Model Communities

The April 5, 2005 Forum in Westport, CT was attended by 54 individuals from 9 towns. They included representatives from senior centers, public schools, police departments, social services, parks and recreation, YMCA, advocacy organizations, persons with disabilities and family members. Following an introduction by Diane Goss Farrell and an overview by the Forum facilitators, the attendees broke up into three smaller discussion groups to share ideas and experiences relating to inclusion.

The West Virginia Inclusion Campaign was created as an initiative to counteract the effects of social bias and discrimination against people with disabilities or people living with long-term illnesses. Part of the project has been to develop outreach materials. Please review their program brochure, Disability Awareness Guide and Reporter’s Guide.

The Compendium contains basic information about each of the Real Choice Systems Change Grantees. The Compendium will help you learn more about how these grants will be used to allow more people of all ages with a disability or long term illness to live and participate in their communities. Real Choice Systems Change Grantees will also find the Compendium useful to identify other Grantees with similar goals and activities. The fourth edition of the Compendium replaces all previous editions.

A Sharing of Ideas on Community Inclusion for People with Disabilities. Thie report caputures discussion from 9 participating towns who were represented by a range of elected and disability services officials. Several participants were individuals with disabilities or family members of people with disabilities. All present shared a desire to bring back their towns back ideas for enhancing local awareness of the barriers faced by people in becoming fully included and integrated into community.

The Real Choice Systems Change grant was awarded in 2002 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services. The project has two primary goals: 1) To build the capacity within the state of Connecticut to support informed decision making, independent living, and a meaningful quality of life for persons with disabilities across the life span. 2) To assist three communities in Connecticut to become models of support for opportunities and choices for persons with disabilities across the lifespan. 

Discussion at this meeting was lively and productive, and the opportunity to meet people from other parts of the state and other municipalities proved fruitful. Following the suggestion of participants in the October Forum, the agenda included presentations of what the three Model Communities have done and how it is working, and sharing of successes, ideas and resources among other participating towns.

Discussion at this meeting was lively and productive, and the opportunity to meet people from other parts of the state and other municipalities proved fruitful. The idea of adapting the “lessons learned” in the model communities and hosting regional meetings was introduced; a shared enthusiasm for the idea gave rise to a series of Regional Forums. This forum, held in Groton, CT was the second in the series, held on December 3, 2004.

This entry has materials from the 2004 Reinventing Quality Conference: Developing and Integrating Quality Initiatives to Improve Performance and Enhance Inclusion. The event was sponsored by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, Human Services Research Institute, and Research & Training Center on Community Living . Over 20 presentations happened during the conference; topics include a variety of subjects and are listed in the keyword section.

The Real Choice Systems Change grant was awarded in 2002 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services. The project has two primary goals: 1) To build the capacity within the state of Connecticut to support informed decision making, independent living, and a meaningful quality of life for persons with disabilities across the life span. 2) To assist three communities in Connecticut to become models of support for opportunities and choices for persons with disabilities across the lifespan.

Expanding upon the \"lessons learned\" from the first Model Communities forum held in Connecticut in May 2004, this Community Inclusion forum held in Ridgefield CT brought together a variety of communities interested in \"enhancing awareness among community members of the barriers faced by people with disabilities in becoming fully included & integrated into communities.\" Participants identified barriers to inclusion and suggested numerous strategies communities can use to address these issues.