Join Us September 3, 2025 from 2-3 PM

Please join OPWDD and the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) for a Statewide Community Engagement Forum on September 3, 2025, from 2:00-3:00 PM.  This forum is open to all provider staff, people with developmental disabilities, families, and interested parties.  In 2024, OPWDD partnered with the NCCC to host 12 regional provider forums.  The results of these virtual forums are posted on the OPWDD website.  The NCCC will share what 324 providers reported about their capacity for and commitment to cultural and linguistic competence as essential practices that benefit all New Yorkers with developmental disabilities, their families, and the communities in which they live.  OPWDD will discuss plans to use this information and other insights from people with lived experience of developmental disabilities to advance a vision for cultural competence, linguistic competence, and equity.  In addition, OPWDD and the NCCC will provide information on:

• An opportunity for providers to partner with NCCC to complete project listening sessions.  These sessions are designed to elicit the experiences of persons with developmental disabilities and their families in accessing supports and services that are responsive to their interests and needs across all population groups in New York State (NYS).
• Three provider Webinars that will be offered in October and November on salient topics, including one focused on how to advance cultural and linguistic competence in the current socio-cultural and political environment.
• Other resources, including the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Assessment for Disability Organizations, and resources that are currently available on the Project website.

Please join and continue to partner with us to advance cultural and linguistic competence throughout the NYS system of supports and services for people with developmental disabilities and their families.  This forum will be:

• offered in English, American Sign Language (ASL), and the 12 languages required by the NYS Language Access Law
• held on the Zoom Platform.  You can test your connection with Zoom before joining (https://zoom.us/test).
• archived and available on the OPWDD-NCCC Partnership for Systems Change Project website (https://nccc.georgetown.edu/opwdd/index.php).

For additional questions, contact: OPWDD-NCCCpartnership@georgetown.edu.

Read the Provider Forum Reports

REGISTER FOR THE FORUM

Hear What Service Providers Envision for Systems Change at OPWDD/Georgetown Statewide Community Engagement Forum on September 3 | Office for People With Developmental Disabilities