Institute

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.

Go to the WiFLI page

Advocacy for Change Conference

Our advocacy event will increase your advocacy skills and connect you with your state legislators.

Go to the Advocacy for Change page

Policy Topics

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?

March 2019  Budget Priorities for Children with Disabilities

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

Disability Resource Center for Children and Families

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.

Learn More

Materials to Use in Your Advocacy

Legislative Leave Behind with Policy Priorities

Suggested Issue Talking Points

2022 Policy Priorities

2022 Talking Points

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.

Advocacy Toolkit

Telling Your Family Story

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

Telling Your Story-A Guide for Families

Examples of Family Testimony

Working with Elected Officials

Learn how to build lasting partnerships with your legislators.

Who represents me at the State Capital?

Who are my Elected officials?

How can I Connect with Members of Congress? 

Developing Your Message for Legislators (video, 9 minutes)

Developing Your Message Worksheet

Tips for Virtual Meetings with Legislators

Serving on Committees

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

State-Level Committees and Councils

Serving on Groups that Make Decisions: A Guide for Families

PO Box 5070, Madison, WI 53705 info@fvofwi.org