Resources for Families

Webinars for Families

These webinars were created with the participation of parents for parents. All videos include live ASL interpretation.

• How to Be an Effective Ally to Teens of Color
  Our group of panelists included teens from our community, Dr. Shaun Nelms, Superintendent of East High School, and Jerard Johnson, Community Liaison for Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness at URMC. Panelists shared their ideas about how to be an effective ally for teens of color within our schools and communities. 
  Video in English
  Video in Spanish
• Helping our Children Adjust to the New Normal & Tips for Back to School
  Video in English
  A panel discussion with Aparajita "Tuma" Kuriyan, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Linda Alpert-Gillis, Ph.D., Director, UR Medicine Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness, Kenya Malcom, Ph.D., Director, Infant & Early Childhood Initiatives, Jason McDonald, Parent Representative
  View Slides from the presentation in English
• Partnering with Schools
  Video in English
  Video in Spanish
  A panel discussion with Melissa Heatly, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Director, Expanded School Mental Health Initiatives at URMC, Sherri Armstrong, Parent Representative, Aliyah Patterson, LMHC at URMC, Laura Arrington, Family and Youth Education Coordinator from Starbridge, and Bill Hurley, Coordinator, Behavioral Health Services Monroe BOCES.
  View slides from presentation in English and Spanish.
• What to Expect When Looking For and Getting Behavioral Health Services for Children and Teens
  Video in English
  Video in Spanish
  A panel discussion with, Linda Alpert-Gillis, Ph.D., Director, UR Medicine Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness, Brianna Daniels, LMHC, Jason McDonald, Parent Representative, and Fabienne Bain, PhD from The Baker Center for Children and Families.
  View slides from the presentation in English and Spanish.
• What you Need to Know about Deciding If and When to Use Medication for Behavioral Health Challenges in Youth
  Video in English
  Video in Spanish
  A panel discussion with Laura Cardella, M.D., Psychiatrist, Medical Director of Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Outpatient Services, Maria Cruz, Parent Representative, and Carolyn Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H.,   Pediatrician, Bay Creek Pediatrics, Rochester Regional.
  View Slides from the presentation in English

Local Resources

• Listing of Community Resources for Youth and Families with Behavioral Health Challenges During the COVID-19 Crisis
  (Resoures in Spanish)
  View more Coronavirus Information for Families
• KidsThrive585
  Listing of resources for children and families in the Rochester, NY area and neighboring counties.
• Parenting Village
  Offers professionally facilitated drop-in support groups for caregivers; a home-based peer support program for families with new babies; and connection and collaboration events. Including an annual festival connecting families to local resources and ongoing community events.
• Mental Health Association
  Offers an array of services to families and adults who have emotional and/or behavioral needs, including a variety of support groups for parents, creative wellness for adults with mental health needs, drop-in support, and much more.
•  Starbridge
  Starbridge is a Parent Training & Information Center (PTIC), which provides workshops and resources for families and professionals regarding special education rights and responsibilities.
• Parent to Parent of Western New York
  Parents of a person with a developmental disability or special health care need can be connected one-to-one with another parent support member who has experience with having a family member with a disability or chronic illness. The experienced support parent provides emotional support to the referral parent and assists them in finding information and resources.
• Youth Roc by Out Alliance
  Offers local programming for youth ages 13-20 and family programming.

Text, Phone and Online Support

• Suicide Prevention & Lifeline
  Provides 24/7 support through an online chat or phone call. This support is a national support available for anyone is in need of emotional support or is thinking about suicide.
• Teen Line Online
  This website, based in Southern California, provides support for teens from teens. Teenagers are able to call/text/email/message/chat about any topic. In addition, the website offers topics that may be interesting to teens and parents through a blog.
• Trevor Project
  Provides support for LGBTQ youth including a national 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention lifeline for LGBTQ young people under 25. Phone-call, chat, and text support is provided.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness
  Provides information about mental health and resources in local communities. Includes information about text and phone help lines.

Web-based Articles & Information

Mental Health Specific

• Child Mind Institute
  Provides research-based advice on common concerns and tips for facing challenges many families share.  
• Effective Child Therapy
  Families can learn about specific mental health conditions by watching videos from experts/reading a summary of scientific information and learn what to look for and expect in therapy.

General Health Information, Including Mental Health

• Parents.com
  This website offers guidance on a variety of topics related to childrearing and parenting. The website is based on Parents magazine and provides mostly written content. Many articles are written by parents or from a parent’s perspective. The website also summarizes parent-relevant scientific information in a manner that is easily digestible.
• KidsHealth
  A mostly written resource on all things pertaining to kids health from managing chronic illness, to bedwetting or behavioral concerns. Although the website is mostly text, there is an option for audio in both English and Spanish. All written text is available in Spanish as well. There are some kid-friendly videos to provide education to children and teens on all health-related matters. 
• CDC “Parent Information”
  The website also contains practical information on a variety of topics from healthy eating to safety, and specific conditions for children of all ages. 

Web-based Trainings & Interventions

• CDC “Essentials for parenting toddlers and preschoolers”
  This site contains detailed videos on parenting strategies to promote positive child behavior and a healthy parent-child relationship. This includes downloadable tip sheets and videos on experts tips on using strategies.
• ABCs of Child Rearing
  This is a free course on parenting techniques that are based on the Kazdin parenting method. These parent strategies are focused on improving behavior in children and adolescents.
• Family Check-Up
  Provides evidence-based parenting strategies from the “Family Check-Up” intervention to be used with both younger and older children. The parenting strategies are demonstrated in brief video clips. The three skills demonstrated are focused on improving parent-child communication: 1) active listening, 2) negotiating solutions with your child, and 3) making neutral problem statements.  
• Collaborative Problem Solving
  This site is based on Ross Greene’s approach to collaborative problem solving, which is an approach that can work with kids of any age. The website offers a variety of free resources in print, audio, and video. In addition, there are Facebook groups for parent questions and support.
• Center for Social & Emotional Foundations of Early Learning
  Features downloadable/printable free content geared toward parents of younger children. The content focuses on strategies for building social and emotional skills in children along with ways to respond to a child’s behavior.

School-Related Resources

• Understood
  Features downloadable resources and webinars related to supporting families meet the educational needs of their children with a variety of concerns including learning and attention problems.