L AUNCHING A D ISABILITY, R ELIGION, AND S PIRITUALITY I NITIATIVE A Planning Process

O UTLINE OF P RESENTATION Previous activities related to initiative Planning process Focus groups Resource sharing Next steps

P REVIOUS A CTIVITIES R ELATED TO I NITIATIVE Partnering with Mayor’s Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities during Disability Awareness Month to hold interfaith worship services modeling physical and attitudinal accessibility Partnering with Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities to develop and maintain Tennessee Disability Pathfinder information and referral service. The service includes a searchable database of Interfaith Resources Partnering with All God’s Children and Center for Child and family Policy, Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, on a congregational survey

P REVIOUS A CTIVITIES C ONT … Listening to family stories 40+ years of experience working with the community to provide disability information, resources, and training-working to transfer research into practice

P LANNING P ROCESS Prompted by a father of a young son with Down syndrome. Ties to fields of religion and psychology Development of initial draft proposal with broad-based VKC UCEDD input

D RAFT P ROPOSAL Phase I: Establishing Community Leadership (Interdisciplinary and Interfaith Advisory Council) Phase II: Becoming Informed (Gathering information through surveys-families, congregations, and disability service providers and advocates)

D RAFT P ROPOSAL Phase III: Becoming Connected and Offering Support (Encouraging congregations to have a contact or a committee responsible for addressing disability- related issues) Phase IV: Offering Training (Seminary and Divinity School, Congregation, Disability Agency and Service Provider)

F OCUS G ROUPS Day-long series of meetings held to: gather information about current congregational and community activities assess needs, opportunities, and barriers brainstorm assess whether VKC UCEDD could contribute in ways compatible with its core functions, emphases, and faculty/staff strengths and skills

F OCUS G ROUPS I NCLUDED : Clergy, religious and lay leaders Individuals with disabilities, family members, community disability organizations and advocates Vanderbilt Divinity School faculty and students Vanderbilt Kennedy Center researchers and UCEDD staff

W HAT WE LEARNED F ROM THE FOCUS GROUPS A lot is happening

W HAT WE LEARNED F ROM THE FOCUS GROUPS A lot is happening No one knows about it

W HAT WE LEARNED F ROM THE FOCUS GROUPS A lot is happening No one knows about it How we might lend support

R ESOURCE S HARING Established an electronic distribution list Shared a summary of the notes from the focus groups Shared a list of local resources Continue to send periodic resource updates

$$$Funding$$$ N EXT STEPS

$$$Funding$$$ Gaining support of Vanderbilt Divinity School

N EXT STEPS $$$Funding$$$ Gaining support of Vanderbilt Divinity School Taking pre-initiative steps

C ONTACT INFORMATION Courtney Taylor, M.Div. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (TN UCEDD)

“When a child is diagnosed with a disability, the first place a young family turns is to their doctor. The second place they turn is often to their faith community. Faith communities need to be able support families across the life span and stages. Congregations need to have knowledge and be able to give good advice to families on both spiritual and practical issues.”