Projects of National Significance: Self-Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center

The Self-Advocacy Resource Center will compile resources, best practices, training curriculum, and success stories for an online clearinghouse accessible to the public; provide training and technical assistance to self-advocacy organizations across the nation; operate a fellowship program that offers leadership development and employment opportunities for fellows; and collaborate with a diverse range of organizations including self-advocacy organizations, disability-related nonprofits, universities, state government agencies, and others to achieve the goals of the project. The Center will expand work around an ‘Easy Read Language’ initiative by working with state and regional self-advocacy organizations to help them build relationships and secure contracts with state and local agencies to develop easily read documents. Through this effort, the Center will work with AoD and other federal agencies including but not limited to the Centers for Disease Control, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, and the Rehabilitation Services Administration to develop resources that are easily understandable. The Center will use a variety of mechanisms to communicate information including fact sheets, webinars, YouTube videos, and regular outreach video calls with self-advocates across the country. Finally, the Center will develop procedures and tools to evaluate the usability, frequency of use, and impact of tools and other materials on the stated outputs and outcomes.