HISTORY OF IHDD

HISTORY
Soon after his inauguration, President John F. Kennedy created the President's Panel on Mental Retardation. The Panel’s report was among the most comprehensive, multi-faceted and well-researched documents in the disability field. In the month before his assassination, Kennedy signed laws implementing the Panel’s recommendations and created University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs).

The Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD) was granted to The University of Georgia (UGA) in 1965 and opened in 1967 after a major facility was built to house its functions. Athens is UGA's home and lies 65 miles northeast of metro Atlanta near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Chartered in 1785, The University is the state's oldest institution of higher learning and the nation's oldest land-grant institution. It is the capstone of the University System of Georgia with enormous resources for improving the quality of life throughout Georgia, the nation and the world.

The concept of UCEDDs joined the scholarship and resources of higher education with federal funds to establish campus facilities designed to conduct research and provide training and clinical services. Currently, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) has 67 UCEDDs in every state and U.S. territory. Each is affiliated with a major research university or teaching hospital. Click above for a full understanding of AUCD in Adobe Reader.

COLLABORATION
UCEDDs achieve their goals through collaborations with individuals with disabilities, their family members, federal and state agencies, service providers, and others.

Within their state, UCEDDs collaborate with two additional programs that also receive core funding through ADD:

State Developmental Disabilities Councils (DD Councils) that engage in advocacy, capacity building, and systemic change activities to promote the integration and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life.

State Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems that protect the legal and human rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.

(Right: John F. & Rosemary Kennedy)
Read about "Rosemary", sister of John F. Kennedy,
at http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/
Biographies+and+Profiles/Biographies/
Biography+of+Rosemary+Kennedy.htm.