Resources for Parents
Foster Parents, and Grandparents

We have all heard the saying "It takes a village to raise a child", but for those of us raising special needs kids, that saying could be taken as the understatement of the decade....

For that reason, we have compiled this resources for parents page. We use the term parents to include biological parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, and even grandparents.

All of the sites we have included offer a vast array of information for raising special needs children. These sites offer parenting techniques, family programs, resources, information, and more. Several of these sites also have links to a variety of support groups as well.

We have not included support groups on this page of resources for parents. If you are looking for support groups, you will find them on our Support Groups page. Other than that, please browse through the special needs parenting sites below.

Should you still have a question, please send us an email and we will offer all the assistance we can. To send us an email, Click here, click on the Contact Us button to the left, or scroll to the bottom of this page, and click on the address box.

Here are the links...


NAMI - Skagit

NAMI stands for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and they are dedicated to support, education and advocacy by and for those with mental illness and their families and friends. NAMI is a national alliance, and the Skagit area chapter has just launched their website, and is busy setting up anew facility in the Mount Vernon area. They offer support groups, trainings and workshops, and host several activities during the year. Visit their site for the latest information.


Washington Assistive Technology Foundation

WATF provides low interest loans for all types of assistive devices (wheelchairs, hearing aids, computers, just to name a few) and services as well as business equipment for home-based employment. It serves individuals of all ages with disabilities of all types, including seniors with age related hearing, vision and mobility limitations. Interest rates range from 4.75 percent to 6 percent for loans up to $10,000. The program is funded through two U.S. Department of Education grants totaling $1.8 million and donations from private individuals and foundations such as the Paul Allen Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Seattle Foundation.Contact Executive Director, Frances Pennell or Program Director, Andrea Dimond or by phone at 206-328-5116.


SAMHSA’s Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma

With a new library of more than 600 resources, the improved ADS Center website features information and advice to help individuals and organizations counter discrimination and stigma associated with mental illness.

The centerpiece of the redesigned Web site is a still growing online library of research articles, brochures, fact sheets, toolkits and other resource items. Content is now organized by both topic and audience to help users quickly navigate to items that meet their needs.

Materials and playback information for more than 25 teleconference training events are archived on the site, and an interactive map showcases programs around the country that aim to reduce discrimination and stigma associated with mental illness.


Adoptive Parents Network

AdoptiveParentsNetwork.com is a site offering resources and support to adoptive and pre-adoptive families adopting through the state foster system, privately, internationally, as a step-parent or as a kinship adoptive placement.


The Fathers Network

Our mission is to celebrate and support fathers and families raising children with special health care needs and developmental disabilities. Please utilize the superb resources on this site. We also offer Father's Support Group meetings across the state.


Parent to Parent USA

Parent to Parent-USA (P2P-USA) is a national non-profit organization committed to assuring access and quality in Parent to Parent support across the country. This site highlights statewide organizations that have parent to parent support as a core program and are committed to implementing evidence-based practices.


Family Voices

Family Voices, a national grassroots network of families and friends, advocates for health care services that are family-centered, community-based, comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent for all children and youth with special health care needs; promotes the inclusion of all families as decision makers at all levels of health care; and supports essential partnerships between families and professionals.


Exceptional Parent Magazine

Our goal is simply to make a positive difference in the lives of people with disabilities and special needs and all those who are involved in their care and development. Our magazine features articles and reports on state, national, and international special needs issues, including current legislation.


Casey Family Programs

Casey Family Programs’ mission is to provide and improve—and ultimately to prevent the need for—foster care.

Established by United Parcel Service founder Jim Casey, we are a Seattle-based national operating foundation that has served children, youth, and families in the child welfare system since 1966.


Washington State Dads Network

Our mission is to support fathers and families raising children with severe emotional, behavioral, developmental, and other disabilities. We have several chapters, including South Sound, Vancouver, Eastern Washington, South King County, and of course the North Sound. We offer Dads retreat weekends, twice a year, where Dads raising special needs children can network and support one another.

*Your TRIP Webmaster is also the leader of the North Sound chapter of WADADS.*


Grandparent to Grandparent - Online support group for grandparents who have special needs grandchildren. To subscribe, send a blank email to gparenttogparentsubscribe@yahoogroups.com


National Empowerment Center

The mission of the National Empowerment Center Inc. is to carry a message of recovery, empowerment, hope and healing to people who have been labeled with mental illness. We carry that message with authority because we are a consumer/survivor/expatient-run organization and each of us is living a personal journey of recovery and empowerment. Whether on the back ward of a state mental institution or working as an executive in a corporation, we want people who are mental health consumers/survivors/expatients to know there is a place to turn to in order to receive the information they might need in order to regain control over their lives and the resources that affect their lives.


South King County Resource Group

A forum for fathers of kids with mental illness. A very detailed list of South King County resources can be found here as well. There are also news articles, and numerous discussion groups to boot.


Focus Adolescent Services

Focus/Family Help in Washington provides information and resources to empower individuals to help their teens and heal their families. Through education, self-awareness, self-help, and personal responsibility, families can rebuild their relationships and reconnect in positive and loving ways. The free availability of the Focus website reflects our commitment to disseminate knowledge to the widest possible audience.


Changes Parent Support Network

We provide support, education, and service to parents struggling with teens and adolescents who are engaging in self-destructive or acting-out behaviors such as truancy and failing grades, defiant, rebellious or out-of-control behavior, running away, drug and alcohol abuse, illegal activities, aggressive and/or addictive behaviors and attempted suicide.


Consumer Voices Are Born

Consumer Voices Are Born (CVAB) is a nonprofit mental health agency run and operated by individuals with mental illness. We are a community of people supporting one another as we promote respect, responsible citizenry and journey towards personal recovery. We are a supportive community and know through experience that each journey is personal and no one should go alone. You will find many opportunities (groups, classes, activities, volunteer opportunities) through CVAB for your journey of recovery.


Network of Care for Behavioral Health and Community Services, Clark County

Regardless of where you begin your search for assistance with behavioral-health and community-services issues, the Network of Care (Clark County) helps you find what you need - it helps ensure that there is "No Wrong Door" for those who need services.


Network of Care for Behavioral Health and Community Services, Pierce County

Regardless of where you begin your search for assistance with behavioral-health and community-services issues, the Network of Care (Pierce County) helps you find what you need - it helps ensure that there is "No Wrong Door" for those who need services.

Top of Resources for Parents

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