Council Project History

Fourth Generation

With the 2000 reauthorization of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, “priority areas” were changed to “areas of emphasis,” and new areas were defined. The areas of emphasis include Quality Assurance; Education and Early Intervention; Child Care; Health; Employment; Housing; Transportation; Recreation; and Formal and Informal Community Supports. The Council responded by changing the Committee Structure of the Council by first dropping the Systems Coordination and Community Education Committee (with an eye toward assuring that all Council activities were reflective of systems coordination and community education issues), then ultimately collapsing all former “priority area” committees into a single Project Development Committee to assure that all State Plan goals, objectives and activities were being considered in a single committee. Projects continued to evolve in this generation to assure greater “statewideness” and more systemic change in nature. Council investments in these projects and activities were often larger and more long-term.

Business Leadership Network/Job Fit, contracted with the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Executive Services Corps of Central Oklahoma

The Business Leadership Network is a national model that seeks to educate local businesses of the value of hiring persons with disabilities. The Council worked with the Executive Services Corps to coordinate the original Business Leadership Network; and worked with the Department of Rehabilitation Services to develop a website that both job seekers and businesses could access. This site allowed job seekers to post resumes, search for jobs, and match their skills to available positions. Human Resources managers could post jobs and search available resumes.

Tech Now! and Cache High Tech Connections, contracted with Bethany Public Schools and Cache Public Schools

The national High School-High Tech program was brought to Oklahoma by the Council. The first two programs were funded in Cache and in metro-Oklahoma City. The metro-Oklahoma City program worked originally in five schools. Over the course of five years, Cache eventually became part of Tech Now, and Tech Now continues to expand.
Tech Now Inc. is a program designed to encourage students with disabilities to explore post-secondary education and careers related to technology. Today, there are 36 sites across the state in both high schools and junior high schools. The curriculum includes classroom instruction, field trips to local technology-related businesses, mentorship from local business leaders, and computer project competitions. Students participating in the program are eligible for scholarships and cash awards provided by local businesses, the Oklahoma Department of Career Technology, and the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education.

Funding for the program is now provided by local school districts, as well as through the State Department of Education, the State Department of Rehabilitation Services, and federal grants. Council staff serve on the non-profit’s Advisory Board and assist with fund development and program expansion.

SoonerCare Health Education Partners, contracted with the Center for Learning and Leadership at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

With the roll-out of SoonerCare, the state’s managed health care program, the need was identified to assist enrollees about their rights and responsibilities related managed care. SoonerCare Health Education Partners improved the knowledge of the managed care system of health care providers, primary care providers, Oklahoma Health Care Authority (the state’s Medicaid agency) service representatives, Exceptional Needs Coordinators, self-advocates and family members.

Youth Service Worker Training Programs, contracted with the National Resource Center for Youth Services

This project developed training for Oklahoma’s community-based youth service agencies and other community-based service agencies providing services to children and youth to build their capacity to work with children and youth with developmental disabilities.

OASIS Update contracted with OASIS, Oklahoma City

OASIS is the statewide information and referral system for persons with disabilities. While comprehensive, the Council determined the need to update the information provided in their data base, and supplement it with local, generic services that could be of assistance to individuals with disabilities – such as church food pantries and utility assistance programs. Over the course of three years, all data was updated and the Council funded sub-contracts in Tulsa and McAlester to identify and include such generic services.

Home of Your Own/Home Ownership Options for Persons with Disabilities, contracted with the Oklahoma Association of Community Action Agencies

HOME OF YOUR OWN
STEERING COMMITTEE

Based on the national home-ownership model “Home of Your Own,” Affordable Home Ownership Options for People with Disabilities was an activity funded through the Oklahoma Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA). The program developed home-ownership readiness training, down payment/closing cost assistance programs, and weatherization/rehabilitation programs for potential home owners. Additionally, OACAA built relationships with the Oklahoma Housing Finance Authority, banks and mortgage companies to assist home buyers with disabilities. Though the Council no longer provides funding for this program, most of the products have been incorporated into the core services of Oklahoma’s community action system.

Workforce Center Access Project, contracted with the University of Oklahoma’s National Center for Disability Education and Training

This program provided training and technical assistance to the state’s Workforce Centers to assure each met the requirements for programmatic and physical accessibility for persons with disabilities as the federal Ticket to Work program went on-line.

