Skip to content
See all events

Webinar: The Best Kept Secret – Programs and Policies Across States to Support Accessible Homes for Children with Disabilities

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (PT )

Virtual (Zoom)

Register Now
Mother with disabled teenage child in big stroller. Accessibility of people in wheelchairs. Woman going though the door, People with special Needs. Boy with Cerebral Palsy in chair going outside

The Best Kept Secret: Programs and Policies Across States to Support Accessible Homes for Children with Disabilities is the second webinar in a two-part series on home accessibility for children with disabilities and complex health needs. This series shares findings from a Foundation-funded landscape analysis that included over 60 key informant interviews across 10 states to elucidate programs and policies that support accessible housing for children and their families.

The first webinar focused on why home modifications matter and the barriers families face in accessing them. This second webinar will highlight programs, policies, and resources that exist to help families make their homes more accessible and explore why home modification supports are often difficult to find and use.

A panel of experts, including those with lived experience, will discuss examples of home modification resources available across the U.S., how they are structured within different systems, and strategies for helping families identify and access these supports. Panelists will also examine why these resources remain underrecognized, what can be done to ensure families are connected to the support intended for them, and where gaps still persist. Join us for this engaging discussion, followed by an audience Q&A.

Untitled design (7)

Callie Kaplan, MPH, DrPH candidate (Moderator)

Callie Kaplan is a Senior Research Scientist at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Callie has nearly 20 years of global public health experience, leading research and evaluation projects and initiatives with non-profits, government, and academia. She works across a wide variety of issue areas within pediatric health and health policy research and has methodological expertise in mixed-methods evaluations, community-engaged research, human-centered design, and implementation science. She plans to graduate with her DrPH in implementation science from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in December 2026.
Untitled design (3)

Carolyn C. Foster, MD, MS

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.
Untitled design (9)

Lori Berrong, ATACP, MEd, MFA

With more than 20 years in the disability and assistive technology field, Lori Berrong brings extensive experience in policy, government program leadership, and direct Assistive Technology service delivery. She holds an MEd in Special Education (Applied Behavior Analysis) from Bowling Green State University, an MFA and BA from the University of Baltimore, and a Graduate Certificate in Assistive Technology Applications from California State University, Northridge. Lori is also the proud parent of three children, two of whom navigate neurodiversity and learning disabilities, driving her passion for accessibility and inclusion.
Untitled design (8)

Molly Hofmann, APRN, DNP

Molly Hofmann provides leadership for four statewide care coordination programs and oversees the Title V systems of care initiatives for which the University of Illinois Chicago's Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) is responsible as Illinois' Title V program for children and youth with special healthcare needs. She has been with DSCC for nine years and is committed to strengthening systems of care that improve health outcomes and enhance the experiences of children and families across Illinois. Molly earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2021 and has practiced as a Pediatric Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) since 2009. Throughout her clinical career, she has cared for medically complex children in a pediatric home ventilation clinic and conducted specialized physical examinations for children suspected of being victims of abuse or neglect. 
Untitled design (2)

Rebecca Seltzer, MD, MHS

Dr. Rebecca Seltzer 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. Dr. Seltzer is an Associate Program Director within the Johns Hopkins Pediatric residency program and co-directs the Health Equity and Advocacy pathway.
Untitled design (10)

Tami Allen

Tami Allen is the Co-Executive Director for Families Together Inc., the Kansas Parent Training and Information Center and Project Director for the Family-to-Family Health Center.  She has had over 35 years of experience working with Families Together as a voice for children and youth with special health care needs. Tami and her husband Terry have a combined family of 8 children. Their son Skylar is 44 and is a young adult with special health care needs, including cerebral palsy. Tami has been instrumental in the development of his health care plan and independent living services to better support his endeavor in self-directing his life and needed services as well as living and working independently.  Among Tami’s areas of expertise is transition from school to adult services, employment and Independent Living, advocacy and policy making, and parent and family engagement within the community as well as Supported Decision Making and Family Centered Health Care. She is also a LifeCourse Ambassador and Coach.

Upcoming Events

See all events

CA Disability Community Town Halls

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health’s Grantmaking & Advocacy Program is sponsoring the California Disability Community Town Halls, taking place on October 6 and...

Putting Care at the Center 2026

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health’s grantmaking and advocacy program for children and youth with complex health needs (CHN) is sponsoring the 2026 Putting...