National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities

Technical assistance: nacdd provided technical assistance to state Councils on Developmental Disabilities. Each council determined its own needs, and consequently, the types and duration of the assistance varied from council to council. Nacdd also provided telephone advice to Councils on compliance and management issues. Technical assistance is funded by a contract from the administration on Developmental Disabilities, department of health and human services.

Bridging aging and disability networks: the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, in partnership with the institute on disability and human development at the university of Illinois chicago, lurie institute for disability policy at brandeis university, the arc, and National Association of area agencies on aging, seeks to strengthen the collaboration between aging and disability networks to better support individuals with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (i/dd) and their families in future planning. We will leverage our collective expertise in aging, disability, and future planning to: 1) build capacity across and within states' aging and disability networks to provide coordinated services and supports that address the needs of aging adults with i/dd and their families as they plan for future care; and 2) support, sustain, and replicate emerging and promising practices and policies in states that support the unique needs and preference of adults aging with i/dd and their families to aid them in planning for the future. Because of this project: 1) states will have a more established, culturally competent infrastructure that addresses future planning and more effectively responds to the unique needs of diverse families; 2) older adults with i/dd will be living in the community with supports that reflect their needs, wants, and cultural preferences; and 3) more policies will be changed to enable more coordinated access across aging and disability networks that improves the experience of people with i/dd and their families as they age. New resources will include a website, promising practices report, and additional materials in plain language and other languages, as determined by states' needs with input from a partnership council.

Council services: served the needs of Councils by assisting them with their internal operations and state systems issues; annual summer conferences; produced council services newsletter; maintained the nacdd web page; provided on-site, in-service training for council orientation and other programmatic needs; and conducted special projects.

Public policy: represented the interests of Developmental Disabilities Councils and people with Developmental Disabilities at the federal level, with congress and the administration; kept Councils informed about National policies that affect them and their constituents, and ensured the continuation and enforcement of the Developmental Disabilities act.