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Webinar: Essential Yet Out of Reach – Home Accessibility for Children with Disabilities

Thursday, May 21, 2026 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am (PT )

Virtual (Zoom)

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Living at home is a right, not a luxury. Children with disabilities and complex medical needs often require specialized equipment, supplies, and home modifications to live safely and comfortably at home. However, many families face challenges identifying and navigating services, paying for home modifications, and accessing the supports they need.

This webinar, the first in a two-part series, will introduce Foundation-funded research on the national landscape of programs and policies that support home accessibility for children with disabilities and their families across the country. The session will also provide an overview of home modifications, including what they are, why they matter, and how they can help improve safety, independence, and family well-being. A panel of experts, including those with lived experience, will then discuss common barriers to accessing home modifications, the real-world impacts of these supports on children and caregivers, and opportunities for action and advocacy. Join us for this engaging discussion followed by an audience Q&A.

Prior to attending the webinar, we strongly encourage watching the short film Feels Like Home, funded by a Johns Hopkins Discovery Award, produced in collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics’ iDeas Lab and panelist Dr. Rebecca Seltzer, and featuring panelist Crystal Thomas.

This webinar is co-sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and the Berman Institute of Bioethics’ iDeas Lab. Full bios of the moderator and panelists can be found in the Zoom registration link. 

Carolyn C. Foster, MD, MS (Moderator)

Dr. Carolyn Foster is a tenure track Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in primary and complex care. She is the primary investigator of the Foster Health Lab and directs Lurie Children's Stanley Manne Research Institute's Health@Home Initiative. Her work focuses on improving the health of children with disabling chronic conditions, while reducing health-care related stress for their families, through innovative healthcare design, research, and policy change.

Rebecca Seltzer, MD, MHS

Rebecca Seltzer, MD MHS, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Division of General Pediatrics, with joint faculty appointments at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Her academic work focuses on optimizing the care and well-being of children with medical complexity and disabilities. She is a primary care pediatrician at the Johns Hopkins Harriet Lane Clinic and co-directs the Health Equity and Advocacy track within the Johns Hopkins pediatric residency program.

Tamara Morgan

Tamara Morgan is the Associate Director at Adaptive Design Association, where she champions children with disabilities and their families through advocacy, public speaking, program development, and strategic community outreach. She leads community-building initiatives—including school partnerships, corporate workshops, volunteer programs, and internships—ensuring they are thoughtfully designed, impactful, and operationally strong. Beyond her organizational leadership, Tamara serves on the boards of Philanthropy Leaders, the Museum, Arts & Culture Access Consortium (MAC), and the Southern California University of Health Sciences, and has supported the founding board of the Ford Foundation’s Grantmaking Guiding Circle for Youth.

Crystal Thomas

Crystal Thomas has dedicated more than a decade to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, where her work has been deeply shaped by her personal experience as a caregiver to her son, who has cognitive and physical disabilities. Crystal began her career at Children’s National as a Parent Navigator, serving as a trusted source of support for families, offering non-clinical guidance, peer-to-peer mentorship, and advocacy training to help caregivers navigate the complexities of the healthcare system, particularly for children with special healthcare needs. She now works in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, where she continues to support patients, families, and clinical teams across multiple subspecialty programs.