Community Resources


BRIGHT FUTURES
The Virginia Department of Health, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and James Madison University, has announced the availability of a new web site about child health and development. The site, http://www.healthyfuturesva.com/, is an electronic version of Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents - commonly referred to as Bright Futures. The web site project is the first widespread effort to make Bright Futures accessible to parents and caregivers.

Bright Futures is a framework for well-child health care that is based on promotion Bright Futures Websiteof normal development and anticipatory guidance - helping parents and families know what to expect next in their child's growth and development. Bright Futures is comprised of a series of themes, such as promoting mental health, healthy weight, oral health, safety and injury prevention, and child development. Each theme describes what children and families need related to that topic as the child grows from infancy to late adolescence.

Additionally, Bright Futures describes well-child care in terms of periodic visits to the health care professional. Each visit addresses the recommended physical examination and any tests appropriate for that age. It also explores in some detail the anticipatory guidance that parents should be provided at that visit, consistent with the themes.

Bright Futures is built on the principle that parents and families should be active partners in the well-child care their children receive from health care professionals; in order to be active partners, parents and other caregivers need to be informed and feel confident about asking questions, sharing observations, and raising concerns. The web site is composed of a series of videos (three to five minutes in length) that "personify" the Bright Futures information related to anticipatory guidance. Each video has an accompanying text of similar information that can be printed. There is also a section of the site where additional information, such as brochures and fact sheets, is posted.

CARRIER LIBRARY CHILDREN'S COLLECTION
This document describes the procedure for checking out books from the Educational Technology & Media Center in Memorial Hall.  This service is available to anyone who has a local public library card.

FAMILY RESOURCE AND REFERRAL CENTER
Valley Helpline for toll-free information assistance
Call 800-230-6977 or 540-245-5899.

JMU CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY
The Career Development Academy (CDA) was created in fall 2005 to address a growing need in the Harrisonburg community to educate English language learners in literacy, language acquisition, and career development. It offers both morning and evening classes to meet the needs of various work schedules and meets in Memorial Hall, located at 395 South High Street (Rt. 42).

SHENANDOAH VALLEY AUTISM PARTNERSHIP
        SVAP Scholarship Program