Related Links

The following links connect to sites that offer information, resources, and programs aimed at the health, education, and development of children and their families. To suggest other links relevant to these issues please contact the WSU Children's Bridge.

Child Trends

Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan children's research organization. They collect and analyze data; conduct, synthesize, and disseminate research; design and evaluate programs; and develop and test promising approaches to research in the field. Founded in 1979, Child Trends is supported by foundations, government agencies, private organizations, and individual donors. Child Trends has achieved a reputation as one of the nation's leading sources of credible data and high-quality research on children. In keeping with its mission to improve the lives of children, Child Trends is committed to sharing the results of its research and analysis with those who set policy, provide services, fund programs, launch studies, and shape opinions related to children and their families. To connect directly to the Child Trends DataBank, click here.

Children's Environmental Health Network

The Children's Environmental Health Network is a national, multi-disciplinary organization, whose mission is to protect the fetus and child from environmental health hazards and promote a healthy environment. This Web Site provides information about the Network, children's environmental health, and links to sources of information and resources.

Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan

Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan (CLF) is a statewide organization which provides information, financial assistance, and emotional support to families of adults and children affected by leukemia, lymphoma, and other related blood disorders.

Children's Research Center of Michigan

The Children's Research Center of Michigan promotes knowledge in the art and science of medicine in order to improve methods to prevent, cure, and treat childhood diseases. Consisting of researchers from Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit Medical Center, and Wayne State University's School of Medicine, CRCM provides an environment that supports scientific inquiry training for biomedical researchers, including clinicians, basic science investigators, postdoctoral fellows, residents, and graduate students.


Early On Michigan

Early On Michigan is a system designed to coordinate early intervention and other services for families who have children (ages 0 - 3) experiencing developmental delays or who have disabilities or special needs. Early On Michigan services include: Speech pathology, audiology, occupational therapy, psychological services, service coordination, diagnostic medical services, early identification, screening, assessment services, health services, nursing services, social work services, vision services, special equipment, nutritional counseling, transportation, counseling (family, group, individual), family skills training, home visits, and special instruction.

Easter Seals of Michigan

Easter Seals provides services to children and adults with disabilities and other special needs, and support to their families.

Family Voices

Partnering with professionals and families to advocate for health care services that are family-centered, community-based, comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent

The Guidance Center

The Guidance Center is a behavioral health and human services organization dedicated to the mental well being of children, adults, and families in Wayne County. Services are delivered with excellence and professionalism in an atmosphere of caring, hope, and respect. Among its services are early intervention services for infants, parenting skills, substance abuse and mental health counseling, literacy and job training. For a list of locations, click here.

Head Start

Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive child development programs that serve children from birth to age 5, pregnant women, and their families. These programs are child-focused programs and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families. Michigan Head Start

Healthy Families America

HFA is a national initiative that helps parents of newborns get their children off to a healthy start. The initiative promotes positive parenting as well as child health and development, thereby preventing child abuse, neglect and other poor childhood outcomes.

Kids Count

KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. This organization seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children, by providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well being. Along with a wealth of information about issues affecting children, this site offers access to census data related to a wide variety of demographic information about American families and children. For direct access to the KIDS COUNT Data Census Online, click here.

Lekotek

Lekotek is about kids - kids with special needs. Like all kids, children with special needs love to play. Lekotek makes the world of play accessible to children with all types of disabilities through special play and learning centers where they can have fun with traditional toys, adapted toys, books and computers. And while they are playing, Lekotek kids are learning new skills that build the base for literacy, mathematical reasoning and computer use. Lekotek recognizes that raising a child with special needs is a family affair that puts demands on parents, siblings, caregivers, and extended family members. At Lekotek, families learn fun, creative and healthy ways to play together and to include their children into family and community activities. Families may borrow adapted and traditional toys, books and software from Lekotek toy lending libraries for use at home.

