Parental Resources

About | Parental Resources | Provider Resources

ICAAP Immunization Initiatives focus on immunization education for providers, policy, and advocacy developed in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

These resources are made available by Reaching Our Goals: Immunization Provider Education (ROG). ROG is an ICAAP educational program and initiative developed in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Heath and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Immunization Resources for Parents

Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics “Reaching Our Goals” program has developed a site where parents can easily find helpful and honest information regarding their childrens’ immunizations. These documents have been developed by reputable websites such as the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics. You can find the most current and up to date fact sheets about immunizations on this web page. These documents will help you discern myth from fact, learn about autism and vaccines, provide information about vaccine ingredients and much more.

May 14th Webinar for Parents: Everything You Want to Know about the Safety of Childhood Vaccines but are Afraid to Ask!

You have heard that immunizations are one of the best ways to protect your child against serious illness and diseases, but are you worried about possible side effects or question the safety of vaccines? Take advantage of this unique opportunity to dialogue with a pediatrician, learn what vaccines your child should receive and why, and have any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines answered. [...more]

Back to School Immunizations

As you help your kids get ready for school, make sure they’re fully vaccinated. Web tools from CDC can help parents and doctors keep children up-to-date with the vaccines they need and protected from serious diseases. For children in need of back to school vaccinations visit your local health department’s immunization clinics. For information about immunization clinic locations, times and dates in your area. [...more]

Parent Friendly Immunization Schedule

View this link to see an easy to read immunization schedule and a description of the vaccine preventable diseases your child should be protected against. [...more]

Alternative Vaccine Schedules: Helping Parents Separate Fact from Fear

Parents want to keep their children safe and healthy. This article will help empower parents to make an informed decision about vaccinating their kids. Questions about the recommended immunization schedule create an opportunity for providers and parents to communicate about requests for “alternative schedules,” including the Dr. Bob Sears’ schedule.[...more]

Common Questions Parents Ask about Infant Immunizations

Parents are faced with many difficult decisions throughout their child’s life. Whether or not to vaccinate should not be one of them. Many reproducible studies have shown that vaccines are safe and ultimately one of the most beneficial advancements in medical history. Despite the facts, parent want the best for their children and often have questions about the medical care of their child. This fact sheet answers some of the most common questions parents ask their child’s provider about vaccines.[...more]

If You Choose Not to Vaccinate Your Child

If you choose not to vaccinate your child you must understand the risks and responsibilities of this decision. There are risks of delaying or refusing some or all vaccines completely. Please follow these steps to protect your child, you family, and others.[...more]

Text-4-Baby

Text4baby is a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health. The Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition is excited to be the statewide coordinator for text4baby, the first ever free mobile health service providing health tips to pregnant women and new moms.[...more]

Immunization Links for Parents

The Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics “Reaching Our Goals” program recommends that parents search the most reputable websites for information regarding vaccines and the immunization schedule. The Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Immunization Action Coalition are just a few websites you can trust for medically accepted information about childhood immunization. The most up to date information can be found on these sites as soon as it becomes available to the public. Avoid misleading and biased information by visiting the following websites:

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control website highlights important information about vaccines and immunizations. This website has resources for parents about the immunizations schedules, basic and common questions about vaccines, misconceptions and other topics, statistics and surveillance, recommendations and other relevant material. [...more]

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) can help cut through the clutter of finding child health information available to parents. Fortunately, our 60,000 member pediatricians are committed to the physical, mental and social well-being of all infants, children, teens and young adults – and all of the information you’ll find here is supported by scientific research. [...more]

Immunization Action Coalition

Immunization Action Coalition is the nation’s premier source of childhood, adolescent and adult immunization information. [...more]

Department of Health and Human Services Vaccine Website

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched Vaccines.gov, a new Web site to educate parents and other consumers on immunization and the best ways to protect themselves and their children from infectious diseases. The site is a collection of federal resources on vaccines that provides consumers with easy-to-understand health information specifically for their needs. This is the first cross-government Web site devoted to providing consumer information about immunization, combining content and expertise from agencies across the HHS. The site includes vaccine recommendations, diseases that vaccines can prevent, important information for getting vaccinated, and tips on travel health.

Every Child by Two

Every Child by Two’s mission is to protect all children from vaccine preventable diseases by raising parental awareness of the critical need for timely infant immunizations, fostering the establishment of a systematic method to locate and immunize children, and providing convenient access to immunization services into the future. [...more]

Vaccine Scheduling Tool: One in four children is not properly immunized…is yours? In order to help you keep track of all the vaccines your child needs, Vaccinate Your Baby has created an application that can be downloaded to either your computer or smart phone that will automatically generate a customized schedule for children up to the age of 6 and send you reminders when it’s time to schedule your child’s next doctor’s appointment.

Parents Who Protect

The blog began as a forum for parents to discuss the belief that all children have the right to healthy development and the opportunity to achieve at their highest potential. Here, parents can explore the new developments in child health and vaccine safety, the individuals and organizations making a difference in these arenas and how can we, as parents, educate one another in ways that are central to our common background as caregivers to our children.[...more]

Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (PKIDS)

PKIDs’ mission is to educate the public about infectious diseases, the methods of prevention and transmission, the latest advances in medicine, and the elimination of social stigma borne by the infected; and to assist the families of the children living with hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, or other chronic, viral infectious diseases with emotional, financial and informational support.[...more]

I-CARE for Parents

Illinois Comprehensive Automated Registry Exchange (I-CARE) is the State of Illinois’ Immunization Registry where patient immunization records are stored in a statewide database. The registry allows private and public health providers to share immunization records of Illinois residents. I-CARE stores the immunizations that your child has received and calculates the vaccines they need to stay healthy and remain protected from vaccine preventable diseases. Only authorized users can access the registry and only patients whose parents have signed a consent form may participate. [...more]

Vaccines for Children-Plus (VFC) Information for Parents

The Vaccines for Children-Plus (VFC) program is a federally funded, state administered program that provides free vaccines to eligible children ages 18 and younger. Vaccines are provided free at no cost to the doctor or the patient, although providers may charge an administration fee. Eligible children include the following:

Children who have or are eligible for All Kids/Medicaid
Children with no health insurance
American Indian or Alaska Native children
Children who are underinsured**

**Underinsured children are defined as those children who have private health insurance which does not include coverage of vaccines. A child whose health insurance covers only select vaccines or caps the vaccine cost at a certain limit is categorized as underinsured.
Underinsured children in Illinois can receive all VFC vaccines through a private provider except for varicella, pneumococcal, meningococcal, HPV and influenza; however, underinsured children can obtain these and all other vaccines at a Federally Qualified Health Center or Rural Health Clinic. [...more]

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For more about immunizations resources and the Reaching Our Goals project, please contact:

Annie Boesen
Manager, Immunization Initiatives
1400 W. Hubbard, Suite 100
Chicago, IL 60642
Phone: 312/733-1026, ext 216
Fax: 312/733-1791
aboesen@illinoisaap.com