Our Family Leadership Action Network (FLAN) is an initiative designed to promote parent involvement and build family leadership to create an organized family voice through active participation in shaping the system that impacts their lives and their children's future. This proactive network of families promotes the family perspective and their contributions in influencing policies and the programs that affect them.
FLAN celebrates the diversity that is created from each family's strengths and knowledge while working for positive, purposeful policy changes that eliminate stereotyping and assumptions. Our Family Leadership Action Network pools the resources of volunteer groups within our organization to connect, support and build capacity among all families in our state.
FLAN opens doors to new opportunities as we come together to share ideas, ponder possibilities and take action to bring positive changes for our children and young adults.
We are single drops of rain falling silently into the dust, offering scant promise of moisture to the thirsty land. But together, we can nourish the earth and revive its hopes and dreams. Together, we are a THUNDERSTORM!
Parents Reaching Out connects one family with another through a variety of groups designed to meet their interests and needs. Our Family Leadership Action Network includes:
To learn more about our Family Leadership Action Network click on any of the links in the sections below or, contact: FLAN@parentsreachingout.org
Parents Reaching Out was founded on strength and knowledge that comes when one parent connects with another parent who is willing to share what they have learned on their journey. Our Parent to Parent volunteers have the capacity and willingness to help other parents by sharing their feelings, experiences and information to make a difference.
We mentor families who are willing to share what they have learned to improve outcomes for children in New Mexico. It is our hope that they will become leaders in their community as resources to other parents and serve as active participants in task forces or committees at the local, state or national level. Through our leadership path families have opportunities to move from parent to parent connections to settings involving parent to professional communication and collaboration.
Our DreamWeavers are the core of our parent to parent connections. Volunteers in this network have experiences with the challenges of dealing with a diagnosis or challenging circumstances. They are parents who have "been there" and are prepared to listen and provide support - one parent to another. Our trained parent support volunteers help families build dreams for their children by sharing the challenges and emotions of their own journey. Our DreamWeavers also share the family perspective with service providers, policy makers and other agencies.
We mentor a group of parents who are known as PALS (Parents as Leaders) through NM PIRC activities. They have taken a leadership role to promote parent involvement in their schools and communities. PALS mentor other families in the community to encourage their active participation in literacy, student achievement and school accountability. PALS in our Latino Outreach program encourage and inform Spanish speaking families about ways to be involved in their child's education.
NM Parent Training and Information Center (NM PTI) mentor a team of community based advocates that have extensive training and experiences with Special Education and the IEP Process. These volunteers are known as the Adobe Corp. They provide support and information to help families become full, participating members of their child's IEP team and play a key role in statewide systems change for children with disabilities.
Our Health Information Parent Specialists are parents who to provide other parents with emotional support and information about critical resources for children with special health care needs. They are experienced in navigating the health care system and work with our Family to Family Health Information Center (NM F2FHIC) to promote family involvement in health care decisions. These volunteers have the capacity to share the family perspective with policy makers in the area of health care access.
Volunteers in our Families as Faculty program impact systems change and promote family involvement as Host Families and/or Adjunct Family Faculty. Host families share their family story and experiences with future teachers and doctors. They provide university students with the realities faced by families of children with special needs as they navigate education and health care systems. Adjunct Family Faculty receive intensive training to collaborate with university faculty to design curriculum, prepare students for home visits and lead reflective discussions.