The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities has awarded five State DD Councils an additional $15,000 through the Bridging Aging & Disability Network Enhanced Funding Opportunity, funded by the Administration on Community Living.
The funding will be distributed to Alabama, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, and New Mexico. The funding will continue to expand and strengthen the aging & disability networks’ collaborative efforts to support aging individuals with I/DD. All 17 states in the network will receive a baseline grant of $10,000 and 40 hours of Technical Assistance/Subject Matter Expert time towards their projects.
NACDD has been awarded a five-year grant for a national Community of Practice (CoP) grant that will be focused on improving aging services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), as well as their aging families. The grants to the States and/or Territories will be awarded at five per year for three years, with all 17 grantees participating in the CoP for the final two years.
As health care technology and services have improved, individuals with I/DD are living longer and healthier lifespans that are close or equal to those individuals without I/DD, however, evidence has shown that aging programs at both the State and Federal levels have not been prepared to provide suitable services to the I/DD population.
The grants will bring together State Councils on Developmental Disabilities, State Developmental Disability Agencies, State Aging Agencies, and other State and/or Territory partners through State Alliance Teams (SATs) to give States and/or Territories the opportunity to develop best practices, systems change, policy change, and other types of changes and training that can be replicated across the country that will enhance and improve aging services to individuals with I/DD and their families.
