Puerto Rico Visits Tennessee   

A delegation which included Director Danniel I. Soto Rodríguez from Puerto Rico’s Division of Services for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (División de Servicios a Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual, DSPDI) at the Puerto Rico Department of Health (Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico) visited Nashville on April 23 to meet with Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging Commissioner Brad Turner and his team.

The visit provided an opportunity for the Puerto Rico and Tennessee teams to engage in focused discussion around system collaboration, service delivery, and innovative strategies to support Puerto Ricans with disabilities and share best practices across systems. Through the exchange, leaders explored promising approaches, shared lessons learned, and discussed ways to strengthen systems that are responsive to the needs of people with disabilities, families, and communities.

This visit also reflects the value of NASDDDS conferences as spaces where meaningful connections are formed and then carried forward into continued collaboration. What began as a connection made through NASDDDS became an opportunity for peer learning, partnership, and cross-jurisdiction collaboration in action.

“Cross-system connections are essential to building stronger, more responsive services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families,” noted NASDDDS Executive Director, Mary Sowers. “This type of peer exchange gives leaders the opportunity to learn from one another, share practical strategies, and bring new ideas back to their own systems. NASDDDS is proud to support opportunities that help states and territories strengthen relationships, expand their thinking, and continue improving supports across communities.”