AUCD’s Community Inclusion Team supports the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Network in partnership with the Administration for Community Living.
AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.
AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.
AUCD Emerging Leaders are a part of a community that includes trainees, early career professionals, self-advocates, and family members from AUCD member Centers and Programs.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is a national association that supports Network members in their research, training, education, and service so that together, AUCD and Network members can promote the quality of life, health, and well-being of people with disabilities. Thanks to vital support from our federal and collaborating partners, AUCD and its Network members can continue advancing the shared mission across every state and territory.
AUCD Network members are located in every U.S. state and territory. They serve as a bridge between the university and the community, bringing together the resources of both to achieve meaningful change.
AUCD counts the Administration for Community Living as one of its major partners. The largest of the three national networks that comprise AUCD's constituency is the UCEDD Network; UCEDDs are authorized under the Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act) and their core funding is administered by ACL’s Administration on Disabilities. As the national membership organization for UCEDDs, AUCD partners with ACL in a variety of ways to promote a shared vision in which all individuals with disabilities can fully participate in the social, economic, and educational life of their communities.
For over 20 years, AUCD has also served as the training and technical assistance (TA) contractor for the national Network of UCEDDs. TA was first defined in the 1987 amendments to the DD Act as "a wide array of activities designed to facilitate individual or agency change in some systematic manner by providing expertise in problem solving." The current TA contract improves program performance, statutory compliance, and program outcomes.
The Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is one of six bureaus within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The MCHB mission is to provide national leadership and to work in partnership with States, communities, public-private partners, and families to strengthen the maternal and child health (MCH) infrastructure, assure the availability and use of medical homes, and build knowledge and human resources in order to assure continued improvement in the health, safety, and well-being of the maternal and child health population. The MCH population includes all America's pregnant women, infants, children, adolescents, and their families-including women of reproductive age, fathers, and children with special health care needs.
AUCD holds a contract with MCHB's Division of Research, Training, and Education (DRTE) to provide technical assistance and consultation to address the needs of the LEND and other MCHB long-term interdisciplinary training programs (LEAH and PPC) in developing leadership systems of quality education for health providers within the Title V Maternal and Child Health network.
AUCD has a long history of working with MCHB to provide technical assistance to the LEND Programs, the oldest of our three member networks.
Learn more about LEND ProgramsVisit HHS websiteVisit HRSA websiteVisit MCHB websiteVisit MCHB Training website
AUCD entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the fall of 2002 to strengthen the nation’s capacity to carry out public health activities in the areas of primary and secondary prevention for birth defects (BD) and developmental disabilities (DD), and health promotion for people with disabilities.
This cooperative agreement facilitates a wide range of research, education, and dissemination activities specifically focused on conducting the surveillance BD and DD, increasing a diverse pool of highly trained public health and disability professionals, developing educational resources on evidence-based clinical/environmental interventions for children and adults with disabilities, and disseminating materials and information to key stakeholders aimed at increasing access to social participation of children and adults with disabilities through education and public policy development.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
The NIH's NICHD was initially established to investigate the broad aspects of human development as a means of understanding developmental disabilities. Today, the Institute conducts and supports research on all stages of human development, from preconception to adulthood, to better understand the health of children, adults, families, and communities.
NICHD is the primary funder of the research conducted at the national network of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers under the P30 funding mechanism.
With support from our federal and collaborating partners, AUCD and its Network members are making an impact for people with disabilities in every state and territory.
The American Academy of Pediatrics aims to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. To accomplish this, AAP shall support the professional needs of its members.
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary membership organization of professionals and others concerned about intellectual and developmental disabilities. AAIDD promotes progressive policies, sound research, effective practices and universal human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Visit the AAIDD website
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the work of state and territorial public health officials and furthering the development and excellence of public health policy nationwide. ASTHO's membership comprises 59 chief health officials from each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., five U.S. territories, and three Freely Associated States.
The Autism Society strives to empower individuals with Autism and their families to make informed decisions in the planning and delivery of individualized, evidence-based services and support. Each individual and family has the right to choose the services that best meet their individual needs.
Visit the Autism Society website
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!
Visit the ASAN website
The Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network (DBPNet) establishes a multi-center scientific and clinical research network that promotes coordinated research activities and addresses health issues for, but not limited to, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. DBPNet offers a developmental-behavioral pediatric research infrastructure that supports multidisciplinary research, focuses on translating research to practice, and provides an environment to train a new generation of developmental behavioral pediatrics researchers.
The Friends of NCBDDD (formerly the External Partners Group, EPG) is a coalition of government and private sector participants who work together to enhance the mission and activities of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) in promoting child development; preventing birth defects and developmental disabilities; and enhancing the quality of life and preventing secondary conditions among people who are living with mental or physical disabilities, or a combination thereof.
The primary mission of the Friends of Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is to advocate on behalf of the Institute during the annual congressional appropriations and budget processes. The Friends also promote NICHD-funded research activities and advances by sponsoring briefings for congressional staff, mailings to Members of Congress and staff, drafting fact sheets, facilitating tours of the Institute and research facilities for Congressional staff, and submitting annual testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
Visit the NICHD website
Since 1976, the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) has been helping to craft community-based, person-driven service systems. They are passionate about supporting leaders, policymakers, and the people they serve because they share the same goal: to see all people living healthy, fulfilling lives as empowered, respected members of society.
With the support of donors, the Kessler Foundation drives positive change for people with disabilities. They conduct groundbreaking rehabilitation and disability employment research and fund innovative initiatives to provide access to job opportunities.
The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) is the national association for the 56 Councils on Developmental Disabilities (DD Councils) across the United States and its territories. The DD Councils receive federal funding to support programs that promote self-determination, integration and inclusion for all people in the United States with developmental disabilities.
Visit the NACDD website
The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) works in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As) and Client Assistance Programs (CAPs), the nation’s largest providers of legal advocacy services for people with disabilities. NDRN promotes the network’s capacity, ensures that P&As/CAPs remain strong and effective by providing training and technical assistance, and advocates for laws protecting the civil and human rights of all people with disabilities.
Visit the NCRN website
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
Visit The Arc website
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society — an America as good as its ideals. The Leadership Conference is a 501(c)(4) organization that engages in legislative advocacy. It was founded in 1950 and has coordinated national lobbying efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957.
Visit the LCCHR website
USAging is the national association representing and supporting the Area Agencies on Aging network and advocating for the Title VI Native American Aging Programs. They help older adults and people with disabilities throughout the United States live in their homes and communities with optimal health, well-being, independence, and dignity.
