LAUNCHING A DISABILITY, RELIGION, AND SPIRITUALITY INITIATIVEA Planning Process

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION Previous activities related to initiative

Planning process

Focus groups

Resource sharing

Next steps

PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INITIATIVE 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

PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES CONT… 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

PLANNING PROCESS 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

DRAFT PROPOSAL 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)

DRAFT PROPOSAL 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)

FOCUS GROUPS 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

FOCUS GROUPS INCLUDED: 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

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE FOCUS GROUPS A lot is happening

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE FOCUS GROUPS A lot is happening

No one knows about it

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE FOCUS GROUPS A lot is happening

No one knows about it

How we might lend support

RESOURCE SHARING 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

$$$Funding$$$

NEXT STEPS

NEXT STEPS

$$$Funding$$$

Gaining support of Vanderbilt Divinity School

NEXT STEPS

$$$Funding$$$

Gaining support of Vanderbilt Divinity School

Taking pre-initiative steps

CONTACT INFORMATION

Courtney Taylor, M.Div.Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental

Disabilities (TN UCEDD)

courtney.taylor@vanderbilt.edu

“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.”