Building a National Agenda for Supporting Families with an Individual with Developmental or Intellectual Disabilities

Supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live and fully participate in their communities throughout their lives has emerged as a fundamental right and consideration in disability policy and practices. Because of the role... More

Supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live and fully participate in their communities throughout their lives has emerged as a fundamental right and consideration in disability policy and practices. Because of the role that families continue to play in the lives of their family members with intellectual and developmental disabilities, future policies and practices must reflect the family as part of the system of support. This is especially important as the demands for services that support individuals with I/DD are increasing, while at the same time both state and federal funds are diminishing. A group of diverse national and state disability leaders met and developed recommendations on the types of supports families need to serve in this role, and made recommendations for advancing a national agenda on supporting the family at the Johnson Foundation’s Wingspread Conference Center in March 2011. This document outlines recommendations from th Less