In This Issue

Fall/Winter 2005
Volume 1 • Issue 2

Professors Receive
Allan Meyers Award

Director’s Corner

UM Students Receive
National Award

Center Updates Acronym

Prevention Center
of Excellence

$2.9M Reading Program Grant

Director Named
AUCD President

New Leadership for CAC

Search Tool Facilitates
Access to MEC Training

Grant to Increase Access
to Volunteer Opportunities

Intervention Methods
Subject of Conference

Screening Instrument
Under Development

Co-Instructional Model
Developed by CCIDS

Center Staff Star in
New Video

Guest Column:
CAC Member Tours
South Africa

Brain Research Informs
Best Practice

Partnership for EC
Health Formed

Presentations & Publications

CenterPoint Home

Director’s Corner

As you will see in the following pages, the CCIDS faculty and staff had a busy summer and fall. From new projects like the Prevention Center of Excellence with its initial focus on substance abuse prevention and the collaborative Early Reading First project, to our continuing provision of professional development and technical assistance to educators through LEARNS; there is much to explore in this issue of CenterPoint.
In reading about the Center’s varied activities, it is easy to lose sight of the common elements that structure our work. In the last issue of CenterPoint, I provided a brief history of CCIDS. In this column, I’d like to describe the legislation that enables, structures, and guides our work.

The Center’s core federal funding and designation as Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) is rooted in what is commonly referred to as the Developmental Disabilities Act (DD Act). Maine’s UCEDD is one of a national network of centers that are located in every state and U.S. territory. The purpose of the UCEDD Network is to advance policy and practice for and with people with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities.

In addition to UCEDDs, the DD Act establishes two other important entities in each state, the Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) and the Protection and Advocacy System (in Maine, this is the Disability Rights Center [DRC]). Together, these three programs collaborate to engage in advocacy, capacity building, and systems change to improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental and related disabilities and their families throughout the nation. Although the three DD Act programs share a common purpose, each has its own responsibilities. The DD Councils have primary responsibility for advising state policymakers and communities in planning and executing policies consistent with the needs and desires of individuals with disabilities and their families. The Protection and Advocacy Systems have the primary responsibility for protecting the human and civil rights of individuals with disabilities. The UCEDDs are responsible to bring together the resources of the university and community through the traditional academic activities of research, education, and service.

The three DD Act programs also share common “areas of emphasis.” These areas guide the content of our work and include the following: Childcare; Education and Early Intervention; Employment; Health; Housing; Quality Assurance; Recreation; and Transportation. Each program may select one or more areas of emphasis.

In this issue of CenterPoint, many of the areas of emphasis are represented through projects or other CCIDS initiatives. In each case, a project may focus on one or more activities of advocacy, capacity building, or systems change and may engage in each through research, education, and/or service. For example, the article on the Maine Employment Curriculum (MEC) (See page 7) describes one current CCIDS employment project. The MEC project is primarily a capacity building initiative, intended to increase the number of professionals in Maine who have the necessary skills to assist people with developmental and other disabilities find and keep jobs. The MEC project is a CCIDS service activity that utilizes state-of-the-art curriculum and instruction to prepare and support employment leaders to provide professional development to their peers throughout the state. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the Maine Department of Labor, and a wide range of employment related organizations throughout Maine.

All the Center’s work is conducted in collaboration with individuals with disabilities, their families and a wide range of community stakeholders. The CCIDS Community Advisory Committee reviews and comments on our goals annually, and the Center’s academic offerings are guided by the Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Academic Committee.
I hope this article proves helpful as you read this issue of CenterPoint and explore more about CCIDS and its work. On behalf of our students, staff, and faculty, we wish you the best in the coming year.

— Lu Zeph