Frequently Asked Questions

Registration for The Annual Family Café opens on February 14 every year.

The preferred way to register is online. An item regarding registration will be posted to the home page and shared through our mailing list when registration opens. You may also select Annual Family Café from the menu bar then click on the online registration link provided.

If you have any problems registering, please contact our office at (850) 224-4670 or reach us by email at info@familycafe.net.

The sessions included in The Annual Family Café are selected by The Family Cafe Planning Committee. This group, which is composed of community partners  and members of The Family Café Board of Directors, selects presentations for inclusion in The Annual Family Cafe from presentation proposals that The Family Cafe receives.

The Planning Committee does its best to put together a program that will benefit a wide range of people and provide information on a large number of topics. We are happy to consider proposals regarding any appropriate topic. If you know of anyone that may be willing to present at The Annual Family Café, please encourage them to submit a presentation! The Family Café can only choose from the proposals it receives, so we are relying on you to encourage qualified presenters to apply!

Proposals can be submitted through our new event website here.

Want some guidance on the process? Check out this Presenter Proposal submission guide here.

The window for submission runs through January 10 .

Yes!

The Annual Family Café is an extremely cost-effective means to meet some of the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families in Florida.

The Annual Family Café provides a great deal of benefit at an extremely low cost. For example, The 26^th Annual Family Café consisted of 13.5 hours of  direct* training time. With 15,469 individuals in attendance, that means The Annual Family Café costs a scant $4.57 an hour for this training per individual.

A Great Value for Florida

* Direct training time includes only breakout session and keynote session hours, and does not account for two pre-conference events, Exhibit Hall hours, or additional enrichment events that occur throughout The Annual Family Cafe.

The Annual Family Café also provides a uniquely valuable outlet for State Agencies to meet their parent training and information dissemination objectives in their state contracts. Last year, 35 presentations were delivered by State of Florida employees. Additionally, several state agencies had tables in the Exhibit Hall, including the ABLE United, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Agency for Health Care Administration, multiple programs of both the Department of Education and the Department of Health, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Division of Blind Services, and CareerSource Florida.

Additionally, the Annual Family Café is a unique source of information and resources for approximately 43% of attendees that report being on a wait list for services from state agencies, including the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The conference offers attendees the opportunity to collect accurate information about the availability and nature of state services from a number of agencies, and to develop strategies to meet their needs during the period between application for state services and actually beginning to receive them.

It should also be noted that some 93% of individuals with disabilities live with their families. It therefore makes sense to provide information, training and resources on a family-by-family basis, so the natural supports an individual with a disability enjoys through their family can be leveraged to their benefit. 

No. All money from the State of Florida goes directly to appropriate costs, including financial support, audio visual support for presenters and keynote speakers, and printing and conference materials. Entertainment is provided in-kind by corporate partners, as well as partner non-profits such as Arts4All Florida, Brazilian Voices, Chance 2 Dance, FRIENDS Chorus, ProjectFREE, Pyramid Players and Pyramid Studios, Soul To Soul Yoga, Special Kids Dance Academy, and Synchrony Arts Production Company.

In all areas, The Family Café stringently adheres to state procurement rules, and follows the appropriate fiscal procedures set forth by participating State Agencies. Our organization is deeply committed to extracting the greatest possible value from every dollar in its budget, both public and private, for the sake of the families we serve.  

The Annual Family Cafe is the largest statewide cross-disability event in the nation, and there’s no better way to connect with thousands of people with disabilities of all ages, families, and professionals in one place than reserving a spot for your organization in our Exhibit Hall!

This year, we’re excited to offer our Exhibitors new features to further your reach and connect with attendees, including lead generation and a virtual exhibit space in our event app.

We also have a range of options to expand your presence at The Annual Family Cafe, including the opportunity to be a Featured Exhibitor at the Brigade Level, with additional benefits including a choice of booth location, two additional professional registrations, logo placement in our event app, and a quarter page ad in our program. Learn more about the available options here!

Reserving an Exhibit Hall booth is easy. Just visit our online submission portal here to reserve your space.

Want some guidance on how the process works? Check out this handy how-to guide here.

The Annual Family Cafe is a truly remarkable event that brings together thousands of attendees with all kind of resources and opportunities to connect. We hope you choose to take advantage of the unique way we bring people together by joining us at The 27th Annual Family Cafe next June!

