For the past two and a half years, the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) has had the privilege of working alongside leaders across Georgia’s intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community as part of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) I/DD Workgroup. Together, we set out to confront three of the most critical challenges in our system: the provider workforce crisis, people stranded in emergency rooms and hospitals, and the long and growing waiting list for the NOW and COMP waivers.

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to build a more interdependent, self-sufficient, and integrated and included disability community across Georgia.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 2001GASCDD-03, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.