Welcome New Council Members!
The Governor’s Office announced the Board and Commissions Member appointments beginning July 2, 2025, including the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council. We are excited to welcome eight new members and four reappointed members to the Council. Congratulations and welcome! To learn more about CDDC membership, click here.
2025 Legislative Session
By: Kristina Ericson The 2025 legislative session was a period of growth, successful advocacy, and community building for the Developmental Disabilities Council. We celebrated major wins for the disability community, worked with a growing number of legislators from across the State, and poured our time and effort into advocating for change for Coloradans, both here […]
Joint Statement on the Proposed Autism Registry by HHS Secretary Robert R. Kennedy Jr.
April 23, 2025 From The Arc of Colorado, the Autism Society of Colorado, Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Law Colorado, Family Voices Colorado, PEAK Parent Center and Show & Tell. As leaders of Colorado statewide disability organizations, we stand in support of Autistic individuals and their families. We are deeply concerned […]
Statement on HHS Budget Leak
April 18, 2025 Plain language summary: A federal budget proposal was shared in the news during the planning process. The first round of proposed federal budget cuts includes Councils and many other important programs. These are not final decisions. There is still a lot of work that must happen and Congress must approve any budget […]
Overcoming Fears: A Parent’s Journey to Embrace Supported Decision-Making
By Marcella Schieffelin As parents, we strive to nurture, guide, and protect our children, especially those with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD). When considering their future, the Supported Decision-Making (SDM) concept can feel daunting. Unlike legal guardianship, which transfers decision-making authority to another person, SDM empowers individuals with I/DD to make their own choices with […]
(Re) Introducing the CDDC Staff
Over the past year, the Council staff has been growing and changing to meet the needs of our community. Today, we wanted to take some time to introduce you to the team. Some of us are new to the team. Some folks have been here for awhile but took on new roles this year. All […]
Annual Celebration Recap
On Tuesday January 14th Council staff hosted a virtual celebration for the community where they shared 2024 successes, their plans for 2025, and received community feedback. The interactive presentation and question and answer session was about 90 minutes and is now available on Youtube. To view the recording visit https://youtu.be/L2wDj9OdYM0 The presentation slides are available upon […]
2025 Council Recruitment
It’s recruiting season here at the Council and we are searching for new members! The current and anticipated openings are: The Membership committee asks that all applications be submitted by February 7, 2025 to allow time for processing and interviews. You may access a text version of the flyer language here.To apply visit https://www.colorado.gov/governor/boards-commissions-applicationTerms start July 1, 2025. For questions […]
One Year, and Also Post-Election Thoughts
On November 6th, I woke up to two things: the election results and my one year anniversary as Executive Director of the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council. When I think about the last year, I think about the immense trust and support I have received from Council members, staff, community partners and advocates across the state […]
A Mother’s Perspective by Sara Lovato
Sara has been a governor-appointed Council member for a couple of years and recently was elected to serve as the Council Chair. In this blog she introduces her son Z and shares her experience with a Colorado Regional Center. We learn some of the struggles they encountered and how Z is doing now. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Z […]