Fewer Obstacles. More Opportunity. Full Participation.
Every day, AoD programs work to reduce the obstacles people with disabilities face when learning, working, seeing a doctor, choosing where to live, and contributing to their local economy.
How AoD Programs Reach Communities Across the U.S.
State- and Locally-Driven
AoD funds programs at the state and local levels, putting decisions about what communities need in the hands of the people closest to them. States and territories decide how to direct that funding, allowing each community to shape solutions around the specific needs of the people with disabilities who live there.
Common-Sense Solutions That Work for People
AoD programs address real-world challenges faced by people with disabilities, using evidence to guide solutions that genuinely improve people's lives and save taxpayer dollars in the process. AoD's national network shares what works, helping states and territories adapt proven solutions instead of starting from scratch.
Investment That Multiplies at the Community Level
Federal dollars go further in communities by drawing on volunteer resources, public-private partnerships, and additional funding sources. Effective programs also help prevent fraud, abuse, and unnecessary duplication of services, reducing costs while ensuring services remain effective and accountable.
AoD Programs Are Problem-Solvers on the Ground
For too long, disability services have been shaped by what people can't do rather than what they can. That mindset has held many people back instead of helping them move forward.
At the same time, many people with disabilities rely on a range of services and supports from different systems to live with independence in their communities. Navigating those systems is often so complex getting help becomes a barrier in itself.
AoD programs exist to solve both problems by challenging outdated assumptions about what people with disabilities can achieve and helping people cut through complex systems to get the services and supports they need.
Decades ago, there was little creative thinking about how people with disabilities could live independently or at home with their families. Change came because people with disabilities and families refused to accept that answer: parents insisting their children could live at home, and people with disabilities insisting they could live independently and build careers. That persistence reshaped the future for generations of people with disabilities who followed.
AoD programs carry that work forward. They help people navigate complex systems, protect people who have experienced abuse, exploitation, or civil rights violations, and work with states to develop creative, community-specific solutions, reaching people across the full lifespan, from children and families to adults.
AoD Offices
Office of Disability Services Innovation (ODSI)
ODSI manages discretionary grant programs, including the Projects of National Significance (PNS) that focuses on expanding opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to contribute to, and participate in, all facets of community life; the Traumatic Brain Injury State Partnership Program, the National Limb Loss Resource Center, and the National Paralysis Resource Center. ODSI also administers four Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As) programs as authorized under the DD Act, the Help America Vote Act, the Assistive Technology Act, and the Traumatic Brain Injury Act, respectively. The 57 P&As in the states, territories, and Native American community work to protect individuals by empowering them and advocating on their behalf. ODSI collaborates across the organization to execute AoD’s strategic priorities and provides leadership in promoting innovation in disability services and supports, drawing on a number of resources including the work of the P&As, to identify issues and the most promising solutions.
Office of Independent Living Programs (OILP)
OILP manages the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Independent Living Services (ILS) programs under the Rehabilitation Act, as amended. The CIL program funds 352 awards to community-based organizations that provide direct services to individuals with disabilities. The ILS program funds 56 states and territories to sustain, expand, and improve independent living services in each state. Together these programs promote the independent living of individuals with disabilities to maximize the leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with disabilities, and the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into American society by:
- Enhancing consumer control
- Increasing use of peer support, self-help, and self-determination
- Ensuring equal access
- Supporting individual and system advocacy
OILP, in partnership with the IL programs, promotes the independent living philosophy and provides leadership to the federal and non-federal partners to advance the independent living philosophy.
Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disability (OIDD)
OIDD administers two federally funded programs under the Developmental Disabilities Act (DD Act): 56 State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) and 68 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) . The SCDDs are catalysts for positive change. Their work removes barriers and increases opportunities for people with I/DD so they can live — and fully participate — in the community. The UCEDDs generate knowledge to support the independence and inclusion of people I/DD in all aspects of community life.
OIDD also provides support for the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) — the federal advisory committee reporting to the President and the Secretary of HHS on matters relating to people with intellectual disabilities. In collaboration with PCPID, OIDD provides leadership to the federal government on issues facing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families to promote self-determination, independence, integration, and inclusion in all aspects of community life.