Project Description:
The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) is the primary center for community-based services and training within the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and is the State of Marylands University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. It is one of a network of 67 such University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) funded by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the Administration on Community Living. The MCDD offices offer group meeting space; technology to conduct webinars using shared screen options for partners to share process, data and documents; and statistical and database software to manage, store, and analyze data. The MCDD coordinates and collaborates with all of the major state partners in the fields of public health, disabilities, and education in Maryland. These collaborations include research, training, service, and information dissemination. The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities has been most actively involved for the past 5 years as the key provider at KKI of community-based training and technical assistance. This has included a number of evaluation and training projects. Annual training activities alone (during this time period) constituted over 250 days of training and nearly 2,000 participants across all of its projects. Much of this training and technical assistance is facilitated by the MCDDs technology-driven and web-based systems. The MCDD is also home to the countrys only UCEDD-based medical-legal partnership known as Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law), providing special education legal, advocacy, and other services in nearly every county in Maryland as well as providing legal training for nearly a dozen law students, interns, and externs each year with a focus on law and disability. The MCDD supports an ongoing Resource Center that is a physical space centrally located in the Institutes outpatient building, permanent full-time staff person, website, and phone line for anyone to access information on resources related to any topic in the field of disabilities. This Resource Center handles nearly 1,500 inquiries each year, from all across the country and even internationally. It also manages a database of resources and trainings statewide that are available to the public. The MCDD is developing a new set of integrated advocacy resources that includes self-advocates, family advocates, and professional advocates from a variety of systems. The focus of this effort is to bring together often disparate systems to provide training, technical assistance, development of advocacy systems, and inform policy and legislation. Self-advocacy efforts include grants and partnerships with People On the Go (Maryland self-advocates), Maryland DD Council, Maryland Department of Disabilities, Disability Rights Maryland (P&A), and Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration (state DD agency). The MCDD also works with family support groups (Pathfinders for Autism, Kinera Foundation), children with special needs (Maryland Title V), caregivers and respite care groups, Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland Department of Aging, an early intervention consortium, Medicaid data specialists (Hilltop Institute), and autism experts (Interactive Autism Network, Center for Autism and Related Disorders).
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information, Continuing Education/Community Training, Other Direct/Model Services
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Education & Early Intervention, Health-Related Activities, Employment-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN, Legislators/Policy Makers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas
