Department of Health and Human Services
Office on Disability
9th International Congress on Serving Children
with Special Health Care Needs in the Community
New Editions is supporting the Office on Disability in the planning and implementation of the 9th International Congress on Serving Children with Special Health Care Needs in the Community. New Editions is responsible for all the logistics of the meeting, including inviting international experts, helping to plan the agenda, and working with the Planning Committee
The catalyst for the International Congresses was the fall of the Berlin Wall. As democracies began to emerge in Central and Eastern Europe, the social impact of the changes that took place on the 150 million children in the region was immense. Eight countries splintered into 27.
In 1991, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Louis W. Sullivan, MD, asked his agency to find ways to be responsive to the plight of children who lost homes, schools, and communities as armed conflict rose and societies changed from authoritative regimes to democracies.
HHS/HRSA/DSCCHN responded with a proposal to take the systems of care principles to select countries in Central Europe. Secretary Sullivan applauded HRSA’s outreach to these countries at a speech in Chicago that focused on Child Health in Central Europe.
Since 1995, HHS has chaired an International Steering Committee that now includes 18 international members that plan the Congresses. Planning committee members, which plan each Congress, includes federal agencies—HHS, Department of Education, Social Security Administration, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of State. Other organizations include the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Soros Foundation, the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization’s Pan American Health Organization.
Over the years, Congresses expanded and the last three were hosted in Canada, Argentina, and Norway. This year the Congress is being planned for Washington, DC.
While the attendance has expanded to include over 400 people from as many as 40 countries, the focus of the Congresses has never changed. The three core elements are:
- Inclusion of all children, including children with disabilities, in all activities at the community level.
- The primacy of families and the importance of their partnership with professionals.
- A multi-disciplinary approach to creating and sustaining supports and services at local levels.
National and international policies, laws, declaration, and programs are addressed as they work in service of the three core elements.
