2010 Initiatives
2010 Initiatives
At its September 22, 2009 Council meeting, the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities decided to spend about $487,000 in 2010 to fund the following 2010 Initiatives. A request for proposal (RFP) was issued on January 22, 2010. The Council’s Proposal Review ad hoc Committee made decisions on applications during April and May 2010.
1. Aging-In-Place in the Community
Objective: To demonstrate the organization and delivery of services and supports to people with developmental disabilities who are aging in their homes in their community to avoid institutionalization for the rest of their lives.
Description: The Council will make funds available for a regional demonstration based on the Beacon Hill Village aging-in-place in the community model that includes people with developmental disabilities.
Audience: People with developmental disabilities who are aging and already living independently, or with people with whom they have chosen to live, in the community and their neighbors who may or may not have disabilities.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: WeCAHR, Danbury $40,000
2. Service Broker and Peer Mentor Demonstration in Money Follows
the Person (MFP) for people targeted for the Personal Care Assistance
(PCA) waiver.
Objective: To support Connecticut Community Care, Inc., for a 2nd year to develop and demonstrate a person-centered support broker/counselor service and peer mentorship program within CT’s MFP program for people targeted for the PCA waiver with priority given to those with developmental disabilities who do not currently have this service in the service package within which they are enrolled.
Description: Support brokers and peer mentors will be demonstrated with some number of eligible people in a region for possible replication statewide and incorporation as an on-going service in CT’s Personal Care Assistance Waiver. Support brokers will assist people with developmental disabilities with coordinating in-home supports and peer mentors will be available to provide advice, counseling and support.
Audience: People with developmental disabilities leaving institutions to live in the community and policymakers responsible for the PCA Waiver.
Time Frame: 2009/2010 through 2011/2012
2010 Estimated Funds: $118,000
3. Influence Transportation Public Policy with a Transit District
Demonstration
Objective: To promote policies and support a demonstration with a transit district to improve the accessibility, affordability and availability of public transportation.
Description: The Council will fund a demonstration with a transit district on an on-demand wheelchair accessible system that enables people with developmental disabilities to get transportation to attend meetings and events of their choice in their community.
Audience: Transportation policymakers and transit districts and people with developmental disabilities who use those systems.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: Housatonic Area Regional Transit District $15,000
4. Promoting with Architects, Developers and Landlords
Visitable SmartHomes that Incorporate Universal Design
Objective: To create housing stock that is easily modified so that people with developmental disabilities have more options about where they can live and so that there is more accessible housing in general.
Description: The Council will make funds available for a Visitable SmartHomes initiative. This initiative will require (1) the building and maintenance of a coalition of housing and citizen partners, (2) development of a statewide voluntary accessible homes certification program for builders, (3) promotion with homebuilders associations and housing groups, and (4) a public awareness, education and marketing campaign on the value of visitable homes.
Audience: Architects, developers and landlords and people with developmental disabilities who will live in visitable SmartHomes incorporating universal design.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: Independence Unlimited, Hartford $31,000
5. CT Medical Safeguards Program In In-Patient Settings
Objective: To explore start up of a medical safeguards program, based on the Massachusetts model, to protect the lives of people with developmental disabilities in in-patient settings.
Description: CT Council funds will support conferences, meetings and workshops with entities which might take the lead on establishing a safeguards program. Council funds will also support the purchase of advice, consultation and technical assistance from MA Medical Safeguards and the Social Role Valorization Implementation Project to assure consistent values. Council funds will support the start-up of a safeguards program.
Audience: Medical practitioners and others willing to serve as medical advocates and people with developmental disabilities in in-patient settings.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: CT Legal Services, Middletown $40,000
6. Grassroots Intensive Parent Training on Inclusive Education
Objective: To provide grassroots intensive training to parents on using special education law to achieve inclusion and to avoid the use of aversives, restraint and seclusion.
Description: The Council will fund the creation or purchase of materials and the presentation of workshops around the state for parents on inclusive education, positive behavioral interventions and reporting the use of aversives, restraints and seclusion. The intent of this training and workshops is to provide parents with day-to-day survival skills.
Audience: Parents with children with developmental disabilities
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: None
7. Internships with public agencies and private businesses for youth with developmental disabilities
Objective: To provide youth with developmental disabilities on-the-job experience.
Description: Council funds will be used to support internships in various public agencies and businesses.
Audience: Youth with developmental disabilities.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: None
8. RoboWaiter Competition
Objective: To support Trinity College, Hartford, for a 4th year to promote the role robotics will play in enabling people with developmental disabilities to be supported to live in integrated community settings.
