ACL Principal Deputy Visits the Mailman Center for Child Development (FL UCEDD)

May 6, 2019

On March 13th, 2019, the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami welcomed the Administration for Community Living's (ACL) Principal Deputy, Mary Lazare to her first visit to a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD).

During the visit, Ms. Lazare met with trainees, faculty, and staff who provided an overview of the Mailman Center's leadership, training, and community engagement initiatives, particularly those that focus on the intersection between disability and diversity in the minority, underserved, and low income communities of Overtown and East Little Havana. Ms. Lazare noted that "while many federal and federally supported programs talk about being committed to capacity building and system changes, the Mailman Center makes these things very real."

The Mailman Center is committed to community collaborative partnerships that address the self-identified needs of the communities. Dr. Daniel Armstrong, Director of the Mailman Center, commented "Communities know their needs; it is our role to work with them in partnership to find the resources and develop the skills necessary to meet these needs and identify how these efforts can improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in these communities."