Our Principles
The Federation maintains that children and
youth with emotional, behavioral or mental
disorders-
Who we are...
• Have strengths and make valuable contributions to their families.
• Are people first and deserve the same love,
care, and attention as any other person.
The Federation Supports the
• Have a right to safely participate in
community life, live with their families, and
attend school.
• Come from diverse backgrounds and must be
treated with dignity and respect.
Youth Movement
We believe that youth and young adults have
a strong voice and we support the development of the national youth organization,
Youth M.O .V .E. (Motivating Others through
Voices of Experience).
• Must receive all the services and supports
necessary to achieve their potential.
The Federation of Families for Children's Mental
Health is a national family-run organization
linking more than 120 chapters and state organizations focused on the issues of children and
youth with emotional, behavioral, or mental
health needs and their families. It was conceived in Arlington, Virginia in February,
1989, by a group of 18 people determined to
make a difference in the way the system works.
The Families of the Federation come from all
walks of life. Emotional, behavioral or mental
health needs cut across all income, educational, geographical, racial, ethnic, and religious
groups. They are found among single parents
and two-parent families and in birth, adoptive,
and foster families.
The Federation works to develop and implement policies, legislation, funding mechanisms,
and service systems that utilize the strengths of
families. Its emphasis on advocacy offers families a voice in the formation of national policy,
services and supports for children with mental
health needs and their families.
One Voice Matters
Many voices inspire social change.
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ffcrnh.org
FEDERATION OF FAMILIES
9605 Medical Center Drive, Suite 280
Rockville, MD 20850
240-403- 190 1 Fax: 240-403-1909
ffcmh@ffcmh.org
Family Leadership for
Systems Transformation
• Defining "family-driven" for transformed systems, as named in the President's New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health Report (2003).
• Focusing on resiliency as the desired outcome
for every child, as identified in the Federal
Action Agenda (2005).
• Training families to be effective change agents,
transformat ion guides, and fiscal managers of
children's mental health systems.
Family leadership through Policy
• To identify, define, and advocate for a
nat ional policy agenda based on experiences
of children and youth with mental health
needs and their families.
Training and Technical Assistance for
Family Leadership
• To educate national policy makers about
issues affecting children and youth with mental
health needs and their families.
• Development of strong, diverse, and sustainable
family leadership is supported through the
Federation's training and technical assistance
available to communities engaged in systems
transformation.
• To develop family leadership capable of
effectively participating in establishing and
implementi ng public policies that produce
better outcomes for children and youth with
mental health needs and their families.
Family Leadership through
Research and Evaluation
• Training families and youth to use research
and evaluation to transform systems.
• Training researchers and evaluators to
partner with families and youth .
• Impacting research agendas and systems
evaluation with the real-life expertise of children and youth with mental health needs and
their families.
• Federation staff and Certified Trainers are
family leaders and lifelong learners who bring
the ir own expertise and experience to enhance
the Federation's manualized training curricula
and specialized technical assistance.
• The Catalog of training opportunities is available on-line at www.ffcmh.org.
• "Igniting a New Vision: The Developing
Journey of a Family Run Organization" is an
easy-to-use visual tool for tracking and strategizing the development of a family run organization. Based on more than 18-years of national
experience with family run organizat ions, it augments Federation training and technical assistance. See the web site or con tact the office for
orde ring information.
Please Join the National Federation
Be part of a national network of mental health
advocates.
Individual, Youth, or Family membership entitles
you to reduced registration fee for our annual
conference (Individual and Youth members
receive 1 reduced registration fee and Families
receive 2) and the opportunity to vote on issues
brought forth to the national membership by our
National Board of Directors on major policy or
organizational shifts (Individual and Youth
members get 1 vote and Families 2). In addition,
you will be added to our list-serve where you will
receive policy updates and other information
important to our work.
Chapters and State Organizations are
parent/family-run, are approved to use the name
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
in their names and are entitled to full membership privileges. Both Chapters and State
Organizations must demonstrate the capacity to
advocate on behalf of families of children and
youth with mental health needs. In addition,
State Organizations must demonstrate the capacity to link with local Chapters of the Federation
as well as individuals, youth, and family members
throughout the state they represent .
Partner Organizations represent professional
groups that support the mission and vision of the
National Federation, but are not required to be
parent/family-run.
Categories and Annual Dues:
o Individual
Family
o Youth
Partner Organizations :
o Budget less than $500K
Budget more than $500K
$20
$30
$10
o
$150
$250
o
- If you want to become a Federation Chapter or State
Or guniration , contact t he National Office at 240-4031901 for an applica tion kit.
Name:
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Organization
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Street:
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City, State, Zip:
_
Phone:
_
Work or Cell:
_
Fax:
Email:
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[J I have enclosed my check payable to
Federation of Families.
[J I have enclosed
$
as a donation.
(J Please charge my VISA/MasterCard # :
Name on Card:
Expiration
Signature:
Mail to: FFCMH
9605 Medical Center Drive, Suite 280
Rockville, MD 20850
or Fax: 240-403-1909
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