Governance

Offering community service activities that include community education and technical assistance for or with individuals with developmental disabilities, their family members, professionals, paraprofessionals, students and volunteers is a prescribed core function of UCEDDs and an important task of LENDs.

Purpose
The Community Education and Dissemination Council was established to:

• Serve as a focus and forum for the identification and discussion of issues of community education and technical assistance
• Function as a representative voice of community education interests and concerns within the AUCD network
• Influence the development and implementation of national community education policies and initiatives
• Share resources and exemplary community education programs developed and used by UCEDDs and LENDs across the nation

Membership
The Council is composed of not more than two representatives from each AUCD member program who is either the Community Education and/or Dissemiation Director/Coordinator or a designee who best represents the overall community education interests of that program.

Meetings
The full Council meets once a year in conjunction with the AUCD Conference. The CEDC Steering Committee and the Council's other working Committees also meet in person once a year and at least three additional times during the year through conference calls.

 

General Operating Guidelines for Committee/Task Force Activities

Updated 2015

April 16, 2015

Adopted 1988

Revised 1999

Updated 2007, 2008, 2015

§  Meet no less than two times a year in conjunction with AUCD Annual Meeting and Conference and/or via remote conferencing.

§  Submit brief minutes of Committee/Task Force meetings to CEDC Chair at least 60 days prior to AUCD Annual Meeting. Include meeting date, group members present, and major outcomes.

§  Develop plan to address Committee/Task Force purpose, including timelines; implement plan.

§  Whenever appropriate, obtain input into Committee/Task Force activities from general CEDC membership through CEDC meetings and/or the Council's listserve.

§  Coordinate dissemination of all written correspondence to general CEDC membership via the Council listserve through CEDC Chair prior to distribution of material.

§  Submit formal Committee/Task Force recommendations, in writing, to CEDC Chair at least 60 days prior to the AUCD Annual Meeting to distribute with CEDC meeting agenda. Present recommendations at CEDC meetings to obtain approval from general CEDC membership.

§  Present an update of Committee/Task Force activities at each CEDC meeting.

§  In those instances where imposed deadlines do not permit use of Council meetings to obtain approval of formal Committee/Task Force recommendations, alternative procedures for approval of recommendations will be determined by the CEDC Steering Committee.

General Operating Guidelines for Council Business (PDF)

Standing CEDC Meeting Agenda Items

o  Update Council Membership Roster

o  AUCD Board of Directors' Report

o  CEDC Committee/Task Force Reports and Needed Action

o  CEDC Liaison Reports and Needed Action (as requested)

o  Old Business

o  New Business

o  AUCD Community Education and Dissemination: Information Sharing

o  Summary of Meeting Outcomes

 

CEDC Governing Rules

Revised 2015

April 16, 2015

Changes approved by the Council in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015

Section I - Rationale

The evolving movement toward the design and delivery of inclusive services and supports for individuals with developmental and other disabilities has significantly increased the need to provide education and support to individuals with disabilities, their families, community and state agency personnel, policy makers and community members. The nature of this need demands the provision of capacity building activities at all levels: local, state, regional, national and international. These activities must include professional and staff development, community education, curriculum development, technical assistance, and dissemination of research based knowledge and best practices. Community education and information dissemination strategies, activities and materials should employ the principles of marketing/communications and utilize formats that are understandable and useful to specific target populations.

Community education and dissemination activities are mandated as core functions of the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDD) network by the federal Developmental Disabilities Act. These activities emphasize state-of-the-art practices that:

1.    Provide leadership in facilitating the self-determination of individuals with disabilities and family members;

2.    Develop/enhance community options available to individuals with disabilities;

3.    Increase the community's capacity to meet the needs of all its citizens in a culturally competent manner.

Section II - Purpose

(Updated and approved by the Council in 2003 and 2007)

The Community Education and Dissemination Council is hereby established as a formal entity of the AUCD. The purpose of the Council is to: 1) provide a forum for the identification and discussion of issues regarding community education, marketing, and dissemination and utilization of information; 2) function as a representative voice of the community education and information dissemination interests and concerns within the AUCD network; 3) influence the development, implementation and replication of national community education and information dissemination policies and initiatives; and (4) serve as a resource to the AUCD network in addressing the strategic priorities of the network and the Board.

Section III - Organization

A.   The Council is composed of one or more representative member/s from each UCEDD who serves as the Community Education Director/Coordinator, Information Dissemination Coordinator, or a designee who best represents the overall community education and information dissemination interests of that UCEDD. When a representative(s) cannot participate in a scheduled meeting, an alternate may be chosen by the member program Director. Alternates shall have full voting rights.

B.   The officers of the Council shall include the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary.

C.   A Steering Committee shall consist of the Officers, past Council Chairperson (one year), active Standing Committee/ad hoc Task Force leaders, and other individuals designated by the Chairperson. This group shall serve as the overall planning body for the Council, having responsibility for planning and coordinating Council activities.

D.   Standing Committees and/or ad hoc Task Forces may be formed at the request of the Chairperson and the approval of the Steering Committee. Individual Committees/Task Forces shall be the direct responsibility of their Chairperson, who is appointed by, and responsible to, the Council Chairperson. These Committees/Task Forces shall be developed in response to identified needs within the Council. Each shall be made up of at least three members of the Council. Each Committee/Task Force shall be required to report its ongoing activities at the annual meeting and shall be maintained until such time as its objectives have been reached and further ongoing work is deemed unnecessary by the Steering Committee.

E.   Certain members of the Council shall be designated by the Chairperson as liaisons to all other AUCD Councils and other Committees, as appropriate, within the AUCD organization.

Section IV - Voting

(Added and approved by the Council in 2007)

A.   In the election of Council officers, and other matters that require a vote by members of the Council or any of its Committees or Task Forces, each AUCD member program shall have one vote. For programs with two appointed representatives to the Council, as provided in Section III.A., the center must select one representative to exercise the right to cast votes before the annual meeting for each year. The center's Director will notify the Chair of the CEDC by email to designate the representative who has voting privileges for that center. Voting privileges may pass between representatives if one is not present or available to cast a vote. In cases where both representatives are present, one representative shall cast the vote on behalf of the AUCD member program.

B.   Voting may be conducted at the Council's annual meeting or via e-mail, regular mail and/or during remote conferencing.

Section V - Meetings

A.   There shall be conducted no less than one general Council meeting per year. This requirement shall usually be fulfilled through the national AUCD Annual Meeting, but may be accomplished through other means. Announcement of the general business meeting, along with distribution of a tentative agenda, shall be made, via the Council's listserve, at least one month prior to the scheduled date.

B.   A quorum at a general business meeting shall consist of those members present provided that an announcement of the meeting and its agenda were distributed to the entire Council membership at least one month prior to the meeting.

C.   Meetings of the Steering Committee shall be held at the discretion of the Chairperson.

D.   Meetings of standing Committees and/or ad hoc Task Forces shall be held at the discretion of their Chairperson.

E.   The business of the Council may also be conducted through the Council's listserv and remote conferencing.