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MN State Governmental Agencies with Programs for Kids &
Families with Special Needs
MNDisability.gov – The new guide
to MN State Government Services for people of any age with disabilities. There
are links to state services in special education, health care,
transportation, accessibility, economic assistance – you name it! Easy to
use.
Children's Hospitals in MN
Children's Hospitals and Clinics -- In
their words, "the largest pediatric health organization in the Upper Midwest." In addition to contact
information and descriptions of all their services, there is an online
discussion forum for teens with chronic illnesses. Parts of the site are
available in Hmong, Somali, and Spanish.
Gillette Children's Hospital --
Gillette's specializes in healthcare for kids with disabilities, and the
site features information about their clinics and other programs besides
their main facility. There is also an extensive resource center, with
LOTS of information in many media (books, articles, videos, etc.) about
children's disability issues.
Shriner's
Twin Cities Hospital -- Administered by the Shriners, this
facility provides "high-quality short-term orthopedic
care"...and it's free! The site includes heartwarming patient
success stories from around the country, along with details about which
conditions are treated at the hospital.
University of Minnesota
Children’s Hospital, Fairview – With two hospital campuses, a network
of affiliated pediatric clinics, and specialist physicians and nurses in
many, many areas of children’s health, U of M Children’s Hospital – Fairview is
well-known for providing high-quality health care to kids from around the
world.
Organizations in MN for Kids
with Any (or Many) Kind of Special Needs (and their families)
Adopt A Room – Founded to
facilitate the creation of comfortable, home-like hospital rooms for
seriously ill children and their families, Adopt A Room provides a way
for companies and individuals to sponsor the construction of these
wonderful rooms – and their first two suites are now open at University
of Minnesota Children’s Hospital – Fairview. *
Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, 2006! *
Cheerful Givers – They collect
and distribute toys and gifts to children who are homeless or living with
poverty. They are based in Eagan,
MN.
Children's
Defense Fund - MN -- Advocacy, education, and training for
children's rights in Minnesota.
Community
Health Charities of Minnesota -- They bring findings of research by healthcare
nonprofit organizations to the community. A source of information for
families of special needs children.
Courage Center -- Courage Center
is known around the country for its very wide range of services for
people with disabilities of all ages. They provide physical and
occupational rehabilitation, vocational training, academic tutoring,
advocacy training, assistive technology, several camps for kids, and
more.
FirstCall
Minnesota -- Huge database of human service resources in MN.
Greater
Minneapolis Crisis Nurseries – Do you need day care for your kids
while you look for housing or work? An advocate for issues related to
your kids? Overnight care for your kids for up to 3 days while you
resolve a crisis? Or just someone to help you through a crisis? This
agency provides free emergency support services for these and similar
situations, and they have a 24-hour help line too.
Highland Friendship Club
– Based in the Highland Park area of St. Paul, MN,
they provide a wide variety of social opportunities and fun activities
for teens with and without disabilities.
InterSeed
LLC – InterSeed provides training, mentoring, and support for parents
and care providers of children with special needs. They offer a wide
variety of workshops and individualized services.
Make-a-Wish
Foundation of Minnesota -- Are you the parent, legal guardian, or
health-care provider of a child or teenager with a life-threatening
condition? Or, are you that child or teenager? The folks at Make-a-Wish
just may be able to grant a very special wish for you.
Opportunity Partners -- Comprehensive
vocational, residential, and independent living services for adults with
disabilities.
PACER
Center -- PACER is also nationally known for its services.
They have a comprehensive advocacy training center for kids with
disabilities and their parents, plus a lot of information on special
education/disability law, disability education, assistive technology,
different conditions and disorders, and lots more.
Ronald McDonald
House – They provide “homes away from home” for the families of
seriously ill children who have extended hospital stays, all over the US
and in many other countries. Also, they work with other nonprofits to
prevent child abuse and help refugees. The two MN Ronald McDonald Houses
(in Minneapolis near the U of M campus and
hospitals, and in Rochester)
do not have their own web sites, but all their contact information is
available by clicking the link above.
South Metro Therapy, LLC –
Located in New Prague, MN, South Metro Therapy provides a variety of
occupational and physical therapeutic services for children with special
needs.
Spare Key – They help make house
payments for families of children with critical illnesses.
Tender
Roots – Formerly known as Wigs Without Worry, they provide wigs and
hair care products and services for women dealing with hair loss, and
that includes young women: their youngest client came to them at age 11!
They also have a line of nutrition and health care supplements.
