Announcement of 2019 Grant Recipients

With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these grants are intended to support mainstream organizations to take on inclusive health practices and contribute to the overall effort to reach the tipping point whereby inclusion of people with ID in mainstream services and programs becomes the norm, not the exception.

ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
The Academy will develop an online certificate program for food and nutrition professionals focused on inclusive health and nutrition initiatives designed to advance practitioner knowledge and skills beyond entry-level competency.

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION (AHA)
AHA will develop and conduct a survey to learn more about the intersection of intellectual disabilities and cardiovascular disease-related conditions. This analysis will assist AHA and the cardiovascular community in supporting existing programs to become inclusive and accessible for people with ID.

AMERICA WALKS
America Walks will develop tools and identify models for including people with intellectual disabilities in community efforts to increase walking, create walkable places, and develop integrated mobility systems designed to put people first.

CATCH GLOBAL FOUNDATION
CATCH will create and promote short training videos for out-of-school time instructors that demonstrate basic principles for including youth with intellectual disabilities in CATCH activities. The CATCH Program brings together health education, environmental change, and family and community involvement to support children in learning and practicing a healthy lifestyle.

CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST (CSPI)
CSPI plans to leverage its extensive partnerships to encourage more thoughtful integration of people with intellectual disabilities in nutrition policies and practices. These efforts will be centered on CSPI’s management of the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, the largest nutrition advocacy coalition in the U.S.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Indiana University will advance the communication skills of students working with people with intellectual disabilities by engaging Special Olympics athletes as trained actors in case simulations within the interprofessional curriculum. Indiana University will also develop health and wellness workshops pairing health profession students and people with ID.

UNITED WAY
United Way will develop and implement inclusive and accessibility features into the National 2-1-1 Data Platform. This will be a single, authoritative source of community resource and services information which will increase access to health resources for people with ID.

United Way also plans to develop a toolkit incorporating techniques for local 2-1-1 call centers to effectively respond to people with ID seeking services, as well as best practices in including people with ID to staff trainings, quality assurance evaluations, and more.

YMCA OF GREATER ROCHESTER
The YMCA of Greater Rochester will utilize inclusive health resources to develop policy and environmental changes that increase opportunities for physical activity and social engagement for people with ID. YMCA will also identify solutions and tools to support individuals with ID that can be replicated to make sustainable changes supporting inclusive health. This work will then be put into practice by participating in YMCA of the USA's Diverse Abilities in Aquatics pilot program.

UCLA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
UCLA will develop media products to improve communication between healthcare professionals and adults with ID, to ensure participation in medical decisions and access to supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship/conservatorship.

For questions about the Inclusive Health Innovation Grant Program, please contact, inclusivehealth@specialolympics.org.