Family Voices of Wisconsin

08/27/2026

📣 Are you ready to build or grow your advocacy skills?

Join WiFLI’s FREE Fall & Winter Virtual Advocacy Series!

Your voice matters. Your experiences matter. 💙

Decision-makers need to hear from families and communities when making the decisions, policies, and changes that impact our lives. This series will help you build confidence, strengthen your voice, and turn your experiences into meaningful advocacy.

💻 5 Virtual Sessions
🕕 6:00 PM

You will explore topics including advocacy in uncertain times, finding and using your voice, community advocacy, legislative advocacy, and strategic thinking in advocacy.

Learn. Connect. Take Action.

Click the link in the comments or scan the QR code to REGISTER TODAY!

08/27/2026

Back-to-school check-in! 🎒

What is one thing you wish your child’s school team knew about supporting their health, disability, or individual needs?

As families begin or prepare for a new school year, we know that children with special health care needs often have additional routines, supports, accommodations, or health needs to consider.

Sometimes learning from other families and sharing ideas, experiences, and strategies can be one of the best ways to support a successful school year for everyone. 💙

08/26/2026

Families are at the table. 🧡

Our team at Family Voices of Wisconsin is part of many projects, committees, workgroups, and partnerships across the state and beyond. Each one is an opportunity to bring family voice and lived experience to the conversations shaping programs, services, research, and supports for children and families.

Today, we are highlighting THRIVE—a research project exploring how the networks that support caregivers of children with chronic neurological conditions may impact caregiver well-being and health outcomes.

Together with national partners, American Family Children’s Hospital is studying caregiver support networks for children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, and genetic and metabolic disorders.

💬 Our role? To help elevate the voices of families at the table and support meaningful involvement of people with lived experience throughout the project.

We are truly proud to be part of work that recognizes families as essential partners in research—not just participants.

Learn more about THRIVE:

The THRIvE study wants to understand how the group of people who help care for a child can impact a child’s health and well-being. What does “THRIvE” stand for? THRIvE — Teamwork and Healthy Relationships Improving Engagement in Caregiving Where is this study taking place? The THRIvE study i...

08/25/2026

What’s After High School? 🎓
Join us with WAuTD to talk about it!

As a proud partner of the Wisconsin Autism Transition Demonstration Project (WAuTD), we are thrilled to be part of a project that is all about learning, connecting, exploring, and having fun together!

And this week, we are talking about one of our favorite topics. ✨

Join us on August 27 for "What’s After High School?” as we kick off our Learning Sessions season! Explore what's possible after high school, connect with other families, and find information to help plan for the future.

There are two time slots for you to join us:
💻 12:00 PM – Virtual
💻 8:00 PM – Virtual

Whether you are looking for information, connection, or a chance to meet other families on a similar journey, we can't wait to have you with us!

👉 Click the link in the comments to register.

Have questions or want to learn more about WAuTD? Reach out to Tim at [email protected].

See you on Thursday! 💙

08/25/2026

💜 Thank you for making Family Day so special! 🌸

We are still smiling thinking about our time together at Family Day, hosted by Nurture Network at Lotus Center!

We would like to extend a big thank you to each family, exhibitor, partner, and volunteer who helped make the day such a welcoming and joyful experience. 🌿

Seeing families connect, explore resources, share stories, make new friends, and simply enjoy being together in such a beautiful, accessible space was the perfect way to spend a Saturday—and exactly what the Nurture Network is all about, creating opportunities for families of children with high support needs to find connection, community, friendship, mentorship, and support.

Thank you for showing up and being part of this community.
We’re so grateful for each of you! 💜

08/21/2026

💡Fast Fact Friday & Title V Partner Spotlight!

For families of children and youth with special health care needs, connecting with another family who understands firsthand can be a powerful source of support. Peer support can help families feel less alone, share experiences, find resources, and build confidence as they navigate their journey. 🤝

That’s why we are excited to highlight two Wisconsin resources that help make those connections possible:

💙 Connecting Families provides peer support for families of children and youth with special health care needs across Wisconsin. Through support groups, community partnerships, and statewide collaboration, they help families connect with others who understand their experiences, reduce isolation, and build community.

💙 Parent 2 Parent of Wisconsin connects parents one-to-one with another parent who has firsthand experience with the feelings, challenges, and realities that can come with raising a child with special needs.

We are grateful to work alongside organizations like Connecting Families and Parent to Parent of Wisconsin to help build a stronger, more connected network of support for Wisconsin families. 🌱

Want to learn more about the incredible work these organizations do?
🔗 https://connectingfamilies.waisman.wisc.edu/
🔗 https://www.p2pwi.org/

08/21/2026

Calling parents and caregivers who have been through guardianship! 💬

We are putting the finishing touches on a new learning session about guardianship and other adulthood decision-making tools, and we want to include the experiences of families who have been there.

🔸If you are a parent or caregiver who has gone through the guardianship process, what surprised you most?
🔸Was there something you wish you had known from the beginning?
🔸Share a tip that helped along the way?
🔸What is something you learned through the process that you think another family would find helpful?

Sometimes the best advice comes from someone who has walked the same path. Your experience could help another family feel a little more prepared and a little less alone.

We would love to hear from you!

Comment below or send us a private message. We will share the experiences and insights we hear with other families, but names will not be shared. 🧡

08/21/2026

If you’re the parent or caregiver of a teen or young adult with a disability, have you started thinking about what life will look like after high school? 💭

Maybe you’re wondering what supports will be available as your child gets older. Maybe you’re thinking about employment, community life, independence, relationships, or how your child will make more of their own decisions. Or maybe you’re not sure where to start — and that’s okay.

Planning for adulthood takes time, and you don’t have to figure it out alone. 💙

Future Ready: Planning for Adulthood is an engaging, structured workshop for teens and young adults with disabilities, ages 14–21, and their families. It’s an opportunity to look ahead, explore possibilities, and create a plan for the transition to adult life.

Join us to:
✨ Identify next steps for the years ahead
✨ Develop an understanding of adult services
✨ Build self-determination skills
✨ And more!

We have two upcoming opportunities for you to join!

📍 October 3–4 | Tundra Lodge | Green Bay
📍 November 14–15 | Concourse Hotel | Madison

Future Ready may be covered through CLTS or IRIS. Talk with your coordinator to learn more.

Whether you are just beginning to think about adulthood or already wondering, “What do we need to do next?” — Joining us at Future Ready is a great place to start. 💙

Learn more and register: familyvoiceswi.org/transition-workshop

08/18/2026

08/17/2026

As we approach the first day of school, our partners at WI FACETS are sharing some excellent tips to ease the transition for children with special needs. Take a look at some of the ways you can stay organized and ready for a successful school year.

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