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At TCDD, our mission is to create change so all people with disabilities are fully included in their communities and exercise control over their own lives. This work involves projects and activities across Texas that:
- help our communities to better support people with disabilities;
- develop best practices to improve daily lives; and
- train our future leaders, including self-advocates and their family members, to say what they want and need.
To create change, we develop a five-year strategic plan that outlines goals to meet the needs of people with disabilities across all communities in our state. We develop our strategic plan with guidance from the U.S. Administration for Community Living and the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act). Most importantly, our Texas plan is informed by the insights and experiences of people with disabilities, family members, service providers, and others living in our neighborhoods.
Strategic Plan Draft Goals & Objectives
Our 2027-2031 statewide strategic plan includes two draft goals. Goal 1 includes two objectives. Goal 2 includes six objectives. A public comment period on our draft goals and objectives ended Jan. 9, 2026.
Goal 1: The Council will increase opportunities for more people with developmental disabilities (DD), their families, and others to become strong advocates, trainers, and community leaders.
- Objective 1.1: Increase the knowledge and skills of self-advocates (people with DD) to connect at the state and local levels to: share information and resources, increase policy skills, train other self-advocates, and participate in cross-disability initiatives that promote independence and community involvement for issues that matter to them. This objective would support activities led by self-advocates to work in areas such as leadership training, peer support, social interaction, and public policy to better say what they want and need.
- Objective 1.2: Increase the knowledge and skills of family members and others to receive information, connect with resources, and develop policy skills to be actively involved in state and local activities related to issues that are important to them. This objective would focus on engaging family members and professionals who work with people with DD to build individual skills, educate communities, and network to advance inclusive public policy.
Goal 2: The Council will lead through partnerships with self-advocates, family members, and others to improve community-based systems and communities as a whole to be more supportive of Texans with DD and their families.
- Objective 2.1: Increase knowledge and skills about DD-informed health care services and supports among professionals so that Texans with DD engage in healthy behaviors. This objective would include activities that support the education of health care professionals in their care of people with DD as well as activities that promote access to health care in rural and underserved areas.
- Objective 2.2: Increase knowledge and skills among people who use and provide informal and formal community-based services across the lifespan. This objective would include activities to increase the support for family members, direct-care attendants, and other providers to support people of all ages to access housing, transportation, and other community supports.
- Objective 2.3: Increase knowledge and skills to support individuals with DD and their families and providers in schools and the transition to post-graduation life, including competitive integrated employment. This objective would include activities to improve school and transition services, access to higher education, and employment for people with DD.
- Objective 2.4: Increase education, training, and participation by self-advocates, families, and professionals in policy initiatives to improve protections for the human rights of Texans with DD to live safely in their community. This objective would include activities that help protect people with DD from instances of financial exploitation and sexual assault and safeguard their right to vote, work, and live as they choose.
- Objective 2.5: Increase citizen participation, outreach, training, so that Texans with DD and others have information to advocate for the community supports and services they want or need. This objective would include activities that allow TCDD to connect with and listen to the needs of all Texans and share information among people with DD and families. This includes our Disability Community Coordinator partnership with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to provide statewide education and training.
- Objective 2.6: Engage, as needed, to support individuals with DD and their families in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. This objective would include Council activities in response to natural disasters and public health emergencies when they happen.
What is TCDD Listens?
We’re developing our next strategic plan, which will guide our statewide activities from 2027-2031. The ideas and experiences of people with developmental disabilities (DD), family members of people with DD, service providers, and others are vital to this process. Your input is important!
TCDD Listens is our way to hear from you and gather what you say. Through TCDD Listens, we seek conversations with the public to inform the scope and direction of our goals to improve the lives of Texans with DD.
Our Council members will use your responses to develop a draft list of our future strategic goals. We’ll post this draft for public comment toward the end of 2025. Following the public comment period, our Council may revise the proposed strategic goals. We expect to have the final version of our next strategic plan ready for our Council to approve in early 2026.
We want ideas from:
- people with DD (self-advocates);
- family members of people with DD;
- disability service providers;
- professionals at nonprofits and government agencies;
- educators and education administrators;
- employers; and
- anyone else interested in disability issues.
Share Your Ideas
Connect with us directly at tcdd@tcdd.texas.gov to share your ideas and experiences.
About TCDD
TCDD helps people with DD achieve their goals for independence, productivity, and community living through a comprehensive system of services and support across Texas. We’re led by a 27-member Council that includes people with DD, family members of people with DD, and representatives from other state agencies and disability organizations.
Through grant awards, we partner with nonprofits, universities, and local and statewide advocacy groups led by people with DD. These grants develop innovative projects to support people with DD in making their own decisions on how to live, work, and engage in community life. Along with grant projects, we’re also a nonpartisan, educational resource and conduit for Texas legislators and local policymakers to connect with people with DD in their districts and better understand how policy decisions impact the disability community.
TCDD is a state agency funded by the federal government and authorized by DD Act. We’re one of 56 state DD councils in the U.S. and its federal territories.