If you have any questions about becoming an exhibitor, please call us at (888) 309-2233 (CAFÉ) or send an e-mail to info@familycafe.net.

Each exhibit space includes a 10′ x 10′ area furnished with one skirted table, two chairs, and pipe and drape.

The cost is $2,500 per space for the full event. Save $50 by paying before Friday, February 14. (use code EarlyBird27 at check out.)

Each exhibit space includes two complimentary professional registrations. Additional representatives must pay a $250 registration fee. This fee applies to all members of your group, regardless of level or nature of participation in the event. Individuals with disabilities and their family members are exempt. 

Vendors displaying vehicles must purchase two booth spaces per vehicle, due to fire safety regulations.

Booth assignments are subject to change by The Family Café.

Your organization will receive exposure to over 10,000 individuals with disabilities and their family members from communities throughout Florida, all gathered in a single location for three days. There is no better way to increase your organization’s profile and reach this valuable market than coming to The Annual Family Cafe!

Learn everything you need to know about being an Exhibitor at The Annual Family Cafe on our online Exhibitor portal here!

For The 26th Anniversary Family Café, 73.6% of registrants requested financial assistance in the form of complimentary accommodation, 26.4% did not request financial assistance.

Financial Supports and Services

Multiple families also receive independent financial support from outside sources they have located on their own initiative, such as local school districts, support groups and religious organizations.

Initially, it may seem strange that state funds would be used to provide accommodation for families. Given the premise upon which The Family Cafe was founded, however, it makes perfect sense.

Simply put, we believe that educated, empowered families make the best possible choices for themselves and their members with disabilities. In order to become educated and empowered, they require knowledge, training, and networking, all of which are provided by The Annual Family Cafe.

For persons with disabilities, the primary resource in any given situation will be the immediate family. Over 90% of individuals with disabilities live with their families. According to well-substantiated studies, in-home supports are often preferable to other solutions, such as residential placement. Given that fact, it becomes imperative to provide information, training, and resources to families so they may meet the needs of their own members with disabilities themselves.

Although Florida provides a significant amount of pre-service and in-service training for professionals working with individuals with disabilities, there are limited opportunities for parents and family/guardian caregivers. If the State of Florida supports the training and education of its employees that serve persons with disabilities, does it not make sense to support the training and education of families that meet those needs within their own homes? Doing so ultimately provides greater benefit at lower cost, while developing educated consumers better able to navigate the service delivery system.

The Family Cafe does not charge a registration fee for individuals with disabiliites or their family members/caregivers.

There is a $250 registration fee for all professional attendees. Generally speaking, professionals that are also individuals with disabilities or family members are not required to pay the registration fee.

If you are unsure of your status, please contact our office for further clarification. We can be reached by E-Mail at info@familycafe.net or by phone at (850) 224-4670

In a typical year, over 250 volunteers give their time to help the event run smoothly. Their willingness to help out makes all the difference in the success of The Annual Family Cafe!

Volunteers fill a number of important roles, including helping to assemble materials for fellow attendees at Bag Stuffing on the Thursday evening before the event; working at the Registration Desk to help attendees get their name badges and materials; and serving as Room Monitors to help direct attendees to the sessions they’re looking for. 

If you’re interested in volunteering, please make sure to check the appropriate box on the form when you register!

There are two compelling reasons to hold The Annual Family Cafe in Orlando: geography and capacity.

Florida is a large state, with a Panhandle on one end and a chain of Keys on the other, some 15 hours apart by car. The Annual Family Cafe attracts families from every county in the state. To give everyone a reasonable opportunity to attend, The Family Café has decided to place its event in Orlando, the most geographically central city in Florida.

Fortunately, Orlando also offers a unique level of capacity. Despite the event’s remarkable growth over the years, it has yet to outgrow the hospitality resources in the Orlando area. No other city in Florida can offer a similar degree of large hotel and conference centers at competitive rates.

The 26th Annual Family Café was held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. This wonderful location was able to house the event, while offering a rate of $129 per night, approximately two-thirds of the regular rate for an equivalent room.

The Family Café is proud of its ability to host its event in such an excellent location, as such a reasonable cost to the State of Florida. The organization looks forward to extracting similar value by again being at the Hyatt Regency Orlando for the 27th Annual Family Café.