UCEDD Network Engagement in ABLE Act Implementation Efforts
October 21, 2019
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A wide range of UCEDDs have engaged in the implementation of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act at the national, state, and local levels. UCEDDs are both developing new initiatives and resources specific to the ABLE Act and incorporating content on the ABLE Act into existing programs and projects. These activities and products span all UCEDD Core Functions:
- Pre-service Preparation/Training,
- Community Services: Technical Assistance,
- Community Services: Community Education,
- Community Services: Direct Services,
- Research, and Information Dissemination
UCEDDs have found themselves playing a much more significant role in the community education and information dissemination around the ABLE Act than in researching or engaging in direct services related to the legislation. For example, the NJ UCEDD, the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at Rutgers University, has incorporated content on the ABLE Act into their Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series, which is an annual community training for over 1,500 professionals, policymakers, individuals with disabilities, and family members to enhance their knowledge and skills in innovative approaches and state of the art practices for people with developmental disabilities. Nevertheless, research and direct service programs at UCEDDs are making significant advances in the development of and enrolment in ABLE accounts as well. The Arkansas PROMISE research project at Partners for Inclusive Communities, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville worked with 534 young adults to help them establish ABLE accounts. In this report you fill find summaries of UCEDD initiatives related to the implementation of the ABLE Act, grouped by CORE Function.
