The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) held its quarterly Council and Committee meetings virtually from Aug. 3-6, 2021. During the meetings, the Council awarded funding to continue the development of TCDD projects and considered plans for future grant activities.

Funding Awards

TCDD invests in projects to strengthen service and support systems across Texas and build community capacity to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This quarter, the Council awarded funding to continue the development of 11 TCDD projects:

• The Arc of Texas: Partners in Disability Leadership (Advanced Leadership Training for Professionals)
• Educational Programs Inspiring Communities: Youth Leadership Development
• Literacy United: Reading For All (New Initiatives)
• Mounting Horizons: Youth Leadership Development
• SAFE: Youth Leadership Development
• Texas Parent to Parent: The Transition Center (New Initiatives)
• Texas State Independent Living Council (SILC): Leadership Development and Advocacy Training in Rural Areas
• Texas SILC: Peer Support for Individuals Living in Institutions
• Texas Advocates: Next Chapter Book Club
• Texas Tech University (TTU): Project TEDD (Advanced Leadership Training for Professionals)
• TTU: Sexual Health Education

TCDD looks forward to working with its grantees to advance positive change and create more inclusive communities. To learn more about TCDD grant opportunities and stipends, see Projects.

Council Business

The Council approves and monitors TCDD’s state plan, which guides projects and policy work. This quarter, the Council considered future state plan activities, including projects to support people with IDD by:

• equipping people with disabilities with training and support to participate in community research projects; and
• providing grant funding to organizations for new initiative projects that will encourage innovative solutions to statewide, regional, or local needs of people with disabilities.

Council members also continued a review of TCDD’s state administrative rules. As a state agency, TCDD must review its rules in the Texas Administrative Code at least once every four years. Proposed revisions approved by the Council will be posted for public comment.

Transportation Works Presentation

Council members heard a presentation from Texas SILC about its recently completed Transportation Works project, which was funded by TCDD. The project, which began in 2016, held annual summits to bring together disability advocates, transportation professionals, and others to discuss alternative transportation needs and barriers for people with disabilities in Texas.

Texas SILC published a report (PDF) that includes policy recommendations and other insights from the Transportation Works summits. Texas SILC also created a short video of highlights from the project’s most recent summit.

Next Meetings

TCDD’s next quarterly meetings will take place Nov. 3-5, 2021. For more ways to receive announcements about future meetings, subscribe and follow @TxCDD on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.