Wishes
& More – They grant the wishes of kids (ages birth to 18 years)
in MN with life-threatening conditions…along with Scholarships of Hope to
help meet wish kids’ eventual college expenses, and memorial gifts to
families of kids who do not live to see their wishes granted. *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, November 2004 &
February 2008!*
Adoption, Foster, and Respite
Care
Children's
Home Society of Minnesota -- Committed to the well-being of Minnesota's
children, with and without special needs. They provide respite care of
kids (including crisis nurseries), abuse prevention programs, and
adoption.
Northeast
Residence, Inc. -- They provide short-term respite care, day care,
and long-term residential care for children with developmental and other
disabilities, along with general education and support for their
families. *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient,
Nov. 2000!*
PATH in MN --
They specifically serve kids with special needs at locations throughout Minnesota,
providing foster parenting, medical, respite, therapeutic, and family
support services.
Counseling and Therapeutic
Services for Special Needs Kids and Families
Fraser
– They provide comprehensive educational and therapeutic services for
kids with special and typical needs, as well as their families. They also
provide some independent living options for adults with developmental
disabilities.
Reuben
Lindh Family Services -- Especially for inner-city children with
special needs and their families. RLFS does early childhood and parenting
education, chemical dependency aftercare, housing assistance, and
advocacy. *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient,
March 2000!*
St.
David's Child Development and Family Services -- They provide a very
broad range of services to children and families: early childhood special
and inclusive education; summer daytime activities; respite care;
physical, occupational, and music therapy for children and young adults
with special needs; parenting education and support; child and family
counseling; and more. *Jade Foundation Grant
Recipient, February 2002!*
Washburn
Child Guidance Centers -- Diagnosis, therapy, education and support
for at-risk children and families, at several locations around the Twin
Cities. *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient,
Nov. 2000!*
Schools for Children with Special Needs
Calvin
Academy -- A private school in Moundsview, MN, for students in grades
3-12 who have mental health issues, ADHD, information-processing
difficulties (such as learning disabilities), or who are gifted and/or
underachieving. They also provide counseling and free testing for certain
conditions. This school features a one-to-one student-teacher ratio
(that's right, one teacher per student!), and teachers and clinicians
work collaboratively to meet each student's special needs.
Fraser
Academy – An inclusive elementary school in Minneapolis, MN,
for children with and without special needs.
Fraser
School – An inclusive early childhood education center/preschool in Richfield, MN,
for young children with and without special needs. Special services such
as physical, occupational, speech, and music therapies are available.
Groves
Academy -- A private P-12 school in St. Louis Park, MN,
especially for students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. Also
features lots of individual attention for students.
Metro
Deaf School -- A charter P-8 school in St. Paul, MN
for students who are deaf. Also bilingual (English and ASL are taught
equally).
The
Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf -- A residential school in Faribault, MN,
especially for students who are deaf. Both English and American Sign
Language are used.
Sobriety
High -- A secondary school with campuses in Edina,
Burnsville, and Maplewood,
MN, for teens in recovery
from substance abuse. In addition to traditional high school subjects,
the curriculum includes some very interesting elective courses, and a
focus on maintaining sobriety.
Adaptive/Therapeutic Sports and Recreation
and Animal-Assisted Therapy
Bolder
Options -- They pair adults who enjoy running and biking with at-risk
kids ages 10-15, for mentorship and companionship participating in these
sports together.
Camp
Confidence/Confidence Learning Center -- Year-round recreational and
outdoor experiences for people with developmental disabilities.
Courage
Center -- In addition to all their other services, Courage Center offers lots of adaptive
sports and recreation for people with disabilities of all ages, including
skiing, horseback riding, and swimming.
Friendship
Ventures -- Educational, recreational, and social activities for
people with developmental disabilities, including Camp Friendship.
Majestic
Hills Ranch -- Therapeutic horseback riding for children with
disabilities.
MN LINC
(Minnesota Linking Individuals, Nature, & Critters) -- A
variety of animal-assisted therapy programs, primarily with dogs and
horses, for kids who are at-risk and/or have disabilities. *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, June 2001!*
North American
Riding for the Handicapped Association's Riding Centers in MN -- Here
is where to find other centers in the state devoted to therapeutic
horseback riding for kids with disabilities. NARHA has member
organizations throughout the state, including Jade
Foundation Grant Recipients Victory Riders in Rogers
(July 2000), Health Directed Riding in
Grandy (Nov. 2000), and Hoofbeats & Heartbeats
in Elk River (Jan.
2003).
No Boundaries -- They
arrange adaptive vacation and respite services for people with
disabilities.
