Welcome to the Partners in Policymaking© Public Policy Action Center!

The following are but a few of the many Internet resources that might be of interest to persons following disability policy at the Federal, State, and local levels. These links are by no means exhaustive, but highlight some important sites. Many of these sites have links to other sites, so that by searching, you will eventually come up with the information you need. Happy surfing!

You may already have information on legislation or issues that are of interest to you in your State or local area. If so, skip “Getting Basic Information,” and go to “Getting the Latest Information” below.

Want to know what legislation or issues are important to people with disabilities and their families in your State? Chances are your State programs funded under the Developmental Disabilities Act are following these issues. Here’s a way to contact them quickly:

To locate your State Council on Developmental Disabilities, go to: http://www.nacdd.org/councils_new.html#table

To locate your State’s Protection and Advocacy System, go to:
http://www.ndrn.org/, then go to “Consumers,” then go to “Get help in your State,” and select your State.

To locate your State’s University Center(s) for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, go to: http://www.aucd.org/directory/directory.cfm?program=UCED

Here are two different Web sites that will help you to get to your State government’s home page. Either one will get you there. Two are provided in case one of them is overly busy.

Once you reach your State’s home page, you can go to whatever branch of government you wish (e.g. “legislative” for information on bills, “executive” for information on agencies, regulations, etc.). An added “bonus” on many State sites is that you can also get many forms you need, renew your driver’s license, etc. In addition, many of the State sites contain links to regional, county, city, and town government sites, so you can become as involved as you want at all levels of government. All the best, partners!

State and Local Government on the Net:
http://www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm

Library of Congress: State Government Information
http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/stategov/stategov.html