Personal diabetes research project

My close friend's child (12) has been diagnosed with diabetes type 1. The family is pretty devastated - even though they are aware of the fact that it is something that is manageable and a person can have a long life. They are also a bit helpless in the current situation and asked me if I could find out a bit more. This is where I need your help: - I need some general guidelines for parents that have a child with diabetes type 1 as well as some guidelines for the child - They are keen on finding out if there are currently any successful cures out there (to my knowledge there is not)? - What kind of promising research is currently being done and in which stage are they? - Are there any facilities (e.g. clinics) that specialize in treatment of diabetes (and or training of parents/children)? - They also heard about the insulin pump. Is that the best way to move forward for now? What insulin pump(s) is the most recommended (convenience as well as safety)? Any alternatives? Please give me an indication on how much time you will probably have to spend on this. The hourly factor that I am willing to pay heavily depends on your experience in that field (please provide examples). Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you!