A team of researchers in the College of Education was awarded a $750,000 grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities to train leaders in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
The grant is over five years and will fund advanced training sessions for future leaders from developmental centers and agencies across Texas. The sessions will be held in Lubbock in collaboration with the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Delaware.
"We plan to train the next generation of Texas leaders who excel in working with individuals with I/DD, managing diverse teams, have an understanding of fiscal responsibilities and have unique insights on policy development," said Stacy Carter, a professor of special education and the lead principal investigator on the grant. "Our collaboration with the University of Delaware will let us provide the highest quality training available in this area."
Co-principal investigators on the grant are Devender Banda, a professor of special education, and Nora Griffin-Shirley, the director of the Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Sensory Disabilities and a professor who coordinates the center's orientation and mobility program.
The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities is a 27-member board appointed by the Texas Governor that is dedicated to improving the lives of people with developmental disabilities. The council uses a variety of activities — such as grant projects, technical assistance, public awareness and leadership training — to enable people with disabilities to live, grow up, attend school and work in the community. Developmental disabilities are severe, chronic disabilities that occur before the age of 22, such as autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy.