MHP 2022 Annual Impact Report

MEDICAL HOME PLUS IS DEDICATED TO EMPOWERING

CHILDREN

WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND THEIR FAMILIES BY STRENGTHENING THEIR PILLARS OF SUPPORT THROUGH EDUCATION, PREVENTION, RESOURCE COORDINATION AND ADVOCACY.

Dear Friends,

As I reflect on the past year of MHP’s growth and accomplishments, I can’t help but think of the word ‘community’. The past few years have been challenging, especially for children and parents accessing the public education system. The remedy to those challenges? Not having to face them alone. From our Uncork Hope Committee helping us determine alternatives and solutions to our event structure and logistics; growing our signature fundraiser to new heights despite a less than ideal fundraising climate to a longstanding community partner, donor and volunteer offering enhanced office space to MHP in the near future — our community makes this work possible.

Tahereh Mafi said, “All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.” It is true that the work MHP does is heart work. We have always employed parents of children with special health care needs themselves, because much of the expertise they share with the families we serve is inspired by their own life’s experiences. It is my personal opinion that one of the worst human emotions that can be felt is loneliness. MHP combats that. We not only tell families that we will be with them on their journey, but we show them through our actions and interactions. We help to alleviate the stresses that all parents feel in trying to do right by their child(ren). Because of MHP, 409 times in 2022 parents did not have to come to the IEP table alone; a highly stressful, emotionallycharged and confusing experience. Our work is so fundamentally important to me personally as a mom. And as an employer.

Our employees are the heartbeat of the work that we do. The community felt within our team is second to none. Team

members that come to work for MHP stay. MHP offers an environment that values family and work-life balance as closely as we do the service that we provide. We are somewhat small, but extremely mighty. And growing! This year we will add at least two new positions to our team; enabled by community support of our 2022 fundraising efforts.

As we look to the future, we are excited by the opportunities for growth and humbled by all the ways that we know you will rise up to meet our needs so that we can continue to meet community need. We look forward to serving an even broader representation of the Commonwealth in 2023 through outreach and community partner development efforts. We will continue the heritage of never having to turn a family away; not on the basis of their child’s diagnosis or that family’s ability to pay. Throughout the challenges of the past few years, MHP never closed our doors to those in need. We came through those experiences stronger and more steadfast than ever before. We are grateful for your support.

Thank you for being a part of this MHP community. Your Child is Our Mission.

Sincerely,

Emily Jiancristoforo, MHP Executive Director

MHP STAFF

EMILY JIANCRISTOFORO

Executive Director

GAIL AUSTIN

Director of Operations

MARY PETERS Resource

& IEP Coordinator

HOPE KINKEL WALTON

Program Coordinator

HEATHER GARRETT Development Manager

VICKI BEATTY IEP Advisor

KATE OPPE IEP Advisor

DONNA SABEL IEP Advisor

CATHERINE KEIPER Bookkeeper

KATE OLENYIK

Al’s Pals Program Director

KENDRA NAGLIERI Program Support

HALEY BARBER Program Support

LAUREN SHERWOOD Coordinator – Special Families

Roanoke

Dear Friends,

What a monumental year it has been here at MHP; a year of great need, rapid growth, and unprecedented community impact. As the effects of COVID-19 continue to disproportionately affect children with special needs who were unable to receive their normal support from the public education system, we have seen a 241% increase in families requesting our services, including an astounding number of emergency cases. MHP needed to grow immediately and our supporters came to the aid of their community, raising over $260,000 at Uncork Hope. Together, we have ensured that children with special needs and their families had the support system, advocacy, and outcomes they deserved. Together, we changed lives this year.

The stories that have emerged out of this year are the kind that bring a lump to my throat, tears to my eyes, and butterflies to my stomach. These stories all start with the same cry of desperation, mothers like myself saying, “I don’t know how to help my child. No one will help me. I don’t have the resources to help my child. My child is hurting.” These are the phone calls that MHP is called to serve every single day. These are the calls that our compassionate staff turn into stories of triumph, hope, and healing. I’ve been saying it all year, we do not see this community need slowing down. In fact, through the pandemic and through these stories, we have identified niche areas where children with special needs and their families are being underserved, or in some cases, not served at all here in Virginia. MHP is ready to meet our mission and our vision to ensure outcomes for children with special needs and their families in Virginia.

