(Palo Alto, CA, May 30, 2018) — The WITH Foundation is pleased to announce that close to $430,000 will be awarded to six organizations as a result of their previous open cycle. These grants will fund a variety of programs that promote comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities.
“We received a number of strong proposals from all across the country. It is a privilege to support these efforts, as they work to provide training for healthcare professionals, continue to enhance healthcare delivery and education models, as well as provide resources to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities” said Ryan Easterly, Executive Director of the WITH Foundation.
The following projects were selected for funding:
National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG): The Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) and the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG), in partnership with the Department of Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, are developing a serial assessment tool that can be completed by caregivers of adults with ID and shared with their healthcare providers to assist in care and management of dementia over the course of this debilitating condition. Through this two-year grant, the tool, the Serial Assessment of Function in Dementia (SAFD), will be used to assess the functional decline in adults with ID and dementia (ID). The prototype of the SAFD, once validated, has the potential to improve support, care and management of adults with IDD and their caregivers.
Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD): The AUCD was awarded funding to support the Keep the HEAT On (Health is for Everyone Action Team). The project builds on successful adoption of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) resolution to include education about the unique needs of people with Developmental Disabilities (DD) at undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education for physicians. Although 20% of adults in the US have a disability, with 1 in 6+ having DD, there is currently no training standard on DD for physicians at all levels of training. Keep the HEAT On will be a second phase of a multiyear effort to better understand DD competency in medical education, learning from previous efforts, and linking these learnings into a shared action plan to include DD in medical education.
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN): ASAN has developed a nationally-regarded Disability Policy Center over the last 5 years and provided robust, strategic advocacy at the state and national level on a number of fronts, including supported decision making, access to healthcare and other health policy topics. The WITH Foundation awarded ASAN with funding to continue and expand this work, with a focus on educating self-advocates and policymakers alike on issues relating to healthcare and people with developmental disabilities, ensuring that self-advocates have a voice in the national conversation on healthcare.
International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA): IOFA was awarded funding for a project that will bring together leading anti-human trafficking and disability rights organizations from across the U.S. to address the increasing targeting, exploitation, and abuse of persons with disabilities by human traffickers. More than 250 healthcare practitioners (across California) will receive education, training and materials to identify and care for persons with disabilities who have been or are at risk of being trafficked for labor and/or sexual exploitation. Prevention efforts will include educating 12,500 persons with disabilities on how to protect themselves from human trafficking.
The Arc of the United States: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) can use powers of attorney (POAs) to create supported decision-making (SDM) agreements for healthcare decisions. However, some healthcare professionals have been reluctant to accept them, and the legalistic language used in POAs can be daunting for self-advocates and families. This project will work with key stakeholders—people with I/DD, special needs planning attorneys and healthcare professionals—to develop and disseminate model POAs that use plain language and recognize SDM for medical decisions. The Arc will gather and refine existing POAs with input from these groups and pilot them with stakeholders in Massachusetts.
Special Care Clinic and Hospital Dentistry Program: The Special Care Clinic and Hospital Dentistry Program at the University of the Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry was awarded a three-year grant to increase the number of professionals trained to deliver high-quality oral health care to people with developmental disabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. This funding will help the Special Care Clinic (SCC) provide rigorous education and experiential learning opportunities to over 570 dental students, residents and scholars, medical students and pharmacy externs who will handle over 13,870 visits over 3 years.
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WITH Foundation promotes comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities.
withfoundation.org
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Press Contact: Laura Shumaker
Director of Communications, WITH
communications@withfoundation.org