Community Inclusion Unit / Center for Excellence

The purpose of the Community Inclusion Unit is to design and implement of range of research, training and service projects that work to support individuals with developmental and other disabilities to live, work and recreate in the community. Current initiatives are:

Assisting callers and visitors to the Waisman Resource Center to assist them to get answers to their questions about diagnostic specific information, health financing information, community supports, etc.
Utilizing a variety of community training and technical assistance approaches to increase the skills, competencies and proficiencies of community based personnel to work with and otherwise support individuals with disabilities and their families.
Providing a creative blend of positive practices to individuals with developmental disabilities who are experiencing complex behavioral and mental health challenges.
Monitoring progress within selected areas of interest to study the impact of current programs and policies to support individuals with developmental and other disabilities to live in the community. Current efforts are focused on health disparities, and employment.

Waisman Resource Center
http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/wrc/
Waisman Resource Center is a collection of several centered programs that provide information and assistance to individuals who have questions about services and programs related to developmental disabilities and other special health care needs.
Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Regional Center
http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/cshcn/
Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs is a component of the Wisconsin Title V Program and provides information and assistance, parent to parent support, and service coordination to families with children and youth with special health care needs in the 13 county region of southern Wisconsin.
National Medical Home Autism Initiative
http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/nmhai/
The primary purpose of the project is to identify and demonstrate how principles of the medical home can be applied to achieve early identification and intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders.
The Katie Beckett Program
http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/bdds/kbp/
Katie Beckett is a program that provides Medical Assistance benefits to a category of children with special health needs.
Family Village
http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/
A web site for individuals with disabilities and their families. Links to thousands of sites related to developmental and related disabilities.
Community Training & Consultation
http://cow.waisman.wisc.edu/traincon.html
Community Training and Consultation provides a variety of training on topics related to developmental disabilities. 2008 Training Catalog- Spring/Summer Edition (1 MB)
Community Ties
http://cow.waisman.wisc.edu/ties.html
Community TIES provides case management and community training on challenging behavior.
Sound Response
http://cow.waisman.wisc.edu/soundresponse.html
Pathways to Independence
http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/WIpathways/
Bridges to Work is a collaboration between the Waisman Center, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is promoting systems change efforts that will increase the likelihood that persons with a disability can secure and maintain substantial employment without fear of loss of access to health insurance and other vital supports.
Health Disparities
http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/healthdisparities/
Parents As Leaders (PALs)
http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/cedd/palsbrochure.pdf
Parents As Leaders is a leadership training program for families of children with special needs, ages birth to 6.
PALs Biennial Report 2001-2003 - (HTML version)
PALs Biennial Report 2003-2005
PALs Biennial Report 2005-2007
These reports highlight the impact of PALs and the accomplishments of parent participants.
Family Action Network
Family Action Network is a community training and system change effort that is focused on family support for families with children with developmental disabilities and other special health care needs.

Last updated on July 17, 2008 by sanders@waisman.wisc.edu .
Waisman Center ~ 1500 Highland Avenue ~ Madison, WI 53705-2
280
Telephone: (608) 263-5776 or (608) 263-5910 ~ TDD: (608) 263-0802
FAX: (608) 263-0529 ~ webmaster@waisman.wisc.edu ~ www.waisman.wisc.edu