August 2024 Council Meeting Wrap-up

TCDD held quarterly meetings in Houston and online from Aug. 7-9. During the meetings, the Council awarded funding to continue ongoing grant projects, approved a new operating budget, welcomed five new members while recognizing former members who recently completed their Council terms, and more.  

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 to nine existing TCDD grantees for projects in six ongoing initiatives.

Coping with Grief and Loss: Develop tools and resources so people with DD can navigate the experience of grief and loss, which can overwhelm, traumatize, and create long-lasting impacts on mental health.

• Rice University 
         

Health Equity for People with DD: Increase knowledge of the lived experience of people with DD and their families and improve self-direction, accessibility, and effectiveness of treatment and support for people with DD.

• Baylor College of Medicine
• University of Houston-Clear Lake
          

Leadership Development and Advocacy Training for Youth Self-Advocates: Create opportunities for youth with DD to develop as leaders and advocates for themselves and their peers.

• Paso del Norte Children’s Development Center 
         

Leadership Development and Advocacy Training Led by Self-Advocates: Create ways for people with DD to become leaders and expand their participation in cross-disability and culturally diverse leadership coalitions.

• Coalition of Texans with Disabilities
• Texas Advocates      
    

New Initiatives: Develop innovative solutions to statewide, regional, or local needs while creating new ways for people with DD to be included in their communities.

• Texas Tech University — Project AIMS (Acquiring Independent Money Skills)
• The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston — Partnering with Law Enforcement for Inclusion and Support      
    

Sexual Assault Response and Prevention: Develop a replicable, sustainable program providing education, training, and resources to reduce the risk of sexual assault for people with DD.

• The SAFE Alliance    
       

TCDD provides stipends to increase access to disability information and advocacy opportunities. Stipends are available for conferences and events, disability-related speakers, and translation and interpretation services. This quarter, TCDD provided stipends to the following organizations:

• Autism Community Network
• Art Spark Texas
• Texas A&M University Sponsored Research Services
• Texas Advocates
• Texas Parent to Parent
• Tourette Association of America

Council Business

Council members approved TCDD’s 2025 operating budget. With an anticipated federal funding award of about $6.2 million, the budget’s funding breaks down to:

• 58% for grants to statewide partners;
• 28% for TCDD-led training, policy analysis, and community engagement; and
• 14% for general administration.   
       

The Council welcomed five new members recently appointed by the Texas governor. Council members also recognized several former members who recently completed their terms of service. This group included long-time Council Member Mary Durheim, who was first appointed to TCDD in 1996 and appointed to serve as Council chair in 2012.

Presentations and Discussions

The Council approves and monitors TCDD’s strategic state plan, which guides projects and policy work. This quarter, Council members discussed future state plan activities, including projects to:

• support TCDD’s internal community engagement team; and
• better understand 1) disability experience and self-perceptions, 2) preferred learning styles for education and training, and 3) preferred methods of advocacy of people with DD and family members across generational ages and life experiences.      
    

In addition to state plan discussions, Council members engaged in presentations on important disability issues:

• State Budget: Breanna Boyd, Shannon Halbrook, Simona Gabriela Harry, and Katie Martin Lightfoot of Every Texan gave an overview of the Texas state budget and took feedback from Council members on spending priorities. Every Texan, a nonprofit policy research organization, met with the Council as part of a broader effort to meet with people and groups around Texas and gather input on the budget to share with lawmakers.
• Public Health and Disability Integration: Crystal Goodwin, TCDD’s public health and disability integration specialist, discussed outcomes of a two-year project to support an expanded public health workforce to better serve Texans with DD. The project demonstrated best practices in public health coordination, disability health education, and inclusive pandemic planning. 
         

Council members also discussed future legislative training and advocacy activities in preparation for the next Texas legislative session, which begins in January 2025.

Next Meetings

TCDD’s next quarterly meetings are scheduled from Nov. 6-8. To receive announcements about future meetings, subscribe to our newsletter.