Ensuring that all children, youth, and adults with disabilities, and those receiving educational supports, are valued by and contribute to their communities of choice. |
|
|
|
Impact, The Anniversary Issue: 35, Counting
The Institute on Community Integration’s flagship publication, Impact, celebrates 35 years as a research-to-practice guide for the field of intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities in a feature issue launching this week.
ICI Director Amy Hewitt, along with each former director, reflect on the publication’s growth and relevance over time. A “best of” collection of resources includes a foldout disability history timeline in the print edition, and several readers and former authors reflect on what Impact means to them and on their lives and challenges today.
From its beginnings as a 12-page newsletter on case management, Impact has grown to include personal stories, practical how-to articles, profiles of promising programs and practitioners sharing their best how-to tips as they work to implement the latest, best practices for people with disabilities to live lives of their own choosing.
Now available in print and accessible digital formats, with the digital edition available in English and Spanish, Impact has embraced continuous improvement to remain relevant, Hewitt said. In addition to several digital enhancements over time, the latest print issue uses 100 percent post-consumer waste.
“Impact has stood the test of time because it stays true to its mission of focusing on community priorities and connecting research to policy and practice,” Hewitt said. “From its earliest days, the publication has included the perspective of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities themselves.”
Read more about the new issue of Impact. |
|
Supporting Health and Wellness: New Frontline Initiative Available Now
People with disabilities suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, and the new issue of Frontline Initiative helps direct support professionals better understand how to support people with disabilities with their ongoing physical and emotional health needs.
“We learned a lot of good things during COVID-19 about slowing down and getting to know what’s important to people with disabilities and what we need to focus on to help them take care of themselves, whether that’s nutrition, becoming more active, or learning about meditation,” said FI co-editor Chet Tschetter.
DSPs play an important role in supporting people as they navigate experiences with healthcare providers, as well as their own personal health and wellness goals, said co-editor Julie Kramme.
“DSPs are right there, supporting the person and knowing what’s important to them,” Kramme said.
Read more about the new Frontline Initiative. |
|
Disability Civil Rights: Echoes of Activism
They fought back against abuse in institutions and forced sterilization. Moving north to escape Jim Crow laws, they tied disability rights to civil rights. Denied access to jobs and education, they persisted, and won critical victories.
Staff members and guests of the Institute on Community Integration recently gathered in St. Paul to hear stories about the remarkable lives, and sometimes brutal treatment, of people with disabilities who fought for their right to live and die with dignity in their communities.
Mel Duncan (pictured), a longtime activist who helped create the disability rights organization Advocating Change Together, shared stories from the 1970s, more than 15 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibited discrimination in employment, transportation, public accommodations, and other areas of community life.
“In the fall of 1975, I was told there was someone who kept calling and wanting to know about the advocacy program, and would I go talk to him? So, I went up to JR Suddeth’s apartment on Plymouth Avenue to talk to him,” Duncan said. “Our grant was set up to organize a cadre of volunteers and we were to take cases regarding human rights, education, financial assistance, day programs and housing, but JR wanted to go deeper than that. He saw disability rights through the prism of Black civil rights. He was born in Alabama, and his family came to Minnesota to escape Jim Crow laws. We decided to use voter registration as a vehicle to talk to people about their civil rights.”
Read about more disability rights activists. |
|
Congratulations to Barbara Kleist of the Institute on Community Integration on receiving the Policy Award from AAIDD. This award recognizes significant contributions to public policy that have advanced the field and resulted in positive outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Well deserved! |
|
Wellness Matters for Direct Support: Supporting Mental Health
Presenters: Mark R Olson and Chet Tschetter
In this podcast episode, Susan O’Nell, Aja Owens, and Stan Schmidt talk to hosts Olson and Tschetter about mental health and the benefits of having a wellness recovery action plan. The episode’s website landing page includes links to helpful resources and sources cited in the podcast. |
|
NCEO Newsletter: June 2023
In this issue, NCEO highlight some of its new products, as well as several upcoming events. The first article is about two new tools that can be used to develop state and district assessment participation action plans. Next is an article about gaps in the accommodations research literature. This issue includes a summary of all the sessions in which NCEO is participating during the National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA). Finally, there is an article on the forum on What Does Meaningful Accessibility Really Mean?
