Twenty years ago, the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities created a ground-breaking, innovative training program called Partners in Policymaking® to teach parents and self-advocates the power of advocacy to change the way people with disabilities are supported, viewed, taught, live and work. During the past two decades, important issues have been confronted and dramatic changes have been made.

As Partners in Policymaking celebrates 20 years, it’s important to remember that the work is not finished and, in fact, never will be. At the first Partners class, Ed Roberts, a well-known disability rights activist, urged participants to take up the fight for the rights of people with disabilities. His words have stood the test of time and are as relevant today as two decades ago. Click here to view Ed Robert’s stirring call to action.

Since 1987, Partners programs have been implemented nationally and internationally. More than 15,000 Partners graduates are part of a growing national and international network of community leaders serving on policy making committees, commissions, and boards at all levels of government. We are also reaching thousands of people monthly through the online courses.

• Oklahoma has offered the Partners in Policymaking leadership training program since 1995. In the past 15 years, many Oklahoma Partners graduates have used their personal leadership skills in myriad ways, serving on Boards, Councils and Commissions; promoting and advancing public policies that reflect best practices in the field of developmental disabilities; and working first hand with people with developmental disabilities and their families, and service providers in the areas of education, employment, and health care. Their contributions are highlighted in this newsletter.
    
  
• Recruitment is underway for Partners in Policymaking Class 27, scheduled to begin September 11-12, 2009. An overview of this leadership training program, weekend session dates, a brochure with further information about the program, and an application can be found at www.mngts.org/partnersinpolicymaking/index.html.
    
  
• A personal story about the realities of proposed budget cuts on people already living in poverty.
   
• Networks are established and strengthened, and long term partnerships and friendships are created among Partners participants and graduates. A Motley Crew of Alabama Partners graduates recently made a trip to Graceland. Jayne Chase, the Alabama Partners coordinator, shared a bit of their Graceland experience.
   
• Podcast: In the summer of 2007 Patrick Connally, president of DREES (Disability Rights, Enforcement, Education, Services), a nonprofit organization in San Rafael, California, conducted interviews with four individuals influenced by Partners.
   
• MN Dept of Admin: Partners in Policymaking® Online Learning Program Receives 2007 Digital Government Achievement Award
   
• The Partners in Policymaking® Online Courses have received a 2007 Best of Web Digital Government Achievement Award.
   
• John Johnson, Ph.D., San Diego State University, has completed a research study on the long term effectiveness of the Partners in Policymaking program in achieving greater independence, productivity, self determination, integration and inclusion for Partners participants and graduates; and demonstrating system benefits at five different levels (PDF).   (Text only version)
   
• Tina Perrault is a graduate of the Alabama Partners in Policymaking program. She wanted to pass along some of her knowledge and skills about the state legislative process to her son, Bobby, and so arranged for him to serve as a page for Alabama State Senator Bradley Byrne.
   
• Partners Graduate in the United Kingdom Assumes Judgeship:  Jeanette Pearson, a Partners graduate in the United Kingdom, will soon begin training to serve as a Magistrate, a lower court judge. She hopes to use the knowledge she gained through the Partners program to be reasonable, fair, and just in the decisions she will be making. She will assume this position by June 2007.
   
• Toni Franklin, Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy in West Alabama and a Partners graduate, was instrumental in assuring that the design of a new park and playground that will be built in Northport, Alabama incorporates accessible features.
   
• Ivan Lewis, Member of Parliament, spoke in the House of Commons on January 23, 2007 about inclusion and children with disabilities, and references the Partners in Policymaking program. A transcript of his remarks is included. This video at this link requires Windows Media Player. (GCDD site)
   
• In 2006, the Vanderbuilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development conducted a survey of the siblings of adults with disabilities. A total of 1,300 individuals from all 50 states and Washington DC responded to the survey. A report on the preliminary findings is available for review. (pdf)    Introduction (pdf).   Preliminary Findings (pdf).
   
• Kevin Webb is successfully self-employed. He was recently selected to represent Kentucky in a February Beneficiary Summit hosted by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel. (Glasgow KY Daily Times, 1/03/07, pdf)
   
• A Minnesota Partners graduate testified before the United States Department of Health and Human Services Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid in May 2006 about the need for Medicaid funded services. Her testimony is an example of how to present your personal story, the benefits of available services, and how and where improvements can be made (Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program celebrated its 30th anniversary on Friday, Nov. 3 with a reception at the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery(Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• From Partners in Policymaking of Alabama, on behalf of Terry Family – A Halloween Treat (Acrobat pdf)
   
• Liz Barraclough coordinates the Partners in Policymaking program in the Northeast Region of the United Kingdom. She has received the 2006 Hartlepool Local Hero Award in recognition of her involvement and leadership in a wide range of community activities including her role as a Partners coordinator (Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• A North Dakota Partners in Policymaking graduate shares reflections about the program and her class (May, 2006) (Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• Nearly 200 individuals have graduated from the Partners in Policymaking program in Delaware. This article, from DelAware, the newsletter of the Delaware Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Center for Disabilities Studies, includes a brief overview of the Partners program and testimonials from recent graduates.
  
  
• The power of personal stories is conveyed in the poems written by participants in the 2005 Kansas Partners in Policymaking program. Dan Wilkins, The Nth Degree, presented a session on advocacy skills, and how stories can change perceptions and transform the way people think about others.
  
  
• More than 15 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, physical and functional barriers to full accessibility still exist in schools for students with disabilities. This article includes suggestions for removing those barriers and more effectively providing services to students with disabilities (Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• This Handbook provides guidelines to help assure that self advocates can participate in meeting discussions and contribute in meaningful ways by expressing their own points of view (Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• The Highland Friendship Club was created in May 2002 to provide a meaningful way for high school students and young adults with and without disabilities to develop friendships while fully participating in community programs and activities. In four brief years, the Club has become well established, gained broad community support and funding, and has its own web site. Click here for an article on the Highland Friendship Club (Acrobat pdf).
  
  
• A Partners in Policymaking graduate from Texas demonstrates the power of grassroots organizing.
  
  
• The presentation "With an Eye to the Past" is available on the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities site celebrating the contributions Minnesotans have made to improve the care and quality of life of thousands of Minnesotans with developmental disabilities.
  
  
• A Working List of Resources for Partners – The Resources page has been updated and expanded to provide more information on web sites, publications, documents, videotapes, evaluation reports and the ListServ for Partners graduates.
  
  
• Partners in Policymaking Curriculum Highlights.
  
  
• Partners in Policymaking State Coordinator List.
  
  
• Partners in Policymaking Replication Package.
  
  
• Stories of Leadership Book.