Sincerely,

Megan Newman, MHP Board President

MHP BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SATYA RANGARAJAN

SCOTT DICKENS

RYAN GLASER

KENDALL VON MICHALOFSKI

TOMMY

BOWLES

Vice President

ELLE JOYNER

Secretary

JOHN NEWTON

HALLIE HOVEY-MURRAY

ROBIN SLATER

DIANA HUDGINS

KIM THIES

MEGAN NEWMAN President

Treasurer

MHP’S STORY

2001 Medical Home Plus was created as an extension to Richmond Pediatric Associates, Inc..

2003 MHP became incorporated as its own entity. Founded on the principle that every child deserves a Medical Home, Drs. Colleen Kraft and Harry Gewanter established MHP as an organization that employs parents successfully navigating the system of care for their children. This innovative staffing model has allowed MHP to forge a unique connection with families in need based on experience, empathy and trust.

2011 Our IEP Advisory service was created in response to the community need.

PRESENT More often than not, families of children with special health care needs feel overwhelmed and are not sure how to enter into the process of obtaining a network of supports and resources. MHP serves as a hub for families and professionals alike who are seeking information and support for these special children.

OUR SERVICES

RESOURCE COORDINATION

We work directly with parents (and caregivers) to identify what community services and supports are needed and how families can access them.

IEP ADVISORY SERVICE

Our Advocates provide direct, one-on-one guidance in helping navigate your child’s individualized education program.

THE FERRARA FAMILY

OUR MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED

MHP is so important to families like mine. I cannot stress how much having people who want to help you and advocate for you is life-changing. It’s very easy to feel isolated and stressed over so much when you have a child with special needs. Knowing that people like Mary {MHP’s Director of Resource Coordination} and MHP are out there to help you is huge. I can’t thank MHP enough for all that they have done for our family and continue to do for our community.

- Shannon Ferrara

Our audited financial statements show that we meet the highest standards for efficiency with over 81% of our revenue going directly to program services. 2022 was a year of tremendous growth in terms of our program services and staffing, however despite the tremendous growth, we ended the year with no debt, demonstrating strong financial management. As the only nonprofit in Virginia offering scholarshipfunded services to families facing educational challenges on behalf of their child(ren) with special needs, we are aware there is a considerable unmet need across the state. In response, we have embarked on a five-year growth plan to meet a substantially larger portion of that need. The end of 2022 marked the completion of the first year of our five-year growth plan, and we completed it in excellent financial condition and with no debt! Your organization can feel confident donating or awarding grant funds to MHP.

DONORS CAN FEEL CONFIDENT WHEN THEY CONTRIBUTE TO MHP.

MHP’S IMPACT IN 2022

FAMILIES SERVED

402

MHP’s mission is to provide expert educational planning supports to families navigating special needs, who could not otherwise afford this help.

Over a third of our IEP Advisor cases are for families facing extreme extenuating circumstances, such as death of a parent or other family crisis.

OUR MISSION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH

SCHOOL DISTRICTS SERVED IN 2022

60% of our cases are in the

In 2022, we provided service in 49 school districts. Up from 34 in 2021.

STARTING AGE OF CASE

MHP’S OVERALL VOLUME OF REQUEST FOR SERVICES WAS

241% HIGHER IEP

CASES

51.8%

ADVISOR CASES

42.9%

CASES 5.3%

IN 2022,

OUR IEP ADVISORS PARTICIPATED IN 409

IEP-RELATED MEETINGS

WITH THE PARENT AND SCHOOL TEAM.

WE’RE ON THE CASE

In 2022, MHP provided qualifying families these services free of charge:

IEP PHONE CASES Our IEP Coordinators provide knowledgeable phone-based services to families

IEP ADVISOR CASES Our IEP experts work directly with the family and school team

RESOURCE COORDINATION CASES Our Coordinators help families find the supports and resources they need

KEY CHALLENGES FOR MHP FAMILIES

Many children fall into more than one of these categories.

