February 2025 Council Meetings Recap
Table of Contents
TCDD held quarterly meetings in Austin from Feb. 5-7. During the meetings, Council members awarded funding for new and ongoing grant projects, visited elected representatives at the State Capitol to advocate for the Council’s public policy priorities, and more. Here are some key highlights from the meetings.
Funding Awards and Stipends
TCDD invests in grant projects to strengthen service and support systems across Texas. Our projects build community capacity to help people with developmental disabilities (DD). This quarter, Council members awarded funding for two new grant projects. The following information includes descriptions of the projects and the organizations awarded funding.
Enhancing Statewide Community Engagement: Enhance TCDD’s capacity to conduct engagement and outreach activities across Texas as well as support the Council’s statewide strategic planning.
- 23 East Group
Next Generation Engagement: Develop a deeper understanding of the disability experience and self-perceptions; preferred learning styles for education and training; and preferred methods of advocacy for people with DD and family members across generational ages and life experiences.
- Baylor University
In addition to new projects, Council members awarded funding to continue four ongoing grant projects.
Adults with DD Supporting Aging Family Members: Develop classes and support for people with DD who want to provide caregiving to aging family members.
- Alamo Area Council of Governments
Older Adults with DD and their Caregivers: Develop a statewide network of virtual health centers and Medicaid health homes supported by telehealth.
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Self-Advocates in Participatory Action Research: Create online resources for people with DD to meaningfully participate in research on topics important to their lives.
- Strategic Education Solutions
Statewide Self-Advocacy Network Capacity Building: Build the organizational capacity of self-advocacy organizations led by self-advocates to become more established in their communities, create partnerships, conduct formal activities, and ultimately expand their role and impact statewide.
- Texas Advocates
TCDD provides stipends to increase access to disability information and advocacy opportunities. Stipends can be used for conferences and events, disability-related speakers, and translation and interpretation services. This quarter, TCDD provided stipends to the following organizations:
- American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- DeafBlind Camp of Texas
- Family to Family Network
- Integral Care
- The Arc of Harris County
Council Activities and Business
Council members visited the Texas State Capitol to speak with elected representatives and legislative staff about the Council’s public policy priorities for the 89th Texas legislative session. Throughout the session, which continues until June 2, TCDD is sharing legislative information, including disability-related bills and updates on how lawmakers address policy issues that impact people with disabilities.
The Council also re-elected two members to continue serving in leadership positions: Jamie Thomas was re-elected as Council vice-chair, and Eric Shahid was re-elected as the self-advocate member at large to the Council’s Executive Committee. This committee supervises and evaluates the TCDD executive director; develops and monitors policies and procedures; approves grant awards and monitors the grant-awarding process; and acts on behalf of the full Council for emergency matters.
Next Meetings
TCDD’s next quarterly meetings are scheduled from May 7-9. To receive updates about future meetings, subscribe to our newsletter.
