D'Arcy Robb, Directora ejecutiva de GCDDMientras me siento a escribir esto, me siento en carne viva. Acabamos de concluir el período de sesiones de la Asamblea General de Georgia, y fue una verdadera mezcla de victorias y derrotas. Lo ganado – elestudio de la tasa de discapacidad de desarrollo(DD). Durante todoelverano, el otoño y el invierno, en el Consejo de Discapacidades de Desarrollo de Georgia (GCDD, por sus siglas en inglés) trabajamos en conjunto con muchas otras organizaciones para presionar el caso de por qué un aumento de tarifas era tan críticamente necesario. Gracias a...

D'Arcy Robb, Executive Director of GCDD En el Consejo de Georgia sobre Discapacidades de Desarrollo (GCDD, por sus siglas en inglés), siempre nos guiamos por nuestros valores generales y, específicamente, por nuestra agenda de políticas públicas. A medida que nos preparamos para entrar en otra sesión legislativa en 2024, quiero tomarme un tiempo para reflexionar sobre las victorias en 2023 antes de hacer un llamado a nuestros defensores/autogestores y a la comunidad para que continúen el trabajo en 2024. En 2023, estábamos emocionados de tener una gran victoria con las exenciones. Esto e...

D'Arcy Robb, Executive Director of GCDD I was one of those college students who had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. So, after graduation day, I worked a variety of different jobs. I was a childcare worker at a provider agency working with troubled youth. I worked on a political campaign, then did public relations for a community recreation center, then was a television producer. Meanwhile, in my down time I developed a mild obsession with purpose-driven career development. I can’t tell you how many times I took aptitude tests and re-read “What Color is Your Parachute?” ...

D'Arcy Robb, Executive Director of GCPeople not only showed up at the capitol with GCDD during the 2023 legislative session, but they also sent a powerful message to legislators. I’m so grateful because to me that’s the “special sauce” of our DD Council – that we are governed by people with I/DD and family members who are committed to making a difference. They are the driving force.  GCDD has hosted Advocacy Days at the Georgia state capitol during the legislative session for many years. During Advocacy Days, elected leaders meet face-to-face with people with I/DD and their families....

At the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), we are always driven by our overarching values, and specifically by our public policy agenda. As we gear up to head into another legislative session in 2024, I want to take time to reflect on the wins in 2023 before we call on our advocates and community to continue the work in 2024.  In 2023, we were excited to have a big win with waivers. This is important for the ultimate goal of getting to the root of the problem which is to end the waiver waiting list. We also had a big win for Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE)...

Headshot of D'Arcy Robb, GCDD's Executive Director As I sit down to write this, I’m feeling raw. We just wrapped up Georgia’s General Assembly session, and it was a real mix of wins and losses. Win – the developmental disability (DD) rate study. All summer, fall, and winter long, we at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) worked in tandem with multiple other organizations to press the case for why a rate increase was so critically needed. Thank all that is good – it worked. “You all did a good job making the case,” a person deep inside the state budget process told me....

  D'Arcy RobbAnd this year, I have had the pleasure and opportunity to be at Advocacy Days as the new Executive Director of GCDD.  One of the great privileges of being a DD council is we're charged with advocacy system change and capacity building. And we do a lot of that in our advocacy, which we try to involve everybody who wants to be involved.  And for GCDD holding this annual event, we're making connections or supporting the connection between citizens and legislators.  I think this is magical. The three Advocacy Days GCDD hosted this year were fantastic. We fo...