that follows NCSA. The article includes information on how to register for the forum. Published by ICI’s National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). |
|
National Core Indicators - Intellectual and Developmental National In-Person Survey 2021–2022
This report by the National Core Indicators agency is the most comprehensive and representative source of information on the demographics and self-reported outcomes among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities using services in the United States. These data were collected from 13,559 people between June 2021 and July 2022. The sample includes individuals from 27 regionally representative states and a variety of long-term services and supports settings, including people in institutional settings, community-based residential settings, their own homes or family homes, and those in host or foster family homes. |
|
Journal Articles Published
Tichá, R., Pettingell, S., Lemanowicz, J., Feinstein, C., Bershadsky, J.,
Houseworth, J., & Zhang, A. (2023). Using the Independent Monitoring for Quality Program to examine longitudinal outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 61
(3), 238–249. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-61.3.238
Pettingell, S., Bershadsky, J., Lahti Anderson, L.,
Hewitt, A., Reagan, J., & Zhang, A. (2023).
The direct support workforce: An examination of direct support professionals and frontline supervisors during COVID-19. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 61(3), 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-61.3.197 |
|
Forum: "What Does Meaningful Accessibility Really Mean?"
June 28
3:30–6:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
Technology is changing what test accessibility means. The Institute’s National Center on Educational Outcomes and the Council of Chief State School Officers’ Assessment, Standards, and Education of Students with Disabilities collaborative will discuss meaningful accessibility and implications of technology for test participation. This in-person forum will be held immediately following the National Conference on Student Assessment in New Orleans. Register at
https://bit.ly/3WYmDqL |
|
Schleien Scholarship Accepting Applications
The Jason David Schleien Memorial Scholarship offers $3,000 to qualified students who actively promote the community inclusion of individuals with disabilities, disadvantaged youth, and other underserved populations. These activities could take place in the spring, summer or fall. Students must be enrolled full-time at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development and report their experiences to the Schleien family after completing the project. Applicants should submit a one-page proposal to ICI’s
Nik Fernholz outlining their interest in the stated examples of areas of study and working with the relevant populations. Read more about this scholarship opportunity. |
|
Jennifer Hall-Lande and Libby Hallas. On May 5, Hall-Lande (pictured) co-presented two papers at the INSAR Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Hall-Lande and
Hallas were among the presenters of “Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence in Somali Children in Minnesota: Data from the MN-ADDM Study.” Hall-Lande was one of several presenters of “Differential Relationship between Low Birthweight and Risk across ASD and ID Outcomes by Maternal Race and Ethnicity.” Back in Minnesota, Hall-Lande co-hosted an in-person community event on May 19 with Help Me Grow Parent Connectors. This event focused on training and strengthening relationships with community partners in the early childhood community. |
|
Sarah Hall, Lynda Lahti Anderson, and Sandra Pettingell. On May 10, Hall
(pictured) co-presented a virtual training about using simple accommodations to support youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities to 4-H club volunteers and youth leaders. On May 17, she co-presented a virtual training about understanding behaviors of youth with IDD to 4-H staff, volunteers, and youth leaders. On June 6, Hall, Lahti Anderson, and Pettingell
presented, “Work-Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of DSPs and Supervisors,” at the annual meeting of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) in Pittsburgh. |
|
Rebecca Dosch Brown, Brian Abery, Renáta Tichá, and Macdonald Metzger. On May 11, Dosch Brown
