March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, but all year long the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities (Council) informs people across Tennessee about the amazing strengths and the needs of Tennesseans with developmental disabilities (DD).
Before we move on…
- Not sure what makes a disability a “developmental disability”? Check out our brief video explaining the term, featuring real Tennesseans with DD who serve on our Council.
- Never heard of the Council before? Here’s a quick recap – you can always read more on the Who We Are page on our website:
- We were created in the 1970s in every U.S. state and territory by the federal Developmental Disabilities Act.
- Besides our small but mighty team of 9 staff, the Council is made up of 2 groups:
- State leaders from agencies serving disability community like departments for disability services, education, health, housing, etc.) AND
- Tennesseans with developmental disabilities and family members of people with developmental disabilities
- We’re the only state agency looking across all government programs that serve Tennesseans with developmental disabilities (last time we counted, there were nearly 160!). We find opportunities to improve policy and make leaders aware of problems and partner on solutions. Watch this brief video: “How do our Council members create change?”
One of the biggest ways we make Tennessee better for people with developmental disabilities is by developing leaders in the disability community (one of our 3 core goals in our state plan).
In fact, right now we’re celebrating 30 years of our most well-known leadership and advocacy training program: the Partners in Policymaking® Leadership Institute.
More than 600 advocates – Tennesseans with disabilities and their loved ones – have graduated from this free intensive leadership and advocacy training. I’ve worked at the Council since 2010 and I am still constantly amazed at the power that our Partners grads have when they harness their passion into strategic collaboration and positive action. Our grads have been at the forefront of just about every major improvement and positive change in supports for Tennesseans with developmental disabilities since the program began. Off the top of my head, a few examples include …
- Creating scholarship options for TN’s inclusive higher education programs
- Advocating for years for new Medicaid home- and community-based services for Tennesseans with DD without intellectual disability, resulting in the creation of the Employment and Community First CHOICES program
- Making Tennessee a leader in the nation in increasing access to adult-size changing tables in public restrooms
- Creating the TN Council on Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Advocating for the creation of the nation’s first Office of Mobility and Accessible Transportation (in the TN Dept. of Transportation)
- Shaping the TN Center for Decision-Making Support
- Creating a new ER protocol for people with DD that is used in hospitals across TN
- Building inclusive parks across the state
- Starting self-advocate, sibling and parent peer support groups
- Providing meaningful feedback about what is and isn’t working in disability programs and services across the lifespan – look at just about any disability-related council, committee, advisory group or board of directors, and chances are you will find at least 1 Partners grad!
We took the year between spring 2023 and fall 2024 to reflect on the successes and challenges of the last 30 years of our Partners program. We reflected deeply on not just what knowledge we want our Partners “scholars” to learn from the program, but how we want them to feel and act differently because of their experiences in Partners. We believe Partners has the power to improve participants’ own lives and help them grow into powerful community leaders. Participants tell us over and over that Partners helps them find their voice, create solutions to persistent problems, and feel less alone.
We need a diverse group of passionate advocates from every corner of the state for our 2024-25 relaunch of Partners in Policymaking. Sign up for our email newsletters and follow us on social media (we are on Facebook and LinkedIn) to make sure you get info about dates to apply, which will happen this spring. (If you’re already a graduate or a professional working in the disability field, please help us by sharing the info with those you think might be interested in applying!)
We can’t wait to see what the next generation of leaders in the TN disability community will accomplish!
Emma Shouse Garton lives in Nashville, TN and works for the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities in her new role as their Director of Public Policy. Emma has been with the Council since 2011 and helped lead the Council’s communications efforts, including their website, social media, email newsletters and community outreach efforts. She leads the Tennessee Adult Brothers and Sisters (TABS) statewide sibling support network, launched by the Council and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center over a decade ago. TABS provides information and peer support to siblings of people with disabilities. She also serves as chair of the Sibling Leadership Network’s chapter development committee (TABS is TN’s chapter of the SLN). She was Tennessee’s representative in the national Supporting Families Community of Practice from 2012-2017. This project created the “Charting the LifeCourse” framework and tools, and continues to explore how families can be better supported throughout the lifespan by state systems and communities.