University Center for Excellence

The Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky (IHDI) has as its mission to promote the independence, productivity, and inclusion of people with disabilities and their families throughout life. To achieve our mission, we are focused on the following five Core Goals. In order to focus most clearly on objectives of critical importance to our state, we propose to continue to report on the 25 objectives that we identified, with the addition of one new objective: Objective 4.5: "Provide annual data to Kentucky's legislators, policymakers, consumers, and family members on Kentucky's utilization of supported employment". Selected objectives within each Core Goal are highlighted and are described in turn below. Goal 1: To provide interdisciplinary pre-service training to promote the independence, productivity, and inclusion of people with disabilities and their families throughout life. Goal 2: To provide community training programs that promote the independence, productivity, and inclusion of people with disabilities and their families. Goal 3: To provide consultation and technical assistance to national, state and local agencies, providers, and advocacy groups that contribute to improvements in practice and outcomes in the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Goal 4: To conduct research that contributes to improvements in practice and outcomes in the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Goal 5: To disseminate IHDI products through a variety of methods, including electronic and alternate formats, to assure that multiple audiences have timely access to information to improve services/results.