GOING “BEYOND THE CONVERSATION” with ICDD
a special presentation for the 2023 NACDD Conference
““Our theme this year is Beyond the Conversation: It’s About Action! Over the last year, DD Councils have been leading the way in having conversations...about what community inclusion looks like in a post-pandemic world. Whether we are speaking about employment, healthcare and health equity, housing, or transportation, we are deeply examining how we move beyond the conversation
and take action that will change opportunities in our local communities.””
In keeping with this year’s conference theme, MG&A is pleased to present to conference attendees a conversation recorded* between President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks, regarding MG&A’s eighteen-month project with the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, concluded late last year.
This project—involving over fifty service providers in Illinois—deployed MG&A’s decades of experience to staff who took advantage not only of Customized Employment training and practical advice for its use in the field, but the chance to regularly meet to share thoughts on obstacles, ideas, and solutions in real time with stakeholders across the state.
ICDD’s willingness to go beyond the conversation demonstrated their commitment to the cause of community inclusion in employment and provides a guide for naturally improving equitable employment outcomes for those in other states who are ready to learn, inquire, and share—together.
Watch Now
Access the conversation, presented in six (6) parts, through the videos presented below.
The total runtime is approximately thirty (30) minutes.
*Conversation edited for time and presented via YouTube. Recorded July 2023.
MG&A and ICDD: going beyond the conversation
This video introduces MG&A President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks, and discusses the project's four objectives.
In this video, MG&A President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks discuss how the project with ICDD was shaped naturally by the objectives of MG&A’s Customized Employment philosophy and training practices.
In this video, MG&A President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks discuss the project’s use of webinars to speak directly to the concerns of those engaged in training, and identify opportunities for better service provision within those concerns and anxieties.
In this video, MG&A President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks present data points in order to discuss some of the project’s outcomes.
In this video, MG&A President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks discuss the Community of Practice series integral in helping trained providers move “beyond the conversation.”
In this video, MG&A President Therese Fimian and Director of Certification Randy Dicks discuss how other DD councils can partner with MG&A to go beyond the conversation and take action themselves.
Special thanks to
the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities and Associate Director of Program & Policy Mariel Hamer-Sinclair
the Duman Opportunity Center and Director Nanette Cohen
the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities and Deputy Director Robin Troutman.
Other sources and acknowledgments: US Department of Labor, Google Maps, and Pixabay (@audiocoffeemusic).