NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning Council Awards $49,000 to the Consortium on Innovative Practices

George E. Fertal, Sr., Chairperson, today announced that on March 12, 2009 the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) awarded $49,000 to the Consortium on Innovative Practices to conduct technical assistance project to support and evaluate the congregational inclusion effort in the Central new York Developmental Disabilities Services Offices (CNYDDSO).

One of the positive developments of deinstitutionalization in New York State has been the increase in community participation among individuals with disabilities. Part of this is the ability to participate in religious and spiritual activities. Research has shown that individuals with disabilities benefit from this participation in religious practice and participation in a faith community which can help improve self-esteem, increase meaningful friendships, and promote a greater sense of belonging to a community. Surveys have shown that a large majority of people with developmental disabilities find religious faith as an important aspect of their life.

To help individuals participate in these communities the CNYDDSO has committed to identifying individual's spiritual/religious desires through the individualized planning process. When spiritual outcomes are identified the necessary supports will be developed to achieve these outcomes. The Consortium on Innovative Practices will assist these efforts through a technical assistance project that will research, support, and evaluate the Congregational Improvement project at CNYDDSO. The project evaluates the impact on three distinct groups, individuals with DD and their families, the service delivery system, and on religious congregations. To help with the project several tools have been developed to assist in the spiritual inclusion effort such as the Grow Handbook which includes tools developed as part of the project's feedback, a website for the project, and a newsletter.

Marcey Dolgoff, Project Director at the Consortium of Innovative Practices, tells us a little more about the project and how it will continue to grow into its third year. "Thanks to the hard work and forward-thinking practices of the Central New York Developmental Services Office leadership, service coordinators and residential staff, individuals with developmental disabilities are being included in their faith communities more than ever before - not by chance, but through standardized, individualized planning.

Individualized service planning is the best way to identify whether an individual is interested in faith-related activities and to ensure his or her faith-related life goals are achieved. This has been the focus of our activities - creating tools to assist in that identification and providing training to professionals to make sure the resources are in place to support implementation of the service plan.

In this third year, our efforts will also be concentrated on outreach to congregations and community volunteers to address external barriers to faith-based community inclusion."

The DDPC is a federally funded state agency dedicated to designing and implementing new programs that serve New Yorkers with developmental disabilities and their families in the most effective way possible. Sixty percent of the Governor-appointed membership of the DDPC is parents and people with developmental disabilities. For more information on the DDPC, go to: www.ddpc.state.ny.us.