The historical context of the UMKC-UCEDD is important from two perspectives.
The unique conditions and factors in Missouri that led to the establishment and evolution of the UMKC-UCEDD.
The UMKC-UCEDD’s response to programmatic needs of unserved and underserved populations that have shaped the development of the program over its 34-year history.
Administration
Funding from the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities set the groundwork for the Institute for Community Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City to establish the Missouri UMKC-UCEDD in 1977. The newly formed UCEDD focused on:
- Expanding access to community- based supports for Missourians with developmental disabilities and their families
- Addressing consumer-identified needs from a community-based approach
Institute for Human Development Formed
In 1985, UMKC formed the Institute for Human Development to provide the UCEDD a permanent and independent home within the University and to administer the UCEDD’s core activities. The Institute reports directly to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, which allows the IHD to develop strong University linkages.
Demonstrations
The UMKC-UCEDD’s first major demonstration, a preschool established at the request of the Missouri Department of Mental Health in 1980, provided community-based integrated preschool services for inner-city children with severe disabilities, ages three to five years. In 1987, the UMKC-UCEDD made the strategic decision to no longer operate the preschool itself, but to focus its efforts on building the capacity of community agencies to provide this and other services demonstrating “exemplary” qualities.
Since that time, the primary strategy of the UMKC-UCEDD has been to design demonstration services and supports that are vested in community agencies. More recently, UMKC-UCEDD community demonstration projects have addressed unserved and underserved populations, including African Americans (e.g., conducting career academies for urban youth) and Hispanics (e.g., providing family support).
Community Training
Since the early years, the UMKC-UCEDD has responded to the personnel development needs of the state. For example, as part of an ongoing contract to serve as the state developmental disabilities agency’s training and research unit, the UMKC-UCEDD developed a statewide case management system in 1983. Since the mid-1980’s, community-based training activities have emphasized competency-based approaches with extensive follow-up support.
Recent statewide training has included training Missouri Division of DD personnel to provide effective family centered supports, training peer family support mentors, and providing training related to self-determination.
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance has proven to be one of UMKC-UCEDD’s most effective tools for systems change. Early examples at the local level included strategic planning for county developmental disability boards and also at the state level developing boards for Missouri’s Protection and Advocacy Program (Mo P&A).
More recently, the UMKC-UCEDD has provided ongoing technical assistance and support to the statewide network of People First chapters and has provided consultation organizations (e.g., autism center, pediatric care center) to incorporate parent-to-parent mentoring.
Interdisciplinary Personnel Preparation
Early University-based interdisciplinary training activities led to the establishment of a developmental disabilities track in Psychology and Education at UMKC and the development of an interdisciplinary two-course core sequence taught by UMKC-UCEDD faculty.
In 1988, the Interdisciplinary Training Center on Gerontology and DD established one of eight Adult with Developmental Disabilities-funded national training initiatives on aging that led the UMKC-UCEDD to establish a certificate in Aging and Developmental Disabilities.
Since 1995, the UMKC-UCEDD has offered leadership training in allied health professions through the Maternal and Child Health program with the UMKC-UCEDD and the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program operated at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. This joint program between two University of Missouri campuses represents a comprehensive interdisciplinary training program with targeted competencies in urban and rural health care in neurodevelopmental disabilities.
In 2004, UMKC-UCEDD began offering a graduate certificate in Disability Studies. This program is for graduate university students from multiple disciplines who what to build competencies in a model that advocates for social and systemic change to support individuals with disabilities.
Information Dissemination
Information dissemination has been a vital link between the UMKC-UCEDD, the University, and the community through regular development and distribution of training and general informational materials, peer-mentoring supports and as a general information resource center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through traditional and social media.
Early Key Projects
- The Autism Resource Center (1988-90)
- The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Resource Center (1990-present)
- The Veterans Family Resource Center (1992-97)
- The Resource Center on Sexuality and Developmental Disabilities at the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (1994-present)
With the exception of the Sexuality Resource Center, which remains in a separate agency, all of the resource centers have been incorporated into a full-service center through the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Resource Center (DDRC). A parent and consumer advisory group assists the DDRC in developing and maintaining a website, www.mofamilytofamily.org, for families and consumers. More recently, information dissemination initiatives have focused on access to information through peer mentors and the National Gateway to Self-Determination.
Applied Research
In the early years, the UMKC-UCEDD led an Adults with Developmental Disabilities consortium of UCEDDs (Eugene, Oregon; Boston, Massachusetts; and Valhalla, New York) in addressing issues in social competence and employment. Social Competence for Workers with Developmental Disabilities, A Guide to Enhancing Employment Outcomes in Integrated Settings, edited by Carl F. Calkins, Ph.D., and Hill M. Walker, Ph.D., received the 1990 Book of the Year Award from the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. More recent examples of applied research include the conduct of statewide and community needs assessments and the evaluation of community projects with publication of “Lessons Learned” and the numerous research-to-practice products of the National Gateway to Self-Determination.