• Over 40% of the families that seek our help have a child with severe trauma related issues, one or more severe disabilities, and/or little academic progress in years

• Nearly half of the families seeking our help have a child struggling with special needs and behavior issues impacting learning and in many cases causing repeat and/or lengthy suspension.

• In every case, when a family seeks our help with their child’s education plan, we find significant opportunities to refine the plan in partnership with the school team to better meet the child’s needs.

In every case, when a family seeks our help with their child’s education plan, we find significant opportunities to refine the plan in partnership with the school team to better meet the child’s needs.

Over half (54%) of our IEP Advisor cases are for families with incomes of $12,300 per family member or less — families who would otherwise face these challenges alone.

IEP Advisor support can be very expensive for families. An IEP Advisor case can easily take 10 hours at $200 per hour, a cost of $2,000 or more. For many families working so hard to support their children, this is cost-prohibitive.

MOST FREQUENT DIAGNOSES

Unlike other organizations offering resource coordination for families, MHP does not work with a family solely based on a single diagnosis. Some families that contact MHP are seeking a diagnosis for their child, and may need help in that area, too! MHP turns no family away regardless of their child’s diagnosis. Of the families served in 2022, the following diagnoses were the most prevalent their children experience. The majority of those children served in 2022, have at least 2 or more diagnoses.

AUTISM

ADD/ADHD

MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS

EMOTIONAL / BEHAVIOR DISORDER

The two most frequent diagnoses among the children we serve are Autism and ADD/ADHD.

Our average case has more than two diagnoses, which complicates the educational planning process, making expert assistance all the more important.

SPOTLIGHTS

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT DONOR SPOTLIGHT

MEREDYTH BRYANT

I became involved with MHP through a colleague where I work, Blue Ocean Brain. I have had a fulfilling background supporting other non-profits and wanted to help with their annual gala, Uncork Hope. Non-profits that support children are near and dear to my heart due to the loss of my own daughter. MHP helps those who need it most and that makes such a massive difference in their lives and education. I enjoy working with the other committee members and the staff at MHP and look forward to helping with another successful event this year.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

GAIL & BILL WHITE

Medical Home Plus provides an invaluable lifeline to families of children with special needs. MHP helps navigate the many and varied resources available, as well as the often-difficult decisions families must make to ensure their children’s best chance for success. The excellent staff members have first-hand experience with special needs children and meet families where they are with empathy and expertise. We are honored to help support Medical Home Plus!

Medical Home Plus’ mission is close to our team’s heart. We admire MHP’s dedication to empowering children and their families with education, advocacy, and critical resources. We are especially in awe of the guidance MHP provides to help navigate such an overwhelming and strenuous system and process. SingleStone is honored to support an organization that has such a profound impact on the quality of life of children with special needs and their families.

I am proud to serve as MHP’s new Development Manager and was welcomed aboard in September, 2022. I have a background in fundraising and development from my work with other community partners such as YWCA Richmond and enCircle Richmond. I am excited to be making meaningful connections with our supporters and leading MHP into the future. Through working for MHP, I’m fulfilling my personal mission to help other families like mine be the best advocate for their child(ren).

My work at MHP is a combination of assisting with large projects and filling in gaps to streamline the processes of day-to-day operation. I pride myself in adaptability, which allows me to assist in a multitude of facets throughout our organization. As a former teacher, MHP has given me opportunities to use my skills and knowledge to help children of all abilities in ways I hadn’t before. From the IEP Advisement Services to the Medication Training for Child Daycare Providers, the work done at MHP is so monumental in the lives of the families we reach. I am so proud to be a part of these initiatives that positively impact the success of so many lives across the state of Virginia.

COMING IN 2023

Save the date for Uncork Hope 2023

11/3/2023

@ The Flo and Tony Guzman Community Center on the Faison Campus

Transition Planning Services (Fall 2023)

The proactive planning process to encourage families and their children to prepare for a future into adulthood.

MHP Family Toolkit

This will include the most comprehensive range of 5-minute “knowledge nugget” videos and resources on IEPs and Section 504 topics available.

IEP Workshops Coming Soon

Our FREE workshops are a quick and easy way to learn the key information you need to know to successfully navigate your child’s IEP planning process.

HEATHER GARRETT Development Manager

HALEY BARBER Program Support