Welcome to the Minnesota On-Line Special Needs Directory!     A BIG thank-you is due to the folks at WrightsLaw, the national Special Education Law website, for including this directory in their Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities and their families!                                                 The Directory now has over 1420 resources, including many more that provide respite care, AND updated contact information for Minnesota state government agencies and many Twin Cities-area agencies!! Also, the Twin Cities Metro Area pages are now organized just one way: by resource type, alphabetically (e.g., assistive technology, counseling services, disability-specific education & support). I hope this will make the Directory a bit more user-friendly. The rest of it will be updated and renovated to match the new Twin Cities Metro format.    Where do you want to go from here?  Home – You are here!  About the Directory   Thanks to our supporters  Guide to getting around the Directory            Twin Cities Metro pages:     TC Metro A-C       TC Metro D-H     TC Metro I-R   TC Metro S-Z                   Greater Minnesota pages:     E Central MN         W Central MN      NW MN     SW MN   NE MN   SE MN See the Guide page for which MN counties are included on each page. Introduction              This is intended to be a comprehensive online guide to finding resources of all kinds for children and young people in Minnesota with disabilities and other special needs. Here, you will find contact information for resources that can help you and your family with the various issues involved in having (or being) a young person with special needs.          Need to find information and support sources for kids with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, or other disorders?          Looking for adaptive transportation, housing, or learning tools for a young adult with a physical disability?          Are you a high school student with a disability planning for college or work?   Want to know what health care facilities, human service agencies, treatment residences, child-development organizations, or low-cost legal services are in your region of Minnesota? This is the place to look. To make browsing easy, the directory is divided by region of the state, and within regions, you can view listings alphabetized by disorder or organization name, whichever works best for you.      What's more...in addition to listings for organizations that address the needs of people with specific conditions or disorders, you will find organizations that address broader adverse conditions, such as alcohol and drug dependency; violence, abuse, and neglect; and homelessness. This mirrors the Jade Foundation's aim to help young people affected by all types of difficult circumstances...as well as the reality that young people with special needs and their families often must cope with more than one of these circumstances To get right into the Directory, click here for the Guide page. Disclaimer (PLEASE READ!)    Please be aware that this directory is intended for informational purposes only. Neither I nor the University of Minnesota nor the Jade Foundation endorses or advertises any product, service, or facility listed herein, nor shall we be held responsible for the outcome of any interactions between you -- the user of this directory -- and any organization listed herein. You, as the user of this site, agree to assume ALL such responsibility, for better or worse.     Also, the contents of this site have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota. However, to the best of my knowledge they do fit the University's mission of equal opportunity for all, regardless of gender, belief system, race or ethnicity, ability level, age, sexual identity, veteran/military status, or health status.                                                                                                                 Thanks to...     This project would not have been possible without the input, encouragement, and support of a number of very special people. So, I am extending a BIG "THANKS!" to: The Board members of the Jade Foundation: CEO and former Minnesota First Lady Terry Ventura, Mari Reed, Vice-President and Treasurer Alan Eidsness, Amy Zehrer, and Eric Stevens. (And an extra THANK YOU -- and hugs -- to Terry and Alan for surprising me with that little tribute at Jesse's party. I am still totally blown away by that!) Former Jade Foundation Webmaster and Operations Manager Tom Johnson, and current and former Jade Volunteers Danielle Carter, Betty Christensen, Rachel Eggert, Nancy Killebrew, Geri Mauck, Jerelyn and Todd Montgomery, Jennifer Mylod, Mary Rozmark, Lou Ann Ryan, Helen Suk, and Lissa Walter. The Webmasters at the Courage Center, PACER Center, and DirectAbility.com, and the editors and writers at Access Press. These are excellent sources of information about disability resources in Minnesota, and if not for them, locating much of the information for this directory would have been MUCH more difficult! The University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development Scholarship Committee, for granting me the Student Community Service Award in recognition of my work. Julie Nekola,  Twin Cities author of a fine book and online newsletter for families of special-needs children, for all her words of encouragement. My spouse, Greg Silverman for crucial tech and moral support, and our mothers for their love and encouragement!   Jenzi C. Silverman Psychological Foundations, Dept. of Educational Psychology University of Minnesota-Twin Cities coop0001 (at) tc (dot) umn (dot) edu