Supporting Families With Special Kids

For families of children with disabilities, having access to quality and affordable resources and peer support without leaving home is more than a "nice to have" it is a critical need.

Raising Special Kids, one of 100 Parent Training and Information centers in the United States, has been supporting Arizona families of children with disabilities and special needs for more than 20 years. Last year more than 10,000 families turned to Raising Special Kids for information and resource referral, parent-to-parent support, and parent leadership development.

Executive Director Joyce Millar-Hoie, parent of a disabled child as well as a dedicated and creative leader, was looking for a way to use the Raising Special Kids web site to provide information and referrals to families more quickly and effectively.

NPower first helped Raising Special Kids assess their current web site and develop a re-design plan. The web consultants asked key questions, listened carefully, and were able to translate complicated technology language to a non-techie level.

Project Director Peggy Storrs and her co-workers determined that the new web site would need to meet three important criteria:

• Showcase the Raising Special Kids' mission and story in an easy-to-read, family friendly, and professional way
• Allow their multiple audiences (i.e. families, professionals, policy makers) to access relevant information as quickly as possible
• Allow for easy maintenance and management by internal staff members.

One these important objectives were laid out, the team could work together to create a site that met the needs of both site users and site managers.

The Raising Special Kids web site is now a sound educational tool that links families with almost 50 other sites and facilitates anonymous access of information from home.

The interactive web site incorporates logos and images that convey the brand and tell the story of Raising Special Kids. The site's efficient navigation system categorizes the wealth of resources available so that specific and relevant information can be more quickly accessed by the organization's diverse audiences.

Millar-Hoie and Storrs are equally pleased with the new content management system that allows them to update the web site with no knowledge of HTML.

Storrs is grateful for the ongoing coaching, training, and hands-on assistance provided by NPower staff and looks forward to their help with initiating on-line fundraising and training. Perhaps newsletter editor Jeri Haaven-Pester best captures everyone's sense of satisfaction when she says, "I'm excited to have the increased capacity to better serve and empower our families."