Environmental Design Prototype, contracted with the OSU College of Environmental Sciences, Stillwater

This project produced a study, “The Impact of the Near Environment on People’s Psychological Well Being,” and conducted a literature review of current standards, products and facilities for persons in temporary congregate living situations. As part of the research, students in the college designed model residential homes for youth with mental health situations who were making a transition from institutional care to a less restrictive environment. These designs, including blue prints and suggestions for furnishings and fixtures, were provided to Oklahoma’s service providers at no cost and several more “home like” homes with important durability and safety features have been built.

Dreamnight at the Zoo, contracted with the Oklahoma City Zoo

Dreamnight is an international event, held each year on the first Friday evening in June. The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens is the only Oklahoma zoo participating and the Council has helped to design and sponsor this event since it began in 2005. In addition to providing access to families of children with disabilities, the Council funded disability awareness training for zoo employees that is now part of new employee orientation. Additionally, the zoo wrote and published a Dreamnight at the Zoo manual, working with zoos from across the country to compile important information. This has been disseminated to all Councils on Developmental Disabilities and has been presented at national conferences of zoo professionals.

Sooner SUCCESS, contracted with the Child Study Center of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

This project supports the effort to establish a coordinated collaboration of formal and informal service providers and families at the county level. Council funding supported salary for six county coordinators, all of whom were parents of children with disabilities or special health care needs. Sooner SUCCESS will eventually expand to all 77 counties in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Court-Appointed Advocates for Vulnerable Adults (OCAAVA), contracted with the Aging Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (Active Project)

OCAAVA meets a significant need by training citizen volunteers as adults for vulnerable adults with and without disabilities. These advocates, assigned by district court judges, assure that the rights of such adults are preserved and protected during. OCAAVA, as a state organization, standardizes training and certifies local CAAVA programs in each judicial district.

Justin A. McCurry Library and Resource Center

Through the years, the state’s DD Act partners, the Council, the Disability Law Center and the Center for Learning and Leadership had amassed a large collection of print and electronic media. As a Redlands Partners collaboration project, all material was housed in a single location (at the Council office) and this became the Justin A. McCurry Library and Resource Center. The library is affiliated with the State Department of Libraries, and as such all holdings are available for “inter-library loan” to local and university libraries and their patrons.

Emergency Preparation for Persons with Developmental Disabilities and Emergency Response Personnel

Another collaboration of the Redlands Partners has been the work related to emergency preparation in Oklahoma. Oklahomans have experienced significant natural and man-made disasters, and with these projects, all operated in-house, persons with disabilities and emergency response personnel are better prepared to handle such situations. Among the work completed under this banner are the distribution of thousands of Red Cross Disaster Preparation for People with Disabilities books, the distribution of more than 10,000 laminated tip cards for first responders to emergency personnel in more than 22 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, and the participation of professionals in the field of developmental disabilities in the State’s Department of Emergency Management advisory councils.

Youth Leadership Forum

The Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) is a week-long summer camp for rising high school juniors and seniors with disabilities. YLF, an in-house project of the Council, provides training in leadership, career and post-secondary education exploration, public speaking, and working with policymakers.

Master of Social Work Stipend Program

This in-house program of the Council promotes career exploration for graduate students in social work by providing a stipend for practicum experiences at non-profit organizations and state agencies serving persons with developmental disabilities.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Housing Study, contracted with the Aging Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services

Oklahoma ranks second in the number of children being raised by grandparents. Many of these children have disabilities. The Council has worked closely with the Aging Services Division of OKDHS to identify and help meet the needs of these families and conducted this study to determine housing-related needs of this population.

Direct Support Professionals Project, contracted with Tulsa Community College

As part of the overall strategy to train and support qualified direct support professionals, the Council is working with Tulsa Community College to create a certificate of educational attainment that can be taken to Tulsa Community College (and hopefully soon more community colleges). The training required of these professionals can be transferred into college credit hours, which we expect will encourage these professionals to continue working on a college degree, thus increasing their career advancement in the field of developmental disabilities.
The Council office holds cabinets and bookcases full of additional information about these former projects; if you’d like more information about any project, please contact the Council office.