Description: The Council will co-sponsor a RoboWaiter competition for college and high school students and independent engineers, including a symposium on service robots. The competition is for high school, technical school and college robotics teams to design, build and demonstrate robots that assist people with developmental disabilities with household activities, chores, tasks and other activities of daily living.
Audience: Students hoping to be engineers and engineers and people with developmental disabilities who will use service robots.
Time Frame: 2010
2010 Award: $12,000
9. Training Parents on Building Circles of Support, MAPS (McGill Action Planning System) and PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope)
Objective: To teach parents simple, values-based, graphical tools for planning for the transition of their students with developmental disabilities to the adult world.
Description: The Council will fund people skilled in Circles of Support, MAPS and PATH to do regional workshops.
Audience: Parents who have students with developmental disabilities transitioning to the adult world.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: Educational Consultants of CT, Canton $40,000
10. Explore television, radio and print productions that further the mission of the Council to promote the full inclusion of all people with disabilities in community life.
Objective: To use the media to promote with the public the full inclusion of all people with disabilities in community life.
Description: The Council will explore and fund one or more media strategies on selected subjects. Activities will include writing letters to the editor and editorials, exploring the use of Facebook, and radio and television productions. This may be implemented with free lance writers or public relations firms.
Audience: The general public.
Time Frame: 2010 through 2012
2010 Award: First Experience Communications, Glastonbury $40,000
11. Emergency Preparedness Conference
Objective: To provide funds for a follow-up to the Council’s 2005 conference on emergency preparedness and subsequent training to assess the status of changes made since 2005.
Description: The Council will fund a conference with participants in the 2005 conference and entities that have been trained since 2005 to reflect on what has changed and what still needs to be done in order to assure that people with disabilities are properly and safely evacuated.
Audience: First responders (e.g. emergency personnel, fire, police, etc.).
Time Frame: 2010
Estimated Funds: $10,000
12. Youth Advocacy
Objective: Enabling youth with developmental disabilities under the age of 21 to be active advocates locally, statewide and nationally.
Description: CT Council funds will support the development of new, young, emerging leaders to revitalize the disability movement.
Audience: Youth with developmental disabilities.
Time Frame: 2010
2010 Award: None
13. Parents with Cognitive Limitations
Objective: To work with the Department of Children and Families, the Head Start Collaborative, and others, to coordinate efforts among state and private agencies to provide appropriate services and supports to families in which at least one parent has cognitive limitations, and who are associated with Head Start.
Description: The Council will co-fund the Work Group with DCF and the Head Start Collaborative to train providers in 6 trainings in 6 regions.
Audience: Head Start and other public and private providers.
Time Frame: 2010
2010 Award: State Board of Education, Hartford $6,000
14. Digitizing the Weicker Papers
Objective: To put in digital format for access online the important papers on disability issues, including the Developmental Disabilities Act, championed by parent, and former CT Senator, and former CT Governor, Lowell P. Weicker.
Description: The CT Council will make funds available for a researcher to research the papers of Sen. Weicker that are archived at the University of Virginia. Selected papers will be forwarded to the Minnesota Council on Developmental Disabilities. The MN Council will convert the papers to digital format. The MN Council will then place the digitized papers online as part of the history of the disability movement already on line at the MN Council website. A link to the website is on the CT Council website.
Audience: Anyone interested in the history of the disability movement.
Time Frame: October to November 2009
2010 Award: Contract with Ed Burke, Virginia $3,000
15. CT Council on Developmental Disabilities’ 40th Anniversary
Objective: To create visibility and knowledge about the CT Council by publicly celebrating the CT Council’s 40th anniversary.
Description: A public celebration to recognize the CT citizens and agencies who served as Council members and the advocacy, capacity building and systems change they achieved.
Audience: Past and current CT Council members and initiatives, CT DD Network partners, policymakers, and organizations of people with developmental disabilities and parents.
Time Frame: March 2, 2011.
2010 Award: An in-house activity assigned $5,000
16. 20th Anniversary of the ADA
Objective: Funding to support the planning and implementation of a CT 20th Anniversary of the ADA celebration
Description: The President of the Americans with Disabilities Act Coalition of Connecticut (ADACC) has asked the Council to financially support the planning and implementation of and ADA Celebration.
Audience: A broader range of interested parties beyond disability advocates to be determined.
Time Frame: July 26, 2010
2010 Award: ADA Coalition of CT, Hartford $5,000
17. 2010 Disability Convention and Expo
Objective: Funding to support the planning and implementation of a 3rd Disability Convention and expo
Description: The Council will participate in funding a convention where people running for elected office are invited to speak and vendors exhibit their products and services.
Audience: People with disabilities and parents are the primary audience.
2010 Award: Disability Advocacy Collaborative, Cromwell $5,000
