This month’s Spotlight celebrates the accomplishments of the 2018 NH-ME LEND cohort! This year has gone by quickly, and trainees have been engaged in a wide variety of activities across our two states. We would like to take a moment to share two highlights.
Trainees from NH and ME attended the Disability Policy Seminar in Washington, DC from April 22-25. To prepare for the trip, LEND trainees worked with faculty members Kay Johnson, Patrick Shannon and Alan Cobo-Lewis to prepare a policy brief and talking points on the critical importance of Medicaid services for children and youth with developmental disabilities and special health care needs. On April 25, NH-ME LEND trainees joined hundreds of disability advocates on Capitol Hill to speak to Congressional delegates about the issue. Trainees have continued their advocacy at the local level since returning home.
On Friday, May 4 the 2018 LEND Cohort presented their Capstone Projects in a poster session in Holloway Commons at the University of New Hampshire. Joined by faculty and community partners, the trainees shared their year-long work on leadership projects designed to improve the system of care. Topics crossed the life span including infant mental health, newborn hearing and developmental screening, complex care management, parent empowerment, behavioral health, and transition of youth to adult life. Projects also addressed pressing issues for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, including the relationship between poverty and disability, employment patterns for adults with developmental disabilities, historical perspectives of services, improving health and wellness, and public policy to influence change. Learn more about the trainees’ work with community partners in New Hampshire and Maine >
