The Link Center is funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and its mission is to improve supports available to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), brain injuries, and other cognitive disabilities with co-occurring mental health conditions by supporting state agencies with policy development, service design, and service coordination resources, and sharing resources with individuals, families, direct support professionals, clinicians, and other policymakers.
Through a five-year cooperative agreement with ACL, The Link Center is led by four national associations whose state and professional members are essential to systems change in this arena – the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS), the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), The NADD, and the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA). Additional partners include the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, CommunicationFIRST, Green Mountain Self-Advocates, the National Center for START Services, the Nisonger Center, and the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities.
This project is governed by a steering committee of 14 people with lived experience. Over their five-year terms, committee members will meet quarterly, and more often if needed, to advise on priorities and provide their perspectives on the center’s work. They will, in collaboration with NASDDDS, NASMHPD, NADD, NASHIA, and ACL, shape the center’s efforts to identify and share resources that better meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and mental health conditions, recognizing that everyone is unique and has different needs and preferences.
On the Link Center website you will find:
- Announcements
- Resources
- Self-guided Technical Assistance
- Shared Learning Groups-Find recordings of the SLGs at THIS LINK
