August 2026

From Our Chief Strategy Officer

Dear readers,
 As I write this note, my mind is on Dolly Parton, who left us just a few days ago. Dolly was uniquely ours here in Tennessee, but her light shone around the world. Her generosity had a very real impact in our state’s disability community through investments in Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and her remarkable Imagination Library. I’ve read so many beautiful tributes this week. 

I know there isn’t anything I can say that hasn’t been said better by others. Just know that here at the Council, our staff is mourning with all of you. We were so lucky to have her.

August has been a busy month for our staff.

• We saw many of you at Tennessee Disability MegaConference, hosted by our friends at The Arc Tennessee. Maybe you had a chance to sit in on our session about how Partners in Policymaking® graduates are creating change in Tennessee – and how you can join them.
• We celebrated 28 new graduates of our TN Leadership Academy on Disability Services (TLADS).
• We finalized a new class of Partners in Policymaking®, which will start with orientation in just a couple weeks.
• Our Executive Director attended a conference we helped organize on improving services for children with disabilities in state custody – a priority for our Council.

It’s also been back-to-school season for those of us with kids. In my house, that has involved a lot of challenges related to behavior support needs. Some days, it feels heavy. Maybe you can relate. If so, I hope it helps to know you’re not alone. If you need resources, TN Disability Pathfinder may be able to help. And our Council is here, working alongside each of you for a future where every person with a developmental disability can thrive in Tennessee.

As Dolly said: “Nothing’s ever easy. If it is, it ain’t worth it.”

Take care,

-  Jolene Sharp, Chief Strategy Officer

Upcoming Opportunities 

Pathfinder Webinar: Navigating Transition Services & Supports 

^{Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CT | Virtual}

The year after high school can feel like a cliff to many families. When school services end, a whole different system takes over that has its own names, agencies, and paperwork.

Pathfinder’s first webinar of the 2026–2027 year talks about that gap. Presenter Jena Costanzo is with the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. She will map out what transition planning is, when to start, and who pays for what. The webinar will walk through the three programs families use most:

• Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)
• Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Transition Services
• VR Employment Services

You’ll also learn how the programs connect, and how to use Tennessee Disability Pathfinder to find resources near you.

This webinar is for students, families, teachers, or anyone helping a young person plan their next steps after school.

You must register to attend. You can ask for Arabic, ASL, or Spanish interpretation when registering. Please ask by the end of the day on Wednesday, September 17.

Please email any questions to TNPathfindermedia@vumc.org.

One Week Left: Tell Us How Our Information Helped!

We send a lot of information out into the world, including emails, social media posts, videos, and Breaking Ground magazine. We want to know what of it is useful to you.

Our short survey takes about three minutes, and the questions are written in plain language. We read every answer, and we use what you tell us to plan what we work on next.

We also share the anonymous results with the federal agency that funds our Council. It helps them see whether their investment is making a difference for Tennesseans.

Take the survey by Saturday, September 5.

Your answers are anonymous. We only learn who you are if you choose to give your name at the end.

If you need the survey in another format, or want to answer by phone, email us and we can help.

 TLADS Graduation

Please join us in congratulating the newest graduates of the Tennessee Leadership Academy on Disability Services (TLADS)!

TLADS is a leadership program for state employees, run by our Council together with the Tennessee Department of Human Resources. Each year, it brings together people who work at many different state agencies to build leadership skills together. They also learn more about how Tennessee’s disability service system works. 

TLADS is the first program of its kind in the country. No other state government pairs leadership and disability training across different agencies.

Graduates tell us that the friendships and contacts they make in TLADS last for years and help their agencies work together better.

Congratulations to this year’s class! We are glad to have you helping build a Tennessee where everyone belongs.

Questions about TLADS? Contact our Director of Leadership Development, Blake Shearer, at Blake.A.Shearer@tn.gov

Policy Corner: Council News to Know

Dear readers,

I have been honored to serve as the summer policy intern for the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. Although my time with the Council was brief, it has been incredibly meaningful and has given me experiences that I will carry with me moving forward.

Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to follow state and federal policy developments, track news and emerging issues affecting the disability community, contribute to Policy Corner updates, and attend meetings with disability advocates and policy leaders. I absolutely loved getting to work with the Council and learn from such knowledgeable and passionate people. These experiences helped me better understand how policy is shaped and how advocacy can influence meaningful change.

I am especially grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Council’s work while gaining hands-on experience in an area I care deeply about. As I return to Vanderbilt University to finish my master’s in education policy, I will carry what I have learned with me and continue advocating for meaningful changes that improve opportunities and inclusion for individuals with disabilities.

Thank you to Lauren Pearcy and everyone at the Council for welcoming me, supporting me, and allowing me to be part of such important work this summer. My time here may have been short, but the lessons and experiences I gained will stay with me well beyond this internship.

As students and families begin a new school year, I also want to leave readers with one reminder from a legislative session I had the opportunity to follow during my internship. In February, proposed legislation addressing video cameras in special education classrooms was withdrawn and did not become law. The proposed legislation can be found here: SB 1894/HB 1701 – Special Education Classroom Cameras. As students return to school, this remains an important topic to follow as conversations continue around safety, accountability, and support for students with disabilities in the classroom.

Sincerely,

Keith Dear, Policy Intern

The Council at Tennessee Disability MegaConference

We had a great time at this year's Tennessee Disability MegaConference! Our staff spent the event at our exhibit table meeting families, self-advocates, and partners from across the state.

We also hosted a session called “Partners in Community: Driving Meaningful Change.” It was wonderful to see so many former Partners in Policymaking® alumni in the room! The panel brought together Blake Shearer, our Director of Leadership Development, and three Partners in Policymaking® graduates: Martez Williams, Emily Detre, and Teaka Jackson.

Martez, Emily, and Teaka each talked about their own lives: what’s been hard to get access to, the barriers they have run into, and what has helped along the way. They described how policy decisions and connections with other people have affected their advocacy and lives personally, not just on paper.

They also talked about Partners in Policymaking® itself: what the training gave them, and how other people can go through it, too. Applications for the next class will be open in the spring – keep an eye out in our e-news and on social media for the link!

We were proud to see many other Partners grads participating in MegaConference, including leading their own breakout sessions! The event was a great opportunity for connection and learning for Tennessee’s disability community. If you didn’t make it this year, we’ll hope to see you there in the future!

New Resources on our Behavior Supports Page

Behavior supports is one of our Council priorities. Our Behavior Supports page brings you information about behavioral health for Tennesseans with intellectual and developmental disabilities together in one place, including:

• state programs,
• trainings,
• family stories,
• and our own Healthy Behavior Check-In.

We just added something new to the page: My Coping Tool: How I Deal with Stress, a form from the IDD Toolkit at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.

You fill out My Coping Tool on a calm day, so it's ready when you need it. You write down what stress looks like for you, what helps you, and what other people can say or do. Some people call a very hard moment "feeling in crisis." This form helps everyone around you know what to do when that happens.

Fill it out on your own, with your doctor or nurse, or with someone who knows you well. Then share a copy with the people who support you. You can download it as a PDF, print it and write by hand, or fill it out on your computer or tablet.

Take a look at our Behavior Supports page to find the My Coping Tool and other resources for behavioral health.

Jobs

Family Voices Director and Family Voices Advocate

Family Voices of Tennessee is hiring a full-time Family Voices Director and a half-time Family Voices Advocate. Family Voices is a program staffed by families to support families raising children with disabilities, special health care needs, and chronic illnesses.