Colleagues;

I am director of Policy and Program Affairs at the Institute for Child
Health Policy at the University of Florida.  We are working on the issue
of health care transition of youth and young adults with disabilities
and special health care needs.

I would like to learn about what you are doing to help assure that youth
and young adults with cerebral palsy are ready and able to transition to
adult health care services when they so choose.

I would also like to let you know about a new e-mail Special Interest
Group (SIG) that focuses on the issue of health care transition.  The
purpose of this e-mail SIG is to facilitate networking and the exchange
of ideas and information among health care professionals, youth and
adults with special health needs, their family members, policy makers,
insurers, and others with knowledge and experience in the transition
from child-centered (pediatric) to adult-oriented health care.

To participate in this list, send a blank e-mail message to:

[log in to unmask]

or

Send your name and e-mail address to me directly at [log in to unmask]

Please do not reply to this message.

If you would like to learn more about work now being carried out in the
area of transition for youth with special health care needs, I invite
you to visit our Healthy and Ready to Work Web Page at:

www.mchbhrtw.org

Resources on that site that may be of special interest are:

Draft 10-year Healthy and Ready to Work/Transition Plan
This document was developed by a workgroup convened by the US Federal
Maternal and Child Health Bureau, as part of a larger effort to develop
a 10 year plan for achieving core outcomes for children and youth with
special health care needs.
http://www.mchbhrtw.org/hp2010instructions.htm

Growing Up and Getting Medical Care:  Proceedings of the 1989 Surgeon
General's Conference
This document articulates the transition-related issues of services,
financing of care, training of staff, and research; and provides
recommendations for action that are, I believe, as valid today as they
were more than 10-years ago.
http://www.mchbhrtw.org/Meetings/Transition'99/proceedings/conf89.html

Transition Revolution: You Can Make It Happen in Health Care:  Executive
Summary
http://www.mchbhrtw.org/Meetings/Transition'99/index.html

Health Care Transition for Youth:  Annotated Bibliography
http://www.mchbhrtw.org/bibliography.htm

Please forward this invitation to others with experience or interest in
health care transition for youth and young adults with special needs.

The Transition e-mail network became operational on Noverber 13, 2000
and now has more than 600 members.

This new e-mail SIG is a service of two projects that focus on the
transition of youth with special health needs:  the Center for Policy
and Partnerships Healthy and Ready to Work initiative, which is funded
by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau; and the Consortium for
Children and Youth with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs'
Promising Practices in Health Care Transition initiative, which is
funded by the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation
Research.

Thank you

John G. Reiss, Ph.D.
Director, Policy and Program Affairs, Institute for Child Health Policy
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Florida
5700 SW 34th Street, Suite 323     Gainesvillle, Fl 32608
352-392-5904; FAX 392-8822
e-mail  [log in to unmask]