Letter from Leadership: Building Georgia’s Next Five Years Together

By Mark Crenshaw, Chair, GCDD State Plan Committee

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities is beginning a new five-year plan. This plan will guide our work for the next five years.

I serve as chair of GCDD’s State Plan Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee. I am also an assistant director and the training director at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University.

I have served with GCDD for about eight years. During that time, I have seen how GCDD’s work can help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

GCDD created the new plan with input from people with disabilities, family members and other community members. We listened to what people said they needed. Then we used their feedback to choose the plan’s goals.

When people read the plan, I hope they see their needs and priorities in it. This plan should be about what matters to Georgia’s disability community.

One important part of GCDD’s last five-year plan was growing self-advocacy across Georgia.

Through Uniting for Change and other efforts, people with disabilities have learned new advocacy and leadership skills. They have connected with other self-advocates and shared their stories.

This work will continue under the new plan.

GCDD wants to give more people with disabilities the skills and opportunities to speak up about the issues that affect them. We also want more people to share their experiences with state and federal leaders.

Policies are stronger when they include the voices of people with disabilities and their families.

The new plan will also focus on loneliness and social isolation.

Many people with disabilities do not have enough opportunities to meet others, build relationships or take part in their communities. GCDD wants to support new community-based ideas that help people make meaningful connections.

People with disabilities should have opportunities to belong, form friendships and be active in their communities.

GCDD will also work to make information more accessible.

Government plans are often written in technical language because they must meet federal requirements. That language can make plans difficult to understand.

We have a responsibility to explain GCDD’s work in clear and accessible ways. People should understand what the new plan says, why it matters and how they can participate.

The new plan includes specific numbers for how many people GCDD-funded projects should reach. These numbers will help us measure our progress and stay accountable. They will also help us make sure our work reaches people throughout Georgia, not only people who live in metro Atlanta.

But reaching those numbers is only the beginning. We want successful projects to grow and continue after GCDD’s funding ends. We also want other communities to be able to use these ideas. Our goal is to create lasting changes that improve people’s lives across the state.

Georgia, it’s important to remember that this is your plan. Georgia’s disability community helped build this plan. We want community members to stay involved as we put it into action.

GCDD holds a Council meeting every quarter. Members of the public can attend and give public comments. Some meetings are held in person, and others can be joined online.

You can also follow GCDD’s magazine and social media channels. These resources will share information about new projects, training and other ways to participate.

Most importantly, we want people with disabilities to be active in our work. We want you to help decide how GCDD should address loneliness, grow self-advocacy and respond to the issues that matter most in your community.

This is your council, and your voice matters.

The new five-year plan began by listening to Georgia’s disability community. Its success will depend on continuing to listen and working together.