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The Sloan Network recently hosted a panel meeting on Work-Family Issues for Employed Parents of Children with Disabilities. Today, we distributed a press release to highlight the importance of this issue and to announce that an action plan will be available shortly here on the blog.

As I mentioned in the press release, “Although considerable attention has been paid to the work-family issues of working parents, the needs of parents with children who have physical, emotional and learning disabilities have not received significant attention. The number of families affected, the stress on family relationships, and the impediments to workforce participation are considerable.” Attendees at the panel meeting discussed the daily challenges faced by working parents who manage their child’s health, school and child care concerns while meeting their work responsibilities.

The consensus is that working families with children with disabilities are a pressing concern that could benefit from additional data collection as well as increased visibility of the issues. Currently, we are developing resources on the website including a Topic Page and an Encyclopedia entry to help move forward with dissemination of critical resources. If you have any recommendations about resources to post on the site, please let us know. Do you have any suggestions about how workplaces could be more supportive to these families and help to make the invisible visible?

• Child Care , New on the Network