Project STIR
MD-Kennedy Krieger Institute, UCEDD/LEND | |||
Program Type | UCEDD | Fiscal Year | 2020 |
Contact | Tamara Goldsmith | ||
[email protected] | |||
Phone | 443-923-4146 | ||
Project Description | |||
People On the Go, Marylands self-advocacy network, proposes three comprehensive initiatives for the continuing partnership with Marylands Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) to support its goals around broadening self-advocacy in the state of Maryland. First, POG will focus on Project STIR (Steps Towards Independence and Responsibility), the basic self-advocacy curriculum that POG has been championing since 2016. This program will continue to expand in 2019 by offering additional trainings throughout the state. Second, POG proposes a two-day self-advocacy leaders summit that will target advocates from established local self-advocacy groups, such as Stand Together and Helping Hands, who want to commit to learning and becoming experts on key issues surrounding the DDA transformation. The DDA transformation is the goal of transforming policies and funding processes to create a flexible, person centered, family-oriented system of supports so people can have full lives. The purpose of this activity is to build self-advocacy capacity on committees and boards that address issues of transformation. Content will include person-centered planning, direct support professional standardizations, quality enhancements, and self-directed services. Third, POG will engage a committee of stakeholders, agencies and partnering organizations to make recommendations to DDA to bring the Project STIR model of self-advocacy training to young adults in public and nonpublic schools. The committee will make recommendations to the DDA on how to implement, pilot, and measure outcomes for a self-advocacy training rollout in public and non-public schools for young adults with disabilities. This recommendation will include using Project STIR as the model for young adults to gain basic self-advocacy skills and to learn how to use tools to advocate for needs and wants in the community after high school. The training will have a focus on preparation for post-secondary education and/or job exploration in a competitive integrated employment environment. For example, Kennedy Kriegers new Project SEARCH program would provide an excellent testing ground. |