Promising Practices ECS - Disability in the criminal justice system 
People with developmental disabilities face unique disadvantages while in the criminal justice system, which limits their access to equal justice. The Criminal Justice Advocacy Program provides intervention, case management, and education services to help improve the system.
Promising Practices ECS - An accessibility plan with a community focus 
Richmond Society for Community Living has developed an accessibility plan that extends far beyond the boundaries of the organization. It actively works to identify and rectify barriers to inclusion within the community as well.
Promising Practices ECS - Connect, Grow, Share - Can You Dig It Grows Food and Cultivates Relationships - 2015 
Can You Dig It! is an inclusive food growing initiative in the Vancouver area established by the community living association posAbilities. It addresses the challenges of social isolation and food security through urban gardening.
Promising Practices ECS - Dedication and determination lead to empowerment for self-advocates - 2015 
Bridgewell Advocates was established to educate and energize individuals about self-advocacy and to provide members of Bridgewell’s community a place to come together and express themselves. Working together to promote self-determination, and inspired by the values of dignity and respect, members are empowered to make educated choices that improve and enrich their lives.
Promising Practices ECS - Creative arts program plugs artists into the Twin Cities’ vibrant fine arts community - 2015 
In 1999, MSS started the Creative Arts Program to explore a different avenue of programming for adults with disabilities. The art program facilitates exposure to activities such as pottery making, audio recording, performance art, photography, screen printing, and textile art. Artists exhibit and sell their work in the community, at art festivals, at events, or through MSS’ online art gallery.
Igniting the power of self-advocacy 
Minnesota nonprofit disability organization Opportunity Partners launched a self-advocacy group called the Committee of Advocacy and Leadership (COAL) to empower people served by the organization to stand up for themselves and ensure that their voices are heard.
Change in Medicaid mandate sparks Colorado Goodwill to create innovative life-skills program 
Discover Goodwill developed an innovative day program called Possibilities, a first-of-its-kind community integration service, after a change in a federal Medicaid mandate. Possibilities offers services within an on-site, townlike environment while also incorporating actual community outings and activities into the service plan.
Promising Practices ECS - Orientation and Mobility trail offers safe training for people with blindness or low vision - 2014 
The Orientation and Mobility teachers at Bosma Enterprises faced a challenge when trying to replicate the many environmental obstructions clients might find in their home and community. Doing so often required driving across the city to find obstacles for use in training. After a brainstorming session, the Bosma Center-Based Services staff decided to build a multi-surface training trail.
Promising Practices ECS - College provides a hand up to career advancement - 2014 - PDF 
Goodwill Industries founder Dr. Edgar J. Helms created training programs to enable unemployed persons to gain valuable skills to help them reach their maximum work potential. Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the Central Savannah River Area has worked more than a decade to apply Dr. Helms' vision to today’s high-demand, middle-skills occupations.
Promising Practices ECS - Program offers at-risk youths a second chance for education and careers - 2014 - PDF 
Adjudicated youths face considerable barriers to achieving their educational and career goals. Recognizing that these at-risk youths need extensive supports and resources if they are to succeed, MERS/Missouri Goodwill Industries in St. Louis formed the Innovative Concept Academy in partnership with the St. Louis Juvenile Court.
Promising Practices ECS - Inclusive institute grooms future community leaders - 2014 - PDF 
When the Albany Advocacy Resource Center, Inc. (AARC), realized that a community leadership program serving Albany, Georgia, did not include individuals with disabilities, the organization stepped in to establish a similar program to embrace persons with disabilities.
Promising Practices ECS - Airport practice tours ground flying anxieties - 2013 - PDF 
Every
parent knows that flying with children can be unsettling. For children with
autism spectrum disorder, the experience can be traumatizing for them and their
families as well as for other passengers, airport workers, and the flight crew.
Now, families in the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) area who need specialized
travel accommodations can become more comfortable with airline travel through the
Navigating Autism with MSP program, a collaboration between Fraser and two other
Minnesota service organizations.
Promising Practices ECS - Building harmony between persons served and the community - 2013 - PDF 
"Music is the universal language of mankind." These words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow continue to inspire the staff of PHP of NC, Inc. Music has played an essential part of the treatment plans for the persons served since the organization was founded in 1996 to serve persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Promising Practices ECS - Veterans in the justice system are provided treatment and employment opportunities - PDF - 2013 
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is making a systemwide effort to
ensure access to VA services for veterans who are in the justice system. Without
intervention, these veterans are at high risk for homelessness, substance
abuse, mental illness, and physical health problems.
Promising Practices ECS - Drama therapy encourages persons with disabilities to share their stories and talents - 2013 - PDF 
"Powerful" and "inspirational" were among theatergoers' comments as they experienced emotions
ranging from sorrow to joy in response to the I Am You series of original monologues written and staged by
individuals with developmental disabilities in Bloomington, Indiana.
Promising Practices ECS - UCP Suffolk and American Red Cross partnership empowers persons with disabilities to help others - 2013 - PDF 
Long before Superstorm Sandy cut a swath of devastation across Long Island, persons with disabilities at United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Suffolk, Inc., recognized a need for disaster preparedness education among their peers.
Promising Practices ECS - Restructured agency focuses on strategies for success on the autism spectrum - 2012 - PDF 
Responding to an increasing demand for services
for persons with autism spectrum disorder, the management of Greene County
Board of Developmental Disabilities in west central Ohio agreed that its
services for children and adults must reflect best practice models when it
began a multiyear restructuring.
