AUCD and NASDDDS Collaborate to Disseminate Three New Publications

March 5, 2008

The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS) has sent its members links to 3 fact sheets created by AUCD. These documents were created based on your responses to survey questions that you submitted last fall and data in NIRS. The dissemination of these documents is part of a collaborative effort between NASDDDS and AUCD to build new opportunities for their respective members.

NASDDDS' mission is to assist its member state agencies in building person-centered systems of services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families. On March 5, 2008, NASDDDS included links to the documents below in its members-only e-newsletter "Beyond the Beltway."

We hope that these documents will help "reintroduce" the expertise available at your Center to the state MR/DD director in your state, and the entire AUCD network. We also hope that these documents might serve as a catalyst for discussion and the development of new opportunities for your Center to work with the MR/DD agency in your state.

Links to these documents follow.

• Collaboration: UCEDDs, LENDs, and State MR/DD Agencies
  In 2007, AUCD conducted a survey of the membership to discover the extent of the network's partnerships with state mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD) agencies. The responses revealed that the collaborative relationships between UCEDDs and state MR/DD agencies are extensive, reciprocal, and complementary.
• Adult Services in the AUCD Network
  AUCD surveyed its members in October 2007 on the work UCEDDs and LENDs are engaged in the adult arena. Centers responded that they are working in the area of adult services by providing direct services to adults with disabilities, providing expert resources (in their states and nationally), and training new professionals.
• Autism Services in the AUCD network
  AUCD surveyed its members in October 2007 on the types of services the UCEDDs and LENDs provide to people with autism and their families. AUCD network members have been recognized as Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) by the National Institutes for Health, and are providing direct services to children and adults with autism and their families, providing expert resources, and training new professionals.