The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) is a member of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), a national network of interdisciplinary centers advancing policy and practice for and with individuals with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities. AUCD publishes its monthly online newsletter, AUCD 360 (formerly AUCDigest), which includes information about people and programs, activities and resources throughout the network. CDD regularly submits articles for publication in the newsletter to share our news with other members of the network. Articles in the newsletter are sometimes picked up and published by other news sources, including the Federal News Brief of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS). Following is a list of some previously published articles:
3rd Round of the ProFellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement Launched - January 2024
Intro: ProFellows Derrick Willis, Director of the University of Iowa’s Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) and AUCD President, and Bakar Hamad, Executive Director of the Organization of Women with Disabilities in Zanzibar (JUWAUZA), joined esteemed dignitaries to celebrate 15 years of JUWAUZA's dedicated service to women with disabilities in Zanzibar! Dignitaries included the second Vice President of Zanzibar, the Hon. Hemed Suleiman Abdulla.
UI REACH Virtual Classes - December 2023
Intro: UI REACH (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes), a program for young adults with disabilities at the University of Iowa, is excited to announce two virtual courses that will be offered for the spring 2024 semester. The two courses that will be offered are “Social Skills in the Workplace” and “Healthier You.” Classes will be held weekly with an instructor using an online platform. Students will be able to work collaboratively with their peers to achieve the class goals.
Disability in Iowa: Working Together! - November 2023
Intro: In early November, the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), home to Iowa’s UCEDD, LEND program, and IDDRC, teamed up with our sister organization, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, to host “Disability in Iowa: Working Together.” Iowa’s state legislators were invited to CDD for a learning session to increase their awareness of the work we do on behalf of Iowans with disabilities, and to help them understand more about the experience of living with a disability, including the challenges of access to supports and services.
Iowa Creates a New Vaccine Clinic for Patients with Unique Needs - November 2023
Intro: Iowa’s Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) has a new vaccine clinic for children and some adults with unique needs, including sensory issues, anxiety, and other disabilities. Earlier this year, the mother of a child with autism got in touch with CDD, looking for a place to get her child vaccinated against Covid-19. CDD clinical nurse manager Sheree Murphy, RN, took up the challenge, and enlisted the help of UCEDD program coordinator, Anne Crotty, MPH.
Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development Joins Mass Casualty Preparedness Event - July 2023
Intro: In June, University of Iowa Health Care was joined by the Iowa City VA Hospital and Mercy Iowa City in a simulated mass casualty incident. Iowa’s Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), which is based at UI Health Care, participated in the event as the Family Reunification Center, the primary location for families and patients to be reunited. CDD is home to Iowa’s tertiary-level evaluation and diagnostic clinics, Iowa’s UCEDD and LEND program, and the Hawk-IDDRC.
Iowa's National Summer Transportation Institute Promotes STEM Careers for Youth - July 2023
Intro: “Is this Heaven?” No, it’s the Iowa National Summer Transportation Institute (INSTI)! The Center for Disabilities and Development, Iowa’s UCEDD, recently hosted the third annual INSTI STEM summer camp. For the first time, INSTI was held residentially this summer. Seventeen middle-school-aged campers from all around the state, girls and boys including seven with disabilities, stayed in a University of Iowa residence hall during the two-week camp session. Campers learned a lot, played a lot, and got some insight into future career opportunities.
Iowa's UCEDD Welcomes a Professional Fellow from Zanzibar - June 2023
Intro: Iowa’s UCEDD welcomed Bakar Hamad from Zanzibar last month as part of his experience in the Professional Fellow Program, a joint project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston and Humanity & Inclusion. Hamad is the fourth Professional Fellow that Iowa’s UCEDD has hosted through the program, which has provided wonderful opportunities for the fellows and for UCEDD staff to exchange information, ideas and strategies for supporting people with disabilities. His visit highlighted some common challenges shared by our rural states, Iowa and Zanzibar.
Iowa Works Together to Address the DSP Workforce Shortage - April 2023
Intro: Like most states, Iowa is experiencing a shortage of direct support professionals, the workers who provide supports and services to individuals with disabilities living in our communities. And like other states, Iowa’s UCEDD has worked for years with state partners to develop and implement strategies to address the shortage. But ongoing challenges, including low wages for difficult work and high rates of turnover, remain.
Recently, our UCEDD joined our sister agency, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, and other organizations, including the Iowa Association of Community Partners, Iowa Caregivers Association, ASK Resource Center, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Serves and Iowa Workforce Development, to develop a new recruiting tool.
Iowa's Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Launches Training Series - March 2023
Intro: Iowa’s Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health (CEBH) recently launched a virtual training series, which will help build the capacity of Iowa’s providers to ensure people with serious mental illness have access to the treatment they need to help them live healthy, meaningful lives in the community. CEBH is one of the newest grant programs based at Iowa’s UCEDD, the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD, Iowa’s UCEDD). Last spring, CDD was awarded a competitive three-year $2,200,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to create CEBH, which focuses on providing training, technical assistance, and fidelity monitoring for entities responsible for developing and implementing evidence-based practices for individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and co-occurring conditions in the state of Iowa.
Iowa Promotes Competitive Integrated Employment through Participation in ASPIRE - February 2023
Intro: Iowa was selected by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, as one of seven states participating in the second round of the ASPIRE Initiative—Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment. Iowa is one of four states that participated in the first round of the initiative, with the overall goal of promoting competitive integrated employment for individuals with mental health conditions by aligning state policies, programs, and funding.
Iowa's UCEDD Leads EPSDT Shared Language Initiative - January 2023
Intro: The Care for Kids grant program team at Iowa’s Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD, Iowa’s UCEDD) is leading a Shared Language Initiative to support the work of the state’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) interagency stakeholder workgroup. The Shared Language Initiative is intended to develop a list of common terms and concepts to be used by our stakeholder workgroup and agencies to make it easier for patients, families, and providers to better understand EPSDT benefits and how they differ from other insurance benefits like CHIP. The Initiative will also support statewide efforts to promote EPSDT and its services, and meet EPSDT goals.