The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities at Kennedy Krieger Institute is part of a national network of 67 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs) funded by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. MCDD has undertaken a strong focus this year on improving its understanding of cultural competency, diversity and inclusion to facilitate change within MCDD and across the Institute. In March, MCDD submitted an application to participate in a UCEDD project, “Embedding Cultural Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence: A Guide for UCEDD Curricula and Training Activities,” to support this effort.
MCDD is one of four UCEDDs selected to receive on-site technical assistance for the project. This is great news for MCDD and the Institute. The other three UCEDDs selected to receive on-site technical assistance are located in Alaska, Louisiana and New Mexico.
The project is designed to research, develop and disseminate a set of resources for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (the national UCEDD network), and to build the network’s capacity to embed cultural diversity and cultural and linguistic competence in its curricula and training activities.
MCDD anticipates impact across three of the project’s four core functions through specific projects of its own, including: 1.) an MCDD pre-service training and continuing education program, 2.) community service and technical assistance through Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy and Law) and People On the Go Maryland, and 3.) information dissemination through Project HEAL and Kennedy Krieger’s Resource Finder.
MCDD will work to facilitate dissemination of the new knowledge and practices across Kennedy Krieger through the Institute’s multi-faceted Equity, Inclusion and Diversity initiative. The initiative will include a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities component and a senior administration representative. The MCDD leadership team will work with the UCEDD project team and conduct the work required to ensure the goals identified in the award’s stipulations are implemented and accomplished.
