Newsroom

National Disabilities Leaders to Convene for Summit on Progressive Supports for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

NEWARK, Del., June 7, 2007 – National leaders in the field of developmental disabilities are convening to develop recommendations for services that support people to have better lives through individualized planning and supports. The summit, coordinated by the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, a project of the University of Delaware’s Center for Disabilities Studies, will be held June 14th -15th at the Maritime Institute in Baltimore, MD.

The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, a project of the Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Delaware, has organized the 2-day summit to discuss what will be required to take-to-scale the best of what we know about supporting people with cognitive and developmental disabilities to lead quality lives. The meeting features presentations from leading provider agency staff members from across the country who currently offer individualized and flexible supports. Participants will examine the successes and challenges as well as the policy, and funding shifts required to provide progressive supports. The second day will be a discussion about how to make progressive services available more broadly and how the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Delaware can support needed changes to the system.

“Across the country there are agencies offering individualized, responsive supports to people with disabilities but we are a long way from making access to these types of services a reality for most, or even a significant portion of, people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. The question we will address at the Summit is how the best that we know to offer people can be made available to significantly more people with disabilities and their families across the country,” said Nancy Weiss, Co-director of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities.

Over forty people have been invited to participate in this meeting to represent people with disabilities, family members of people with disabilities, directors and staff of progressive provider agencies in the country, policy and funding experts, people involved in assuring the quality of supports and services, government officials and heads of professional and advocacy organizations.

The summit is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Developmental Disabilities. The white paper developed as an outcome of this meeting will be available on the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities website by the Fall of 2007.

James F. Gardner, Ph.D., President and CEO of CQL, serves on the faculty of the University of Delaware’s Leadership Institute.

The mission of the Center for Disabilities Studies is to enhance the lives of individuals and families in Delaware through education, prevention, service, and research related to disabilities. We promote independence and productivity so individuals and families can fully participate in the life of the community.