Past Initiatives

PROMISE TA Center

The AUCD PROMISE Technical Assistance Center is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to support the six PROMISE model demonstration projects and to provide them with the resources, information, and communication strategies to allow them to promote the best possible outcomes for youth eligible for Supplemental Security Income and their families. Our technical assistance takes the form of planned programming as well as on-the-spot needed support. Contact us at [email protected] for more information. More about the project.

Professional Fellowship Program

PFP-IDE The Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Disability Employment (PFP-IDE) was an international exchange program that provided mentorship, networking and guidance for professionals from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda committed to inclusive employment for persons with disabilities. Learn more...

Life Course Perspective

The life course perspective or life course theory (LCT) is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the mental, physical and social health of individuals, which incorporates both life span and life stage concepts that determine the health trajectory. LEARN MORE ABOUT PROJECT

CHILDREN'S SSI INITIATIVE

The Children's SSI Initiative began as a collaborative effort of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD).

The project's initial work was to provide interdisciplinary assessments for children applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability payments. Since its initial efforts, the project expanded to include a multitude of activities directly funded by SSA to further develop partnerships between UCEDDs and state disability determination agencies (DDS).

During the initial seven years of work, over 40 Centers participated in different components of the Children's SSI Initiative. This work included efforts to: conduct interdisciplinary assessments for almost 850 infant, school age and age 18-disability claimants; prepare and present training for adjudicators at all levels of the agency; create tools and protocols for state agency decision makers; and implement collaborations with state DDS agencies.

These efforts laid the groundwork for the project's Pediatric Medical Unit (PMU) initiative to further SSA's efforts to improve the childhood disability determination process ensuring that the best decisions are made as efficiently and as early as possible for childhood disability adjudications. Through its two-year contract, that recently concluded, AUCD worked with selected member University Centers to develop, test and operate prototypes of PMUs to provide specialized clinical expertise to state and/or federal adjudicators to help them make initial decisions for childhood SSI applications or to review cases on appeal. LEARN MORE ABOUT PROJECT

Allies in Self-Advocacy Website

Allies in Self-Advocacy Website: In 2011-2012,
The Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) funded self-advocacy summit sand leadership gatherings of self-advocates and partners to gather information around self-advocacy activities and policies in each of the 56 U.S. states and territories. The goal was to learn what each state was doing around self-advocacy, help each state develop and present a state plan to strengthen their activities around this area, and develop national policy recommendations for AIDD and its partnering organizations. Overall, the purpose was to strengthen and enhance self-advocacy efforts in the states and nationally. Progress has continued beyond the summits, and all are welcome to join the ongoing efforts and conversations.

National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP)

The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP), a national training and technical assistance partner of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), assists national service programs to increase the participation of members and volunteers with disabilities in national service.