ABOUT IIDC

Milestones of the 1990s

In the 1990s, with ongoing support from the state and continued grant acquisitions at the state and federal levels, the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community has built upon its past experiences and relationships to be a valued participant in the movement toward creating inclusive communities for persons with disabilities throughout the state of Indiana and the nation.

Research Grant on Problem Behavior

In 1990, the Institute received a United States Department of Education (USDOE), Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) grant to research the causes of high intensity problem behavior by students with severe disabilities. Information dissemination and support to general education personnel, regarding the implementation of inclusive classrooms and other best practices in services for all students with disabilities, was initiated as well.

Collaborative Linkages

A collaborative effort in 1992, between the Indiana Institute and the Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Disability, Aging, and Rehabilitative Services continued the tradition of Indiana University and the Institute's 30-year history of interagency collaboration. This collaborative link initiated a systems-wide approach to improve the quality and availability of supported employment services to persons with disabilities.

Center for Planning and Policy Studies

In 1990, another consortium between the Indiana Institute and the Indiana Department of Education, Division of Special Education, in conjunction with Vocational Rehabilitation and four institutions of higher learning, was formed to develop policy and establish interagency initiatives in the area of transition services for youth with disabilities. Building on the Indiana Institute's interagency planning experiences, several programs were brought together to create the Center for Planning and Policy Studies. The 1990s have seen this group supporting interagency and consumer collaboration in local communities and in state policy development, such as the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) within Indiana.

Project CONNECT

Project CONNECT was established in 1992 to take a systems-change approach to restructuring services for students with severe emotional disorders (SED). Project CONNECT combined interagency collaboration, parent involvement, and modified existing services with less restrictive alternatives and effective programming in school and community settings to develop an effective, needs-based continuum of services for students with emotional and behavioral problems.

Interagency Initiatives in Transition

In 1992, the Indiana Institute took on another initiative for systems change, this time in the arena of services to adults with severe disabilities. Through a collaborative effort with the Indiana Division on Disability, Aging, and Rehabilitative Services and the U.S. Department of Education, the Indiana Employment Initiative (IEI) began working to effect broad improvements in the quality and availability of a program to enhance the employment outcomes of people with severe disabilities of all types in supported employment. The Institute assisted in moving the state of Indiana from initial implementation of supported employment to a position of leadership. As a result, in 1995 and 1998, the Division of Disability, Aging, and Rehabilitative Services renewed its partnership with the Institute. By working with the state and local communities, competitive employment is now a reality for over 4,500 Hoosiers with severe disabilities.

World Wide Web

In 1995, the Indiana Institute and each of its eight centers mounted information about Institute resources and services on the World Wide Web. Additionally, the Institute conducted its first seminar entitled Using the Internet to Adapt Instruction for Inclusive Classrooms: A Distance Learning Workshop utilizing electronic mail (e-mail) and converted one of its publications entitled Adapting Curriculum and Instruction in Inclusive Classrooms to a CD-ROM format for use in professional development.

Redesigning Special Education Position Paper

Also in 1995, as a follow up to the first position paper written in 1985, A New Future for Children with Substantial Handicaps: The Second Wave of Least Restrictive Environment, a group of understanding, accomplished, and experienced people from across Indiana gathered to discuss the restructuring of special education in Indiana. The discussion evolved into a discourse focused on restructuring education to meet the needs of all students. A second position paper was designed and developed from the discussions of this "think tank".

The document, Redesigning Special Education Services for All Students: The Indiana Agenda, was intended to generate discussion and promote consensus-building among practitioners, communities, and decision-makers on how best to meet the needs of ALL Hoosier school students. The document includes four sections: Context for Change, Perception of Difference: "General" vs. "Special" Education, The Vision: Redesigned Schools and The Five Goals: Barriers and Bridges. During the summer and fall of 1997, copies of the Redesigning document were mailed to educators and parents throughout Indiana. Along with the document, a questionnaire was mailed, requesting readers to respond to the various aspects of the document. Over 400 questionnaires were returned. The reactions and feedback to the document were overwhelmingly positive.

