Grantee: Abilities First
Project Goal:
This project seeks to empower individuals and families to advocate for their own services and supports, through a virtual toolkit, where families and people with IDD have a roadmap for how they can better plan for the next transition point. The resource should help relieve fear and uncertainty from “What comes next?” which many families experience.
Project Summary:
The grantee will be responsible for creating a user-friendly, online and mobile platform for families, and people with IDD, to navigate various life transition stages. The online resource will provide recommendations for the different types of services, assessments, eligibility criteria, supports, and other program options available across different system types, for any given life stage.
Key Activities:
- An advisory committee to guide the development, content, and roll-out of the resource and associated materials, trainings, and promotional campaign.
- Surveys and focus groups with families and people with IDD to determine user-friendly formats, and to learn what information should be prioritized.
- A catalogue of existing resources to determine how to create a comprehensive resource for people living in NYS.
- Cross-system review and sign-off of presented information from various NYS service delivery agencies, in addition to support promoting the resource.
- An online and interactive toolkit, roadmap, and associated resource that supports families and people with IDD throughout the lifespan.
- Pilot testing of the created resources, prior to full launch, to improve and streamline the resource based on user testing.
- Trainings on resource usability, as well as a dissemination campaign reaching various communities throughout NYS.
Total Funding: $400,000
Project Details
- Project Length: 2 Years
- Contract Start: July 1, 2022
- Geographic Reach: Statewide
- Current Status: Complete
Resource Created
Abilibee, a website and app for people with developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Abilibee includes step-by-step navigation through each transition stage, a glossary of terms and acronyms to unravel the language, and a curated library of resources to explain and help you be an informed advocate and more.