Michigan Association for Children with Emotional Disorders

The Michigan Association for Children with Emotional Disorders, has helped families statewide dealing with the difficulties they face each day when there is a child in the family with an emotional disorder.

Michigan Association for the Education of Children

The Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children (MiAEYC) is committed to improving the education and welfare of children from birth through age eight. MiAEYC works for young children, their families, and early childhood professionals.

Michigan Center for the Environment & Children's Health (MCECH)

The Michigan Center for the Environment & Children's Health (MCECH - pronounced "M-Check") is one of 12 "Centers of Excellence for Children's Environmental Health" funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). MCECH is a community-based participatory research initiative which is seeking to investigate the environmental, pathophysiological and clinical mechanisms of childhood asthma and to evaluate comprehensive community and household level interventions aimed at reducing asthma-related environmental threats to children, families and neighborhoods.

Michigan's Children

The staff of Michigan's Children follow a variety of legislative activities related to children's issues in Michigan, including standing committee meetings and the state appropriations process. With direct access to legislators and staff, Michigan's Children has up-to-date information on children's issues.

Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health

MCMCH provides information on maternal and child health advocacy in Michigan, along with alerts and bulletins on breaking issues, background information, plus links and contact information for legislators, policymakers and other advocacy organizations.

Michigan Department of Community Health

Michigan's Department of Community Health (MDCH) strives for a healthier Michigan. To that end, the department promotes access to the broadest possible range of quality services and supports, takes steps to prevent disease, promote wellness and improved quality of life, and strives for the delivery of those services and supports in a fiscally prudent manner. This site offers a wide variety of links to information, articles, brochures, statistics, and news releases

Michigan Ready to Succeed Partnership

The Michigan Ready to Succeed Partnership is a statewide initiative to ensure that all Michigan children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life. This partnership brings together leaders in business, education, faith, government, health, labor, media, and philanthropy to promote the vision of readiness for success for every Michigan child.

Michigan Safe Kids

The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the first and only national organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury - the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. Most of these injuries are due to motor vehicle crashes, falls, fires, drowning, bicycle crashes, firearm discharges, sporting-related incidents and poisoning. This campaign stresses that these injuries are preventable through increased use of safety equipment, environmental modification, and behavior changes.

Michigan State University Extension Centers

The MSU Extension Centers offer a variety of local programs designed to meet the ever-changing needs of families. These programs focus on building stronger relationships and better communication within families. For direct access to the Macomb County Extension Center, click here.

National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)

The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization at Columbia University. Their mission is to identify and promote strategies that prevent child poverty in the United States and that improve the lives of low-income children and families. NCCP has developed a national reputation for policy analysis, academic research, and demographic statistics. They promote the broader understanding that a family’s financial situation affects how children develop, their readiness to succeed in school, and ultimately, their ability to create better lives for themselves.

Penrickton Center for Blind Children

Penrickton Center for Blind Children is a unique, private non-profit agency, providing five-day residential, day care, and consultation/evaluation services to blind, multi-disabled children ages one through twelve. Each program is individually designed to promote independence in all aspects of daily living. Penrickton Center utilizes its experience and expertise to train and serve families, children and professionals through support services, education and advocacy.

Prevent Child Abuse America

Prevent Child Abuse America (formerly the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse) is one of the nation's leading child abuse prevention organization. PCA America is committed to preventing child abuse in all its forms — physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse — by working at national, state and local levels.

Project Perform

Project Perform provides information and support to enable families, professionals, and advocates to enhance outcomes for Michigan children with special needs. Building on the vision that all families should have easy accessibility to the information and support needed to maximize their children's potential in their communities, this site provides links to a wide variety of resources.

Special Education News

Special Education News answers a need in education for in-depth, timely news related to educating students with disabilities. The Web site and newsletter are journalistic publications centered on news from the special education field. The Web site is also designed to offer unique resources to special education professionals in one convenient place. These resources include places for educators and others to exchange their views, find links to important information at other sites on the Web, and keep track of news and events across the country.