May 2024

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From our Chief Strategy Officer

Dear readers,

Our staff entered May on a high from our Partners in Policymaking® reunion. Our gathering April 26-27 was the first time this graduate network had been together in person since before the COVID-19 pandemic. We took time to reconnect – and to celebrate 30 years of Partners in Tennessee!

It was such a joy to be in a room full of people whose lives have been changed by this core Council program over the past three decades. The ripple effects of advocacy by Partners grads in communities across our state and beyond cannot be overstated. As one attendee said: people who don’t even know about the program have better lives because of Partners. 

Perhaps most exciting for staff, we shared the updated approach we are launching for this year’s Partners class, which will begin in the fall. Which brings me to: Have you seen that we’re RIGHT NOW accepting applications for the 2024-25 Partners in Policymaking class?!

The Partners application window is open through this coming Monday, May 20 – so if you’re interested in joining a new class of Partners, don’t delay! Please also share the opportunity with your networks. We need your help to get this opportunity in front of folks who need it but may not already be connected with us.

Partners in Policymaking has changed so many lives in Tennessee over 30 years. We know it will change many more in the years to come. If you’d like to be one of those – see our website for details and to apply!

Take care, everyone,
Jolene Sharp
Chief Strategy Officer
TN Council on Developmental Disabilities

2024-25 Partners in Policymaking Class: Application Window closing Monday

Partners in Policymaking® is a FREE leadership and advocacy training program from the TN Council on Developmental Disabilities. Over the course of 8 months, Partners scholars will learn skills and resources to answer: 

  • What does a good life look like for me, my family, and other people with developmental disabilities?
  • What is needed for that vision to come true?
  • How can I help make change toward that vision?

Get more details, including the 2024-25 class schedule, and apply on our website. We will accept applications through May 20. 

Get to Know a Leader: Carrie Dhanarajan, TN START Director, TN Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

We like to introduce our readers to different leaders of agencies and programs that impact Tennesseans with disabilities. Today, we're introducing you to Carrie Dhanarajan, the director of Tennessee's START program. "START" stands for: Systematic, Therapeutic, Assessment, Resources & Treatment. START is a program for people with disabilities who also have mental health concerns and/or diagnoses. It helps people who are in crisis situations, dealing with dangerous behavior, have complex mental health needs, or have been in psychiatric hospitals. If you are not sure if TN START could help you or your loved one, read Carrie's profile below and check out their referral page to learn more.

Tell us a bit about your career background and your current role.

I have worked for 21 years in the fields of Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (MH/IDD). It was a chance internship opportunity with Marie LaVasque and Bruce Davis that brought me to the field, and I will forever be grateful to them! I have worked as a family counselor through Youth Villages and became a behavior analyst in 2008. Since that time, I have worked with both adults and children providing behavior analytic services in the home, community and in school-based settings. Through the years, I have also worked for the Middle Tennessee regional office as a behavior analyst as well as working as a regional behavior analyst for the state of Georgia.

Currently, I am the director of TN START, a crisis prevention and intervention service for people with MH/IDD. We work to strengthen systems and create a plan for responding to crisis. Our goal is to bring more positive outcomes to people and help them live lives full of the things they love.
 
What is one thing you’re working on right now that you are excited about?

Our push for the summer will be to provide more community trainings. TN START is working to identify what will most benefit agencies in our communities and to be a partner in training. Currently, we are providing trainings on MH/IDD and Autism to Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) for police departments across the state. We want to continue and broaden this initiative.
 
What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned from working with TN’s disability community?

Listen, listen, listen. The most important thing is to be sure we as a program understand the needs of the people and families we serve. Each person is unique and has their own vision for their life. Listening allows us to partner with the person to meet their goals.
 
If you could wave a magic wand to remove a barrier to doing all that you want to be doing in your role, what would that look like?

I would love to see more social community events and organizations for the people we serve. I see a gap in people’s ability to connect with others and have friends or romantic relationships. If I could wave a magic wand, I would love there to be a rich social calendar of events that people could easily access and enjoy with their peers, both neurodivergent and neurotypical.
 
What are some activities you enjoy doing in your free time?

I love spending time with my family being outside, watching movies, swimming, and taking trips to Disney World when we can. We also do a lot of travel around our beautiful state of Tennessee. Additionally, I am working on my Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration and am really enjoying learning new things that I hope to bring to my work with TN START.
 
When should members of the disability community reach out to you or your team directly? 

TN START can provide resources and community trainings to anyone who reaches out to us. The best place to start is the TN START website. Here you will find contacts for our team and the referral link.
 
Anyone can make a referral. The team lead in the region where the person lives will reach back out to determine eligibility and provide resources. Currently, we are only serving people on a Medicaid waiver (Employment and Community First CHOICES, Statewide, MAPs, Katie Beckett, or residing in an ICF home), but we share resources with everyone. We also hope to be moving into the next phase of services and expanding eligibility soon.
 
I am also available at carrie.dhanarajan@tn.gov, 629-203-3160.

Policy Corner: Council News to Know (May 2024)

Since our April e-news, the legislative session adjourned and legislators are back in your home communities. (And many of them are in campaign mode for election season!) The biggest highlight since I last wrote to you was being present for the UNANIMOUS PASSAGE of the "Medicaid Buy-In" bill ("TennCare for Working Individuals with Disabilities" - read more in our April e-news here) by the House and Senate. I joined our Governor-appointed Council member, Bliss Welch, who helped lead the effort to explain the positive impact a program like this would have on many Tennesseans with disabilities. See photos from the day on our Facebook page.

Summer is a great time to make an appointment with your legislators in your districts. You can thank them for any bills or issues they supported that you believe had a positive impact on Tennesseans with disabilities. You can also express any concerns you have about issues close to your heart. Your stories always matter. You never know what opportunities may come about because you share with elected officials what is on your mind. Find their contact info by entering your address here on the General Assembly website.

We'll be back in June with a look at the coming fiscal year and what that means for new programs, new budget priorities, and new bills taking effect. In the meantime, stay safe and cool and enjoy the outdoors as much as you can during a cicada season!

Emma Garton,
Policy Director

Disability Policy Corner (What we're reading and watching, May 2024)

Feedback opportunities

State policy news and events

National headlines

Federal policy updates and events*

(*Sources for federal legislation and events include policy newsletters from The Arc U.S., Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Family Voices, the Administration for Community Living and more)

Two new healthcare resources to know about

  • Updated healthcare toolkit for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities - Help improve healthcare for people with disabilities by sharing this critical resource with your doctors and any healthcare providers you know! The "IDD Toolkit" has been updated! This website provides information for healthcare providers of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It offers best-practice tools and information regarding specific medical and behavioral concerns of adults with IDD, including resources for patients and families. One aspect of the revisions is a greater focus on the role of the self-advocate in their own health care. Watch this brief video highlighting updates. The IDD Toolkit update is a project of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, done with extensive cooperation of Surrey Place of Toronto, Ontario, and funded by the WITH Foundation. The toolkit is an adaption for U.S. use of tools developed by the Canadian team, Tools for the Primary Care of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2023) with Surrey Place.
  • Kramer Davis Clinic for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ages 13+ - Watch this new overview video of the Kramer Davis clinic, which opened in fall 2023 in Middle TN. The clinic provides many different kinds of mental, behavioral, medical and dental care to patients with disabilities. Watch the video and visit their website to learn more. Tell people who need doctors trained in serving patients with I/DD and a clinic environment designed around the needs of people with I/DD about this healthcare resource.

Two summer opportunities to know about