The Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities Arkansas advocates for policy and system changes that improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
We encourage the participation of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families in the design of community service systems that enable them to live their best lives.
The Council also works to keep policymakers informed about disability issues and the potential impact of proposed legislative and policy changes on the lives of Arkansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. If you need more information, please contact GCDD Arkansas Executive Director, Jonathan Taylor, at 501-682-2912 or email to [email protected].
Your State Legislature – the Arkansas General Assembly
The Arkansas General Assembly is the legislative branch of the Arkansas government. The General Assembly includes the Arkansas State Senate and the Arkansas House of Representatives. There are 100 representatives and 35 senators. The General Assembly convenes its Regular Session on the second Monday of every other year (January). A session lasts for 60 days unless the legislature votes to extend it. The General Assembly convenes its Fiscal Session on the second Monday in February of every even-numbered year. The governor of Arkansas can issue a “call” for a special session during the interims between regular sessions.
Article V of the Arkansas Constitution establishes when the General Assembly is to convene. Section 5 of Article V establishes the beginning date for regular sessions, but this date has been changed by law (as Section 5 allows).
Section 17 of Article V limits the length of sessions to sixty days, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of each legislative house.
Potential Legislation (New Bills In The Legislature)
When your state legislature is in session, they may be drafting and introducing bills that have the potential to have direct impact in your daily lives. ALL Policy is Disability Policy – that is why Arkansans with disabilities, their families, and communities should be engaged and informed in this process.
You can search for bills directly on the Arkansas State Legislature website here.
State Council Governing Legislation
FEDERAL
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (the DD Act)
Public Law 106–402, 106th Congress, Oct. 30, 2000 [S. 1809]
Under the DD Act:
State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (Councils) are federally funded, self-governing organizations charged with identifying the most pressing needs of people with developmental disabilities in their state or territory. Councils are committed to advancing public policy and systems change that help these individuals gain more control over their lives.
The 56 Councils across the United States and its territories work to address identified needs by conducting advocacy, systems change, and capacity building efforts that promote self-determination, integration, and inclusion. Key activities include conducting outreach, providing training and technical assistance, removing barriers, developing coalitions, encouraging citizen participation, and keeping policymakers informed about disability issues.
STATE
State of Arkansas, Executive Department Proclamation, Executive Order 15-19
July 30, 2015
GCDD Arkansas Disability Policy Platform
The Arkansas Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities Platform outlines a comprehensive vision for enhancing the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities (“DD”). The Council advocates prioritizing self-determination, equitable access to services and supports, and creating and sustaining a statewide community that truly values the contributions of all its members. Achieving these goals requires collaborative efforts from policymakers, service providers, employers, educators, and the community at large.
The Council[1] is made up of Arkansans appointed by the Governor who administer federal grant money to meet the needs of Arkansans with DD and their families. The majority of its members must be individuals with DD or family members of individuals with DD.
The purpose of the Council is to assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have access to needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life.[2] Consistent with its enabling legislation, the specific purpose of the Council is to engage in “advocacy, capacity building, and systemic change activities” that:
- contribute to a coordinated, consumer- and family-centered, consumer- and family-directed, comprehensive system that includes needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
- build the protection and advocacy systems in each state to protect the human rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.
The Council’s funds must be spent in a manner that is consistent with the purpose, principles and policy set out in the DD Act:
(1) individuals with developmental disabilities, including those with the most severe developmental disabilities, are capable of self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life, but often require the provision of community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance.
(2) individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have competencies, capabilities, and personal goals that should be recognized, supported, and encouraged, and any assistance to such individuals should be provided in an individualized manner, consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of such individuals;
(3) individuals with developmental disabilities and their families are the primary decision-makers regarding the services and supports such individuals and their families receive, including regarding choosing where the individuals live from available options, and play decision-making roles in policies and programs that affect the lives of such individuals and their families.
(4) services, supports, and other assistance should be provided in a manner that demonstrates respect for individual dignity, personal preferences, and cultural differences.
(5) specific efforts must be made to ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds and their families enjoy increased and meaningful opportunities to access and use community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance available to other individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
(6) recruitment efforts in disciplines related to developmental disabilities relating to pre-service training, community training, practice, administration, and policymaking must focus on bringing larger numbers of racial and ethnic minorities into the disciplines in order to provide appropriate skills, knowledge, role models, and sufficient personnel to address the growing needs of an increasingly diverse population.
(7) with education and support, communities can be accessible to and responsive to the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families and are enriched by full and active participation in community activities, and contributions, by individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
(8) individuals with developmental disabilities have access to opportunities and the necessary support to be included in community life, have interdependent relationships, live in homes and communities, and make contributions to their families, communities, and States, and the Nation;
(9) efforts undertaken to maintain or expand community-based living options for individuals with disabilities should be monitored in order to determine and report to appropriate individuals and entities the extent of access by individuals with developmental disabilities to those options and the extent of compliance by entities providing those options with quality assurance standards.
(10) families of children with developmental disabilities need to have access to and use of safe and appropriate childcare and before-school and after-school programs, in the most integrated settings, in order to enrich the participation of the children in community life.
(11) individuals with developmental disabilities need to have access to and use of public transportation, in order to be independent and directly contribute to and participate in all facets of community life; and
(12) individuals with developmental disabilities need to have access to and use of recreational, leisure, and social opportunities in the most integrated settings, in order to enrich their participation in community life.
[1] The Council is part of the Developmental Disabilities Network established by the federal Developmental and Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 2000 (DD Act). The receives substantially all of its funding through a federal grant and technical assistance through the Administration on Disabilities within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 42 U.S.C. § 15001.
[2] 42 U.S.C. § 15001(b).
Advocacy is Action
Contact Your Elected Officials
Your input does matter. Be polite and to the point. Some lawmakers prefer certain methods of communication, so ask yours which they prefer. Find out more by visiting our Civic Engagement resource page.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
(501) 682-2345
Visit the Governor’s Website
Arkansas Senate
In session: (501) 682-2902
Out of session: (501) 682-6107
Find your senator
Arkansas House
In session: (501) 682-6211
Out of session: (501) 682-7771
Find your representative
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ACRONYM GUIDE
Intellectual Disability (ID) is a lifelong condition where significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior emerge during the developmental period (birth to 22 years of age).
Developmental Disabilities (DD), first defined in 1975 federal legislation now known as “The DD Act,”, are a group of lifelong conditions that emerge during the developmental period (birth to 22 years of age) and result in some level of functional limitation in learning, language, communication, cognition, behavior, socialization, or mobility. The most common DD conditions are intellectual disability, down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, fetal alcohol syndrome, and fragile X syndrome.
The acronym “IDD” is used to describe a group that includes either people with both ID and another DD or a group that includes people with ID or another DD. The supports that people with IDD need to meet their goals vary in intensity from intermittent to pervasive.