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Fran Goldfarb, MA, CHES
Director of Parent and Family Training, USC UCEDD
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| E-Mail: fgoldfarb@chla.usc.edu |
| Phone: (323) 361-2300 x3831 |
Fran Goldfarb received her Master’s degree in Social Science, emphasis in Family Life Education, from Azusa Pacific College in 1977. She also has a BA, in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. She has been the Director of Parent and Family Resources at the USC University Affiliated Program, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles at the USC/UAP since 1997. In this capacity, she represents the parent and family perspective in training, service delivery, policy development, and research. She meets her pre-service professional training responsibilities as the Parent Faculty in the UAP Interdisciplinary Leadership Education in Neuro-developmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. She also coordinates a unique long-term training program to prepare parents as family resource specialists. Two parent interns participate in the LEND leadership program every year, side by side with graduate students from ten disciplines.
Ms. Goldfarb's great passion is to train parents about child development, specific disabilities, advocating for their children, and how to access services, from special education, to health and mental health services. As a trained health educator, Ms. Goldfarb develops training curricula for parents and conducts training locally, statewide, and nationally on topics of interest and relevance to parents, including but not limited to Special Education, Family-Centered Care, Systems of Care for Children with Special Needs, Parent-Provider Partnerships, Parent Leadership Skills and the Needs of Families of Children with Special Needs.
Ms. Goldfarb also provides the parent perspective and expertise on family-centered care and accessing services to a variety of projects on parent/family issues and assures a family-centered approach in projects; for example, she is currently the Parent/Health Educator for the Los Angeles Medical Home Project for Children with Special Health Care Needs. As a faculty member, she is also responsible for shaping policies and systems reform. She does this currently as a member of the Los Angeles Partnership for Special Needs Children (LAPSNC), working with Family Voices chapters, and sitting on a number of advisory boards. True to her profession as a parent professional she is an active Parent to Parent volunteer and is the Founder and Co- Leader of the Asperger’s Syndrome Parent Support Group in Los Angeles.
As the parent of a 13-year-old son with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and psychiatric disability, Ms. Goldfarb brings the perspective of lifelong experience as a parent to all of her professional work. She not only understands theory, but is well versed in practical solutions. She is the in-house conscience to our Center.