4:22 p.m., July 29, 2009----Leaders in the developmental disabilities field met at the University of Delaware this summer to help assure the quality and commitment of the next generation of leaders for organizations serving people with developmental disabilities.

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The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities (NLCDD) at the Center for Disabilities Studies (CDS) at the University of Delaware held the Summer 2009 Leadership Institute, a conference featuring some of the biggest names in the field of developmental disability supports, from July 12-17.

The NLCDD is co-directed by Steven M. Eidelman, H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Human Services Policy and Leadership at the University of Delaware, and Nancy Weiss, a researcher at the Center for Disabilities Studies.

The 29 participants, who came from across the United States and as far as Italy and Canada, spent the week participating in group discussions, exercises and lectures in order to develop and enhance their leadership skills.

Eidelman came to UD in the fall of 2005 with the goal of focusing on developing the next generation of leaders for this quickly changing field. With that goal in mind, he developed the first National Leadership Institute, which took place in July 2006, and there have been two to three conferences held every year since then.

The leadership institute was partly created because there are concerns that many leaders of disability organizations are reaching retirement age and there is not a “next generation” of leaders prepared to move into these roles.

“We wanted to bring national and emerging leaders together and see what was possible,” Eidelman said. “So far, feedback has been very positive, and the institutes will be spreading throughout the country, led by UD.”

Goals of the leadership institutes include that participants learn about how to bring about the shift to individualized and responsive supports, rather than inflexible and congregate services, and that they commit to self-direction and the need for people with disabilities and their families to function as full participants and leaders in service delivery and system reform. Ideally, the participants will use the knowledge they have gained to become more effective leaders and use the connections they have gained to network around topics of system reform and the provision of quality supports.

“People come away with an understanding of their own leadership styles, their strengths and the areas on which they need to focus,” Weiss said. “They leave with a much fuller understanding of the ways in which the field is shifting -- including changes in the ways supports are offered, demographic changes, changes in funding and changes in service models.”

Weiss said the conferences have many advantages for individuals who want to make a bigger impact in the field.

“People are able to form a community and a network to help move their understandings and the field forward,” she said. “They can use the network of the 250 past graduates of the Leadership Institute to seek information, discuss ethical issues and to request resources.”

Tim Quinn, from The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region in Maryland, is a regular faculty member of the NLCDD leadership institutes and says he keeps coming back because the message of the institute is so valuable. At this summer's institute, he spoke about the transformation from traditional group home and sheltered workshop services to individual support services.

“We hear pretty unanimously that participants are terribly moved and get a positive impact out of these conferences. For some, it is even career-changing,” he said. “Many participants are state government officials and others who have impact on policy. The passion and energy they get from the leadership institutes go back to their organizations and they have an incredibly positive influence.”

The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities is a partnership of nine major national developmental disability organizations. The goal of the consortium is to offer the necessary training for emerging leaders in the developmental field to embrace the values and build the skills necessary to work in government and nonprofit organizations that support people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Article by Jon Bleiweis
Photos by Ambre Alexander