descapacitados abriendose caminos
Background and Purpose
Founded in 1994 by Latino parents of children with disabilities, the purpose of discapacitados abriendose caminos is to assist Latino families that have recently arrived in the United States from Latin America or Central America, speak Spanish as their sole or primary language, are low income, and have a child or adult family member with a disability.
discapacitados abriendose caminos (Caminos), which translates to "people with disabilities opening paths in life," provides families with the tools to help them meet their needs related to the disability of their family member such as respite, health care, advocacy, social services, education, and information in their own language about the disability.
Families are also in need of culturally-relevant support services to help them cope with the disability while they are also trying to learn a new language, make a cultural transition, and navigate the systems and processes within a country in which they are not familiar. Often the family has experienced rejection within their own culture because of the stigma and shame that is sometimes attached to a disability. Caminos addresses all of these needs, directly or indirectly, through the advocacy, referral and information, and support services it provides to improve outcomes for children and their families.
The agency serves as a bridge between parent and school or county human services personnel as well as provides education and training about the unique needs of Spanish-speaking Latino parents whose children have disabilities.
Current Request
In late 2005 Caminos began expanding its outreach efforts, direct services and training opportunities to northern Dakota County. Now Caminos is working with about 25 families that participate in weekly parent education/support groups and meet individually with staff about specific needs or concerns for which they need assistance.
During the first two years staff also contacted and/or met with school district staff and county personnel, offering education and training opportunities for staff about the families served by Caminos. There was initially little apparent interest shown in response to these efforts, but at the end of 2008 county and school district personnel began contacting Caminos for input on cases and to request training for staff.
With an additional grant, Caminos will maintain services for the northern Dakota County families participating in the agency's programs and strengthen the emerging connections with county and school district staff who work with Latino families. A full-time community worker will be hired to support families directly and assist with support groups and special events, freeing up the Executive Director of Caminos to devote more time to building the relationship with county and school district staff, to provide training to agency staff and to mentor parents in their growth as leaders and trainers.