These two position papers have become the framework from which the Institute continues to provide technical assistance and support to Indiana schools. The school initiatives are designed to work at the local school site level, facilitating the development of best practice and school improvement that is generated from teachers, administrators, and parents within the local school.

New Institute Director

In the Summer of 1996, David M. Mank, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Education at the University of Oregon, was appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. Mank assumed the directorship position from Henry J. Schroeder, who stepped down after 25 years of service. Mank holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and English from Rockhurst College, Kansas City, a Master's from Portland State University in Special Education, and a Doctorate in Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Oregon, Eugene. In addition to his duties as Executive Director of the Indiana Institute, Mank is a Full Professor in Indiana University's School of Education's program in Special Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Supported Living Focus

Indiana as a state is still highly reliant on institutional residential settings for people with developmental disabilities. In fact, over 75% of funding in Indiana for residential services goes to institutions and other congregate settings. Since 1996, the Institute has added a focus on supported living to try and reverse this statistic. Through another collaboration with the Indiana Governor's Planning Council for People with Disabilities, the Indiana Institute has conducted research on the outcomes of supported living. This information is helping to drive the state's shift from segregated to integrated lifestyles for all people with disabilities. A related initiative, the Home of Your Own project assisted individuals with disabilities to become home owners. This project provided information and referral and involves many "nondisability" agencies including the US Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Name Change for Family/Consumer Committee

In 1998, the Indiana Institute's Family and Consumer Committee, established in 1994, changed their name to the Family and Individual Resource and Support Team (FIRST). FIRST membership includes Institute employees with a strong interest in ensuring that the voice of individuals with disabilities and their families is heard both within the Institute and across Indiana.

Institute Expands its Centers

In March of 1998, the Institute expanded from seven to eight centers to better meet the needs of our customers and reflect the diversity of areas that the Indiana Institute has addressed over the years. The Center for School and Community Integration (CSCI) expanded from one to two centers creating the Center on Community Living and Careers and the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning. CCLC program objectives focus on improving transition and adult services in the areas of person-directed planning, community living, integrated employment, community membership, organizational change, career development, and inclusive education.

CELL's objectives focus on improving school services for students ages 3-22 in the areas of organization and structure, leadership, curriculum and instruction, transition, positive behavior supports, inclusive school communities, and school change and improvement.

Indiana Institute Name Change

In May of 1999, after a six month process of discussion and exchange with constituents and others, the Indiana Institute changed its name from the Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities (ISDD) to the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. The Indiana Institute has long been invested in disability and community issues with a mission to improve the lives of people with disabilities in typical community settings. The Institute had rethought and reshaped its commitments and roles with Indiana communities and people with disabilities in typical community settings. The name, the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, better reflects the organization's vision of commitment and ongoing improvement toward the achievement of its mission.

Indiana Institute Center Name Changes

Also in May of 1999, the Center for Aging Persons with Developmental Disabilities (CAPDD) changed its name to the Center on Aging and Community. The Center faculty and staff determined that issues of importance to older persons such as retirement and semi-retirement activities, change in physical status, and late-life loss are best addressed within a community context. Thus, the Center's name change which more accurately reflects its mission to provide leadership enabling older persons to lead self-determined lives within their communities.

The Indiana Institute's Center for Innovative Practices for Young Children (CIPYC) changed its name as well to the Early Childhood Center. Center staff chose this new name to simplify it and to emphasize its role within the Indiana Institute: To enable the Institute to provide leadership in areas touching young children and their families and to provide education and research that promotes strong families and communities for all young children.

Distance Education

Retrofitting of the Institute's Training Room began in June of 1999 converting the facility to a Vision Athena video distance learning send site. The Indiana Institute now has the capacity to provide interactive distance learning to1990s Indiana schools, communities, and institutions of higher education via Vision Athena, the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System (IHETS), and Indiana university's Virtual Interactive classroom (VIC) system.