The CoP

Project Leadership and Partners

Collaborating across the nation to build stronger supports for all families

The CoP for Supporting Families is a national partnership led by NASDDDS and UMKC-IHD that helps states advance systems change and improve supports for individuals with I/DD and their families.

National Partnership for Systems Change

The Community of Practice for Supporting Families Across the LifeSpan (CoP) is led and facilitated through the joint effort of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) and the LifeCourse Nexus, housed at the University of Missouri Kansas City -Institute for Human Development (UMKC-IHD), in partnership with CoP member states.

NASDDDS and UMKC-IHD, as National Project Team partners, offer CoP member states training, technical assistance, shared learning, state-specific and cross-state support, products, innovation roundtables and related supports for planning and implementation strategies designed influence systems change on behalf of individuals with I/DD within the context of their families. Through identification and analysis of CoP systems change, the National Project Team creates and shares promising practices.

Collectively, the National CoP Team provides:

Guidance

Knowledge, experience, and insight into national best practices, innovations, and policies in state systems change and family support.

Exploration

Technical assistance and support to explore and identify goals in innovation and implementation strategies for policy, practice, and system change.

Strategy

Facilitation of plans to identify priorities or areas of change with actionable and practical next steps that leverage opportunities for implementing policy and systems change.

Execution

Connection to national network of system change agents and resources to enhance activities and outcomes.

Our Partners

We are proud to partner with the NASSDDS and UMKC-IHD. The following highlights the strengths of each of the organizations partnering to create comprehensive, multi-perspective support to state teams:

National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)

NASDDDS represents the nation’s public, executive branch agencies in 50 states and the District of Columbia providing supports and services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. NASDDDS promotes visionary leadership, systems innovation, and the development of national policies that support home and community-based services for individuals with disabilities and their families. Specific activities include:

  • Representation and advocacy for national policy development
  • Expertise in innovative, person-centered state policy development
  • Platform for sharing innovative ideas among member states, including publications, conferences, webinars, etc.
  • Leadership development
  • Technical assistance for strategic planning, policy analysis and development, and developing programs and restructuring systems
  • Houses specific projects, including National Core Indicators, State Employment Leadership Network, and Evidence-Based Policy Development
  • Works with federal and state partners

University of Missouri Kansas City -Institute for Human Development (UMKC-IHD)

UMKC’s Institute for Human Development (UMKC IHD), UCEDD works to improve the quality of life of people with developmental disabilities, through interdisciplinary training, applied research, community program development, and information dissemination. Specific activities include:

  • Leader in supporting self-advocate and family support and advocacy systems at the community, state, and national level
  • Practice, policy, cultural systems, and organizational change to enhance quality of life outcomes for persons with I/DD and their families, including program evaluations, policy analysis, and needs assessments for local, state, or national organizations and providers, as well as assistance in implementing new or more value-based program standards and criteria for organizational, state, and national policy makers
  • Community and organizational training in promoting consumer and family-centered thinking, planning, and practices
  • Houses LifeCourse Nexus (Charting the LifeCourse framework, training, and tools) and Missouri Family to Family Resource Center
  • Information, training, and support services to families
  • Research and evaluation (needs assessment, impact)