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PASSAGES    
525 W. 2nd Ave  Spokane, WA  99201    
passages@voaspokane.org      (509) 892-9241

Passages

Life is no straight and easy
corridor along
which we travel free and
unhampered,
but a maze of passages,
through which we must
seek our way,
lost and confused, now and
again
checked in a blind alley.
But always, if we have
faith,
A door will open for us,
Not perhaps one that we
ourselves
Would ever have thought of
But one that will ultimately
Prove good for us.

- A. J. Cronin
Passages
Spokane
Our vision:  Empowering parents of seriously
emotionally disturbed children and adolescents
through support, education, and advocacy.
Learn more
about our
program
on the
"About us"
page.
.
                 What's new, and upcoming events . . . .
First Call For Help Crisis Services:
(509) 838-4428

In an emergency call 911
RESEARCH NEWS:   "Brain Maturity May Lag in Children with ADHD" - as reported in the
latest issue (spring 2008) of
NAMI Beginnings.  For more information on this article, click here.

NIMH Perspective on Diagnosing and Treating Bipolar Disorder in Children
Click here to read this update.

                                                                                                

Passed along from Ron Anderson:  The Ten Fundamental Components of Recovery
News from Becky . .





New DSHS Medical Program Smoking Cessation Benefit

Beginning July 1, 2008, the Department of Social and Health (DSHS) medical programs’
coverage will expand to include a new smoking cessation benefit for clients.
For more information about the Medicaid cessation benefit, call the DSHS at 1-800-562-
3022.  For more information about the Tobacco Quit Line, visit
www.Quitline.com

Are you participating in the Food Stamp
program?  Check out  information (and
frequently asked questions) about this
program
here.

Becky has suggested a great website with
information helpful to parents whose children
have IEPs:  
www.teamchild.org

*See especially "Make a difference in a child's life:
A manual for helping children and youth get what
they need in school", found
here.
The Research and Training Center (RTC) on Family
Support and Children's Mental Health has a page listing
children's mental health links.  Find it
here.

Also check out the RTC home page for more good
information on children's mental health:
www.rtc.pdx.edu
Help for adoptive parents:  see this
website:    
http://AdoptiveParentsNetwork.com

A parent advocacy brief,  "A Parent's Guide to Response-to-Intervention (RTI)" can be found on the
National Center for Learning Disabilities website:  
www.LD.org

To find the brief, click "Advocacy Center" under the "Our Programs" menu at the left of the home
page, then scroll down to "A Parent's Guide . . . "  
Also note that information about the "No Child Left
Behind" act is available at this website:  
www.ed.gov  
   
Click on "No Child Left Behind" at the top right of the
home page.            

And note that information about the Office of Civil
Rights can be found at their  website,
here.
Click here for information about
Youth 'N Action
The state RCWs pertaining to
Mental Health can be found
here
Click here for more information about the
Washington State
Mental Health Transformation Project
"Parents work hard to provide for their families.
Sometimes they need a little help. ParentHelp123
can help you find out if your family may qualify
for health insurance and food programs in
Washington State!"

Go to www.ParentHelp123.org
   Where to find it on the web . . .
Registration for the Fall 2008 Children's Mental Health Forum is currently
open, and filling fast. The Mental Health Division would like to invite anyone who is
involved in children's mental health in Washington State to participate in this all-day
event. Registration will close on September 4th or when completely full.


What: Children's Mental Health Fall Forum 2008
When: Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Time: 10:00am - 3:30pm*
Cost:  Free (requires registration in advance)
Location: Hilton Seattle/SeaTac, across from the Airport

*Sign-in & breakfast open at 9:30am. Day includes seated lunch.

You can also download/print out the registration form from the website below:

http://depts.washington.edu/washinst/
Please join us for Partnership to Support Parenting, a
parent/professional collaboration that provides new skills and tools for
creating respectful, productive, healthy parent/child relationships.  For
more information, click
here.