(pictured) presented, ”Creating inclusive environments in CTE programs for learners with disabilities,” as Session 1 of a three-part series on Inclusive Career and Technical Education (CTE) with the State of Minnesota CTE Equity Division to statewide CTE department staff, instructors, curriculum designers, accessibility resource staff, school and vocational counselors, and employment specialists. Dosch Brown designed series content with Abery,
Tichá, and CTE staff. On May 27, Dosch Brown, Metzger, and MNLEND alumna Alyssa Mason spoke at a health resources fair hosted by SEWA-AIFW, a partner organization that serves the South Asian community in the Twin Cities, and shared information about ICI’s
MNLEND; Minnesota Learn the Signs, Act Early; and the
Minnesota Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network programs. |
|
Megan Sanders, Chet Tschetter, and Sandra Pettingell. On May 11 and May 25, Sanders (pictured) and
Tschetter presented the virtual frontline supervisor trainings, “The Employee Assessment and SMART Goals” and “How to Make and Support Employees in Decision Making,” to frontline supervisors from the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island. On May 23, Sanders and Pettingell presented, “State of the Direct Support Workforce,” at the Minnesota Age & Disabilities Odyssey Conference. |
|
Brian Begin, Sherry Healey, and Danielle Mahoehney. On May 15–17, the
Minnesota Transformation Initiative team—including Begin, Healey, and
Mahoehney—in addition to project partners from UMass-Boston and Strengths@Work, LLC, presented a four-session track on organizational transformation at the 2023 Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation (MOHR) Conference in Saint Cloud. |
|
Renáta Tichá, Brian Abery, Roger Stancliffe, Seunghee Lee, and Emily Unholz-Bowden. On May 17–18, Tichá (pictured),
Abery, Stancliffe, Lee, and
Unholz-Bowden attended a transition forum at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen in the Czech Republic. They presented on ICI’s Community-Based Collaborative Transition Model for Minnesota Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities project. Stancliffe also presented a paper, “Transition to work in Australia.”
|
|
AAIDD conference. On June 5–7, numerous ICI staff members presented in Pittsburgh at the 147th annual meeting of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD).
Julie Kramme (pictured), Amy Hewitt, and Julie Bershadsky
presented, “I learned to Stop, Listen, and Learn: Retaining Competent, Committed Direct Support Professionals.” Kramme and James Houseworth presented the poster, “How has the Self-Determined Career Development Model Supported People? A Research Synthesis.” Kramme and Chet Tschetter presented the poster, “Always Fresh. Always Relevant: Using Data to Engage the Direct Support Workforce with Frontline Initiative.”
Danielle Mahoehney and Brian Begin were among the presenters of “A Statewide Approach to Supporting Providers to End Subminimum Wage.” Jon Neidorf
presented, “Understanding Waitlists with RISP Data.” |
|
Hauff Heads to Augustana
Jean Hauff (pictured at left), a communications intern at the Institute on Community Integration, this fall will begin studying mass media at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Hauff began working with the communications team last summer, and has contributed to several projects with the Institute. She interviewed participants on camera at a Transition Plus career fair, created a blog, designed graphics, and served as a co-master of ceremonies for a recent ICI staff meeting, among other projects. She is an active self-advocate with an intellectual disability who has supported several initiatives to expand higher education opportunities for people with disabilities.
“It was a rewarding experience to combine my passion for writing and design,” she said in describing the internship. “I love designing graphics for important causes, and seeing my designs come to life was incredible. I learned valuable skills that I can carry with me throughout my career.”
Read more about Hauff. |
|
|
|
This email was sent to ICI staff by Institute on Community Integration, 2025 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
mass email privacy statement | |
|
|
The University of Minnesota stands on Miní Sóta Makhóčhe, the rightful homelands of the Dakhóta Oyáte. ICI recognizes that the U.S. did not uphold its end of these land treaties. It is the current and continued displacement of the Dakhóta Oyáte
that allows the University to remain today. At ICI, we affirm our commitment to address systemic racism, ableism and all other inequalities and forms of oppression to ensure inclusive communities. |
|
|
|
|
|
|