“Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”President George H.W. Bush Americans with Disability Act Turns 30 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was a landmark civil rights law signed into law on July 26, 1990. It banned discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life. The law was enacted [...]
On April 7, Sheli Reynolds presented, "Charting the LifeCourse through Uncharted Waters: Planning for Today with an Eye on the Future," a webinar hosted by the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership (UW-Madison). The presentation provided an overview of the Charting the LifeCourse™ (CtLC) framework, principles, and tools. Sheli also shared examples of how many [...]
Many new resources are being created each day to address needs during the coronavirus outbreak. We will update this list as we find new, helpful tools, especially those for people with disabilities and their families. 1. Getting Started: Learning about COVID-19 - for People with Disabilities Plain Language Booklet on Coronavirus/COVID-19 Información de COVID-19 Por [...]
Learn more about UMKC IHD by reading our 2019 Year in Review, which highlights many of the contributions our staff made in our city, state, region, and across the nation last year. Printed copies are available upon request. Edited by Danielle UnderwoodDesigned by Vincent Lowry Click here to view the 2019 Year in Review PDF
We are pleased to announce that the University of Missouri-Kansas City has appointed George Gotto, Ph.D., to serve as director of the UMKC Institute for Human Development. George has served as interim director of UMKC IHD since August 2018. He joined the Institute in 2009 and was named Associate Director of Research in 2016. He [...]
On Friday, October 18, the Missouri Association of County Developmental Disability Services (MACDDS) presented Dr. Sheli Reynolds with the "Friend of MACDDS" Award at their 2019 Annual Conference. MACDDS Board member, Nancy Pennington, nominated Sheli for this honor to recognize her passion for and unrelenting work to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities. [...]
UMKC IHD is pleased to announce the addition of Michael B. Abel, Ph.D., as new Associate Director of Research and Evaluation. Dr. Abel will provide leadership to UMKC IHD’s scholarly work and activities related to early childhood, health and aging, and community policy and development. Dr. Mike Abel, Associate Director of Research and Evaluation Abel [...]
The National Community of Practice (NCoP) for Supporting Families welcomed five new states in September 2019. Teams from Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota traveled to UMKC IHD to learn about working together for Systems Change at the state level. Sheli Reynolds, Associate Director, UMKC IHD, led the orientation meeting, with support from Jenny Turner, Jane St. John, Crystal Bell, and Carol Calhoun. Participants [...]
The Missouri Disability and Health Collaborative (MODHC) and Missouri Family to Family (MOF2F) teams brought their skills and knowledge together to offer a Charting the LifeCourse for Health (CtLC) event on March 22. The presentation drew around 40 guests, most with disabilities, to IHD to learn about creating personal health visions and plans. Crystal Bell and Jane St. John presented CtLC materials. Christy Miller organized the event. The [...]
UMKC IHD specializes in developing partnerships for effective social change. Last week, IHD kicked off a new collaboration bringing people together in an organized, statewide effort to promote "Supported Decision Making" (SDM) as a preferred alternative to guardianship for adults with disabilities.The Missouri Consortium on Supported Decision Making is an outgrowth of the SDM Symposium held on September 12. [...]
