2021 Legislative Session Ending, State to Receive Funding from American Rescue Act
This week is the last week of the 2021 legislative session. The last day of the session, also known as Sine Die, is this Saturday, April 4th. Legislators have been…
Make Your Voice Heard: Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth
We’ve been updating you on our progress to reestablish the Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth, also known as the ICCCY. The ICCCY is authorized in statute to oversee and…
Finding Ways to Stand Together When Horrific Things Happen
We typically finalize our plans for the weekly edition of the Ally in our Monday morning staff meeting. This Monday morning we shared our horror in response to the shootings…
Evaluation of Young Children
Families as Allies is doing a five-month-long series looking at the Procedural Safeguards. The Safeguards describe your rights if you think your child might need special education services or if…
Video: Joy Hogge and Wendy Bailey
This week Joy Hogge, executive director of Mississippi Families as Allies, sat down for a chat with Wendy Bailey, the newly appointed executive director of the Mississippi Department of Mental…
US v. State of Mississippi Transcript Now Available
Last month on February 22nd Judge Carlton Reeves held a status conference in the US v. State of Mississippi mental health lawsuit. During the conference, both parties spoke about various…
CHAMP Tele-Psychiatry Virtual Summit Wrap-Up
Families as Allies has been a partner with UMMC’s CHAMP Project since 2019. We believe that our children should be able to get help in the places they already are – for example,…
Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth (ICCCY) Update
We shared with you last month how appreciative we are that Wendy Bailey, the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, approached Families as Allies about working together…
When the School Calls … and Your Mom Heart Aches
Reflections from Joy Hogge during Women's History Month ... I recently watched the movie Sunshine Cleaning. I was moved by it, but it's an unusual movie and may not be to…
Nikki Flippins: As a Woman and a Mom …
Reflections from Nikki Flippins during Women's History Month... On May 17, 2005, I became a mom. It wasn’t in the traditional way, because I adopted my 5-year-old daughter; nonetheless, I…