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Self-Advocacy

Vision/Goal:

Individuals with developmental disabilities are leaders in their communities and state and are active partners in planning, guiding, and governing the policies and programs that shape services and supports.

Background:

People with developmental disabilities live in a culture that stigmatizes and devalues differences. People who rely on support services encounter numerous obstacles to self-determination and autonomy. The priorities that dictate the type, quantity and quality of support services are relatively uninfluenced by the will and choice of those who rely on those services.

Since 1995, WCDD has put a high priority on supporting the efforts of people with developmental disabilities of all ages to become self-directing and active members of their communities. Building new local self-advocacy organizations and launching a statewide organization governed by people with developmental disabilities has been more complicated and difficult than anticipated. However, the persistence of an emerging leadership group of self-advocates has succeeded in the founding of an energetic statewide self-advocacy organization with local affiliates in every region of the state.

The DD Act Reauthorization mandates that the State Plan “Include a goal, for each year of the grant, to:

• establish or strengthen a program for the direct funding of a State self-advocacy organization led by individuals with developmental disabilities;
• support opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities who are considered leaders to provide leadership training to individuals with developmental disabilities who may become leaders;
• support and expand participation of individuals with disabilities in cross-disability and culturally diverse leadership coalitions.”
  

Objectives:

1. WCDD strengthens local and statewide self-advocacy by assisting People First Wisconsin to maintain a statewide office, newsletter, toll-free phone line, email and website. The statewide office assists people with disabilities to have a voice by supporting the development and strengthening of local People First groups. People with disabilities, their families, community service providers, advocacy organizations, elected officials and members of the general public can access information, resources, and technical assistance from People First Wisconsin staff.
2. WCDD assists People First Wisconsin to support opportunities for people with disabilities to develop self-advocacy and leadership skills.
3. WCDD assists People First Wisconsin to support self-advocates to participate in local and statewide cross disability coalitions.

Funding:

2001: $50,000
2002 $50,000
2003 $70,000
2004 $70,000
2005 $80,000

Collaborators:

People First of Wisconsin, local self-advocacy groups, Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, UW Waisman Center.

Strategies:

1) Capacity-Building

Through an annual grant, WCDD supports the core organizational costs of People First Wisconsin. This grant enables People First Wisconsin to establish and maintain a statewide office, continue the employment of core staff, support the governance activities of its board of directors, conduct outreach to potential self-advocates, and continue to develop the expertise and leadership needed to carry out its mission.

Starting in 2005, WCDD will also provide small grants to assist the development and strengthening of local self-advocacy organizations.