Special
Olympics Minnesota -- Opportunities for kids with developmental
disabilities to make friends from all over the world and build self-confidence
through a wide variety of sports.
Wilderness
Inquiry -- They help people with disabilities enjoy the outdoors in
MN. Resources include an online guidebook to universal access to MN state
parks.
Arts Organizations for People with
Disabilities
Family
Institute for Creative Well-Being -- Art therapy and involvement in
the arts for families of people with disabilities.
Fraser
Music Therapy Program – Primarily for children under 7 years,
Fraser’s Music Therapy Program is part of their Rehabilitative Services.
MacPhail
Center for the Arts Music Therapy Program – They provide music
therapy, in individual or group settings, for everyone from babies to
adults. Board-certified music therapists tailor the therapeutic program
to each student’s special needs.
Reuben
Lindh Family Services Music Therapy Program – Reuben Lindh provides
music therapy as part of its Unified Therapies program. * Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, March 2000!*
Upstream
Arts – They help young people with disabilities to improve their
social and vocational skills and independence through learning about and
participating in the creative arts.
VSArts of MN --
Involvement in the arts and art education for people with disabilities.
They have a number of school partnerships and other programs just for
kids. *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, Dec.
1999!*
Disorder- or Condition-Specific
Organizations in MN
These organizations provide support,
community, education, and advocacy for people with particular conditions
and their families. Any additional services are noted too. You can sign
up to volunteer for many of the organizations or donate securely to them
right on their websites too.
Arthritis:
Arthritis
Foundation of Minnesota -- The North Central chapter of the Arthritis
Foundation. They have offices in St. Paul,
Thief River
Falls, and Duluth, and an online discussion forum
for young adults with arthritis. Also, the AF's Juvenile Arthritis page
has lots of helpful, supportive information especially for young people
with arthritis and their families.
Attention
Deficit Disorder:
Attention
Deficits Support Services of MN
Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Autism Society
of Minnesota
Fargo Moorhead
Families for Early Autism Treatment
Birth Defects:
March of Dimes Minnesota
Chapter
Blindness/Low Vision:
American
Council of the Blind of Minnesota
Brain Injury:
Brain Injury Association of Minnesota
Cancer (any kind):
American
Cancer Society -- The MN chapter doesn't have its own website, but
its contact information is available from the main ACS page. (For
specifics on leukemia and lymphoma, see the link further down.)
Cerebral palsy:
United Cerebral Palsy of
MN
United
Cerebral Palsy of Central MN
Chemical dependency/substance abuse
recovery:
Minnesota
Recovery Page -- Not just a single agency, but a listing of all kinds
of recovery groups in MN!
Cystic
fibrosis:
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
of MN
Deafness/hearing loss:
Self-Help
for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH)
Twin Cities
Deaf Community News and Events
DeafBlindness:
DeafBlind
Services of MN
Minnesota
DeafBlind Association
Developmental disabilities:
The
Arc of MN
Diabetes:
International Diabetes Center
Down Syndrome:
Down Syndrome
Association of MN
Epilepsy/seizure disorders:
Epilepsy
Foundation of MN
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effect (FAS/FAE):
MN
Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (MOFAS) -- *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, June 2001!*
Learning disabilities:
Learning Disabilities Association
(LDA) Minnesota
Leukemia and Lymphoma:
Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society
Lupus:
Lupus
Foundation of America -- MN Chapter
Mental illness:
MN
Association for Children's Mental Health
National
Association for the Mentally Ill - MN Chapter (NAMI-MN) -- *Jade Foundation Grant Recipient, January 2003!*
Multiple Sclerosis (MS):
National MS Society --
MN Chapter
Speech and hearing disorders:
MN
Speech-Language-Hearing Association -- They also help people with
swallowing and balance disorders.
Tourette Syndrome:
Tourette
Syndrome Association -- The MN Chapter doesn't have its own
website, but full contact information is available from the national
site.
Turner's Syndrome:
Turner's
Syndrome Association -- Again, the MN Chapter doesn't have its own
website, but you can find full contact information on the national site.
****More links are added to this section
from time to time, so check back often!****
This is only a sample of resources in Minnesota for kids
with special needs. Don't see what you need here? Go to the Minnesota Online Special Needs
Directory, created and maintained by the Jade Foundation Webmaster as a companion to the
Jade Foundation site. Over 1370 listings available at a glance, with
complete contact information, representing all regions of Minnesota and a
very broad range of disability- or condition-specific organizations along
with general human services. It will be updated soon too.
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