Program proves to be a 'goodChoice' for individuals in financial crisis 
To help break the cycle that traps borrowers into repeated
reliance on payday lenders, Goodwill, Serving Hampton Roads and Central
Virginia partnered with two other organizations to create the goodChoice
program, which provides borrowers with a short-term loan with important distinctions
to help borrowers transition from a dependency on predatory lending.
Promising Practices ECS - Program increases access to care and quality of life for persons with dual diagnosis - 2012 - PDF 
Clinicians are rarely
trained in the specialized behavioral health approaches to treat persons with a
developmental disability who also have a psychiatric disorder. To address this
gap in services, the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Services created the Mental Health Supports and Services (MHSS) Program.
Promising Practices ECS - Private sector and government partnerships build community housing - 2012 - PDF 
Today's residents with disabilities often have complex
care issues, and their options to live independently in the community are
limited. Without care support in a group home, these individuals likely would
end up in an institutionalized setting. Vancouver Resource Society creatively
fills the need for residential living for persons with a wide range of
disabilities.
Promising Practices ECS - Summit galvanizes community partnerships to curb homelessness among veterans - 2012 - PDF 
Summit participants were selected because of their knowledge of homeless issues, ability to take action, and authority to make decisions.
Promising Practices ECS - Dream team approach emphasizes volunteerism - 2012 - PDF 
When Life Skills Centers,
Inc., began serving more high-need and medically fragile persons, it struggled
with finding ways to close its institutional settings and integrate its diverse
clientele into the community. This story illustrates how parents and guardians,
consumers, and staff volunteered to work together.
Promising Practices ECS - Surge in aging disability population unlocks the door to innovative housing - 2012 - PDF 
The current generation of aging caregivers never imagined that their children with a developmental disability would outlive them -- but many are, thanks to advances in medical technology. Organizations like the Marc Center of Mesa are opening their doors to serve this aging population.
Promising Practices ECS - ProAct provides Life Opportunities 
ProAct, Inc., of Eagan, Minnesota uses the expertise of family members, guardians, and professionals of persons served in a unique way to create a new and innovative program. The program, called Life Opportunities, teaches life skills to better equip young adults with disabilities for productive lives.
Promising Practices ECS - NY Goodwill provides consolidated services 
Goodwill Provides Consolidated Services. Bringing agencies together created painless referral process. In 2004, the vocational services staff of Goodwill Industries of Western New York realized that clients who were receiving employment instruction onsite often had to interrupt their training to participate in other services.
Promising Practices ECS - Amazing Every One - Stark MRDD 
Amazing. Every. One. The Stark County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (Stark MRDD), located in Canton, Ohio, takes the challenge of changing attitudes very seriously. Stark MRDD learned that you get more bang for your buck if you invest in event marketing instead of general marketing. Consequently, Stark MRDD and The Workshops have created partnerships with area media and businesses that have greatly benefited individuals with developmental disabilities.
Promising Practices ECS - Mount Kilimanjaro climb tests endurance of persons with disabilities - Prince George Association for Community Living 
Mount Kilimanjaro climb tests endurance of persons with disabilities. Cerebral palsy fails to deter climber’s determination. The journey to Mount Kilimanjaro, in northeast Tanzania near the Kenya border, was sponsored by the British Columbia Association for Community Living to raise awareness about the capabilities of persons with disabilities. Prince George Association for Community Living (AiMHi)
Promising Practices ECS - Sometimes life does come with a manual - North Shore Disability Resource Centre 
Sometimes life does come with a manual. Life skills manual breaks learning down into manageable and attainable goals. In response to life skills staff members’ requests, North Shore Disability Resource Centre produced a Life Skills Training Manual.
Promising Practices ECS - Consumers can guide human resource decisions better than anyone else - Supported Community Living 
Consumers can guide human resource decisions better than anybody else. An Ohio-based supported living organization creates harmonious housing situations using consumer input. Supported Community Living developed a system that gives consumers a say in the initial selection of staff, as well as a say in who will serve as substitute staff.
Promising Practices ECS - A new haven to open at University of Arizona - Chapel Haven 
A new haven to open at University of Arizona. Organization to bring 35 years of experience to program serving persons with autism spectrum disorders and mild developmental disabilities. Chapel Haven’s traditional program, founded in 1972 in New Haven, Connecticut, uses a teaching model for its residential life skills, employment services, recreation, and education programs. Because of its national reputation for services to individuals with disabilities, the University of Arizona in Tucson was a logical starting point for its new program, Chapel Haven West.
Promising Practices ECS - California makes a STAR program - Community Mental Health of California 
California makes a STAR program. Collaborative effort between the county and job resources turn a community concern into a community solution. The County of Marin court system and Community Mental Health of California decided change was done best through collaborative efforts and formed the Support and Treatment After Release (STAR) program.
Promising Practices ECS - To be or not to be was never a question - Maryhaven Day Habilitation Program 
To Be or Not to Be was Never a Question. Maryhaven Day Habilitation Program opens a performing arts program that allows consumers to fulfill their acting aspirations.The idea of a performing arts program started small at Maryhaven Day Habilitation Program, with a small group of staff members and consumers writing short skits that they performed in various elementary and middle schools on Long Island.