Council on Children
with Disabilities Overview
What is the Council on Children
with Disabilities?
The AAP Committee on Children with Disabilities and
the AAP Section on Children with Disabilities have
merged together to form the Council on Children with
Disabilities (COCWD).
Benefits of the new council structure include:
- Creates a single entity that is the primary source
of expertise in a given field within the Academy (ie,
“one-stop shopping”)
- Facilitates greater integration of policy, education,
advocacy, and implementation efforts on specific topics
- Significantly enhances opportunities for council
member involvement in a broad range of activities
and roles within the council
- Promotes greater communication within the council
membership; as well as between council members and
the executive committee
Mission
The Council on Children with Disabilities
is composed of pediatricians and other health care
providers dedicated to the optimal care and development
of children with disabilities and related special health
care needs and to the support of their families.
Its mission specifically includes:
- Policy development related to children with disabilities;
- Development of a forum to enhance education of
pediatricians caring for children with disabilities;
- Increasing the visibility of issues related to
children with disabilities within the AAP;
- Collaboration with local and national organizations
in advocacy for children and their families, and;
- Providing opportunities for members of the Council
on Children with Disabilities to engage in all the
above.
Profile
The COCWD has a membership of nearly 500 AAP members and
provides those members interested in the care of children
with disabilities with a forum for education,
communication, and advocacy.
- The COCWD holds its organizational meetings (ie,
council program, business meeting and award presentation)
and hosts educational programs
annually at the AAP's National
Conference and Exhibition (NCE).
- The COCWD also advocates for children with disabilities
and the physicians who care for them in the development
of AAP policy and initiatives.
- COCWD members review and comment on various AAP
initiatives as they relate to the care of children
with disabilities.
- An annual award is sponsored by the COCWD (Arnold
J. Capute Award) to recognize notable contributions
to the field of children with disabilities.
- Collaboration with the National Center of Medical
Home Initiatives for Children with Special Needs to
ensure access to a medical home providing health care
services that are accessible, family-centered, continuous,
comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally-competent.
For more information about the COCWD, please contact
Stephanie Skipper, MPH (sskipper@aap.org),
Manager, Division of Children with Special Needs.
