Family Advocate
The Family Support Group
Parent Representative

Marty Clark is a family advocate who has focused on community-based work for the last ten years. He is the founder and director of The Family Support Group, a not for profit organization that trains, mentors, and empowers families with special needs family members. He has developed and coordinated parent peer to peer leadership training and has focused on capacity building for families. He has served as Key Family Contact for the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health DC C.I.N.G.S. project. In that capacity, he worked with community leaders and governmental agencies as the district of Columbia develops a system of care for it citizens. Currently, he is working closely with HSC Pediatric center, and chairs The Male Caregivers of HSC pediatric center, an advocacy group that consists of fathers of special needs children.

The group meets weekly to develop strategies that enhance the position of the special needs child in the community and in the District of Columbia. The group also explores and develops methods to engage other fathers to take a more viable role in their children and their families. In addition, Marty continues to spend time working with community organizations that have direct impact on youth, children and families with special needs family members. He continues to assist in the development of avenues that build social skills for the special needs individual and facilitate community awareness of the benefits of embracing the special needs population to our community.

Marty’s primary interest is in education for special needs children and the development of appropriate delivery systems. He has lectured extensively on accessing the educational system for the special needs community, as well as the positive impact on the community and its development when the special needs community is involved in the development of community strategic plans and how to better use the special needs community as a viable resource.

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