The Family Focus Resource Center is housed within the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at the California State University, Northridge. Programs are sustained through grant funding, sponsorships and donations.
The FFRC is honored by its ongoing association with the Teaching, Learning, and Counseling Consortium (TLC). The consortium consists of the following programs already established in the College of Education:
- Mitchell Family Counseling Clinic
- Special Education Literacy Laboratory
- Los Angeles Times Literacy Center
For more information on the TLC Consortium, please call: 818 677-TLLC (8522).
Programs & Services
FFRC provides a comprehensive network of resources to support children with (or at-risk for) special needs, their families, and the professionals who serve them. We work with families of children age birth to 22.
- FFRC believes that parents are a child’s strongest advocates. Empowered parents raise empowered children.
- We help empower parents through parent-to-parent mentoring, workshops and parent education programs, comprehensive IEP training, family support groups and more. Our network of established programs includes:
- Early Start (children under age 3)
- Family Empowerment (ages 3-22)
- Parent Support Circles
- DEAF Project
Unique to FFRC is its team of parent mentors; parents who are, themselves, raising children with special needs, and who share firsthand knowledge of this unique journey.FFRC serves families from a diverse socioeconomic background throughout northern Los Angeles County. We are headquartered on the campus of California State University, Northridge, with satellite offices in Van Nuys, Santa Clarita and Lancaster.
Infants and Toddlers
Early Start
The California Early Start program provides early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers (birth up to third birthday) who have developmental delay, a disability or an established risk condition with a high probability of resulting in a delay. Intervention services are provided according to individual needs and may include:
- Child development therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech Therapy
- Behavioral Therapy
To see if your child is eligible for either Early Start or PRRS, please contact North Los Angeles County Regional Center at 818-778-4400, or you can fill out the online Intake Application.
Parent Links
The mission of the Parent Links (Hope, Dream, Achieve) program is to empower parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing infants and toddlers by providing them with comprehensive information and awareness through mentoring, networking, and resources, and by honoring the family’s relationship with their child and their choices in language and communication opportunities.Working in association with the Southern California Hearing Coordination Center (SCHCC) and South-Eastern California Hearing Coordination Center (SECHCC), this program covers the following counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial.
School-Aged Children (ages 3-22)
Family Empowerment
Through their Family Empowerment program from the California Department of Education, they assist families of children aged 3 up to their 22nd birthday who have an IEP, a 504 plan, receive mental health services or who may be eligible for any of these programs.
- Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
- Section 504 Plan
- Regional Center services under the Lanterman Act
- Mental Health services
Do you think your child would benefit from an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)? Following are the eligibility categories. The process starts by requesting an assessment through your child’s school district. For further information, contact your local Family Focus Resource Center office.
- ADD/ADHD
- Autism/autistic-like
- Deaf/hard of hearing
- Deaf/blind
- Intellectual disability
- Multiple disabilities
- Other health impairment
- Orthopedic impairment
- Serious emotional disturbance
- Specific Learning Disability
- Speech/Language impairment
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visual impairment/Blind
Deaf Education and Families Project (DEAF Project)
FFRC provides empowerment for families with children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing so they can receive the most effective services and their children can enjoy the greatest educational opportunities resulting in productive and enriched lives. Visit the DEAF Project website.
Some of the services we offer include:
- Parent to Parent Support
- Workshops and Trainings
- Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Clinics
- Student Record Notebooks
- Information & Referral Consultations
- Lending Library of Books and DVDs
- Support Groups
- Free Email Newsletter
Learn more at csun.edu/family-focus-resource-center
