AZ Community Action Teams

Arizona Community Action Teams put community development to use in their towns, cities and statewide. These Action teams are made up of Parents partnering with professionals who provide services for individuals with special needs.

In the course of their experience working with multiple entities in different communities, these teams have developed and tested many strategies that have been successful in not only helping individuals reach for their dreams and achieve their potential, but in changing communities so that they value all their citizens.

Community change doesn’t happen quickly, but with patient, positive persistence by parents and youth, every community can become more welcoming and each situation leads us to more discoveries of how we can continue and learn and grow with each other.  

Common Parent Led Community Team Activities:

• facilitate communication by organizing meetings or calling upon identified citizens
• research existing groups in the community that may serve as partners
• assist in the formation of a Community Action Team
• link groups and individuals
• keep the community informed about issues that affect children with special needs
• provide technical assistance to working groups with the community
• identify and support the emergence of-new community parent leaders
• prepare and/or distribute written materials as needed
• advocate for children with special health care needs within the community
• coordinate activities as part of the needs/resource assessment
• promote community change, utilizing the OCSHCN Community Development Protocol and Elements of Community Development
• participate on state and national levels in meetings, conferences and workgroups to promote desired system change
• review documents and provide feedback
• participate in OCSHCN sponsored activities, such as conference calls, meetings and conferences
• perform other activities as requested by the community and/or OCSHCN.
• provide monthly reports of activities, signs of impact, and billing invoices.

COMMUNITY ACTION AT WORK
Through the use of Community development teams recognize strengths and weaknesses in their community and take action to do something about it. Below is a true story of this at work.

Mandy's Story

Mandy, a beautiful young Special Ed student going into her sophomore year in high school, loved books and reading. For as long as Mandy could remember, she had wanted to become a librarian and as luck would have it, in her high school, sophomores are permitted to enroll as teacher’s aides.  So, Mandy enthusiastically signed up to be a library aide for one class period each day.  

On the first day of the new school year Mandy went excitedly to the library to assume her aide position.  Upon arrival, the High School librarian told Mandy that she was too busy to "deal" with Mandy's disabilties and sent her back to the Special Ed classroom. Upset, Mandy explained what happened to her Special Ed teacher who then called Jessica, Mandy’s mother, to tell her the bad news.

Jessica, after swallowing her sorrow and anger, decided that Mandy's library career was not going to end this way.  Realizing she did not want to fight her way into a place her daughter wasn’t wanted, she called her younger daughters' elementary school principal who was more open to the idea of having Mandy be an aide in their library.  After Jessica explained the situation, the principal said that she would love to have Mandy work in the library at her school. In addition, she also offered to assist in finding transportation to and from the high school so Mandy could help in the library every day.

Mandy has been working at the elementary school library for over 3 years now and since then several other high school students of differing abilities have also been able to enjoy that experience.  All of this was possible because when faced with a difficult situation,  Mandy’s mother chose to be creative, constructive and collaborative in looking for a solution to very a difficult situation.