A national resource center supports having intellectually disabled people learn to advocate for themselves, instead of depending on others.  The National Resource Center for Self-Advocacy is the first ever of its kind.

Soft SkillsDeveloped with $2 million in federal funds over the next five years, the resource center will include online information on best practices, a curriculum for training, and success stories of people who self-advocate.

Center staff will also research the history of self-advocacy while providing support to self-advocacy groups across the country.  The Center will create a fellowship program promoting leadership development among people with disabilities.

“The people affected by policy should have the greatest voice in developing it,” said Katherine Cargill-Willis, a program specialist with the the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living.

“With this grant, ACL aims to make this ideal more of a reality for people with disabilities,” Cargill-Willis said.

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