Meet a local service coordinator for AIDB

Jackie Maddox, a Service Coordinator for the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB), knew she wanted to be a social worker after watching the movie Annie as a little girl. Jackie said she wanted to help children and keep them away from Ms. Hannigan so her mom suggested she become a social worker when she grew up and she did just that! Jackie loves coordinating resources and services for families. When she's not at work, she and husband Wes travel, take care of Katy (their miniature schnauzer) and enjoy Bread. She not only listens to Bread, being a huge music fan, but you may now see her eating plenty of it as well! This mommy-to-be will soon put her coordinating and managing skills to work in her own home as she and Wes expect their first born (other than the dog!).

Bama Ears asked Jackie to describe this unique partnership program that AIDB and the Children's HEAR Center have.

"I am a service coordinator who is contracted at the HEAR Center in Birmingham to provide EI (early intervention) services to children who are hearing impaired through AIDB. We serve children in a variety of ways. Some receive services at the HEAR Center and some receive services in their community. Each family has a plan that is individualized to meet their needs. We have therapists that serve in our AIDB regional center, day care settings, community settings, or home. I am a statewide Service Coordinator, so I am able to use therapists and resources in a family’s local community. A family is given the option to be served at the HEAR Center if they choose. This program opens up options in service provision."

Looking at AIDB's website we found they have many regional centers throughout the state to better serve their families. This taken directly from their site explains:

"Nine Regional Centers throughout Alabama serve people from birth all the way through life, helping them connect with the local resources they need to live a rich, full life."...

..."Each Regional Center – located in Auburn, Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Talladega, Tuscaloosa and Tuscumbia - offers a unique mixture of services, because each Center has been developed according to the needs of the community it serves.
The AIDB Regional Center network began in 1980 with early intervention programs serving infants, toddlers and their families. For more information, please see http://www.aidb.org/. If you have questions about the developmental concerns of an infant or toddler, please contact Child Find at 1-800-543-3098."