Values Statements and Guiding Principles
Value Statements
Undergirding the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community's mission statement are the values held by the faculty and staff who are employed at the Institute. The following values permeate all of the Institute's activities:
Those with disabilities...
must have opportunities to become full, contributing members of their communities
— at school, work, home, neighborhood, spiritual, and recreational settings.
It is essential that...
persons with disabilities be active, well-informed decision makers about quality
of life, services, and supports.
All community members must...
be educated, enabling them to support the full and active community participation
of those with disabilities.
Guiding Principles
In addition to the aforementioned values statements, Indiana Institute faculty and staff also hold to the following organizational values that define the manner in which we conduct our activities:
Life Span Focus
The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community commits to engage in activities
that touch the entire life span, from birth through older adulthood.
Holistic Approach
The Institute's faculty and staff recognize the inter-relatedness of life areas,
knowing that it is ineffective to support only one aspect of an individual's
life (e.g., schooling or work) without considering all factors that can have
an impact on successful outcomes. Thus, our community membership activities
lead us to address the needs and access to options incorporating a variety of
areas: school, work, living arrangements, leisure and recreational needs, spiritual
life, friendships, and circles of support.
Systems Change
Just as successful outcomes for people with disabilities call for a holistic
approach, Institute faculty and staff consider that the most effective way to
influence outcomes for people with disabilities is to focus on ways to change
systems and build capacity beyond individual success. Thus, we foster ways of
behaving that influence how services and supports can be reorganized to support
inclusion, and how policies and procedures can be modified to enable self-determination.
Our training and technical assistance is geared toward helping individuals shift
philosophy and change daily practices. Systems change activities are directed
toward all types and levels of systems — family, neighborhood, individual
schools and agencies, government, and university to assure long term impact
of Institute endeavors.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
For many years, the Indiana Institute has demonstrated best practices in interdisciplinary
teaming and parent-professional partnerships. Now, however, given contemporary
conceptions of the "new interdisciplinary team," we expand our concept
of "interdisciplinary" to include diversified notions of collaboration
— we seek to engage in interdependent relationships with a variety of people,
both lay and professional, as together, we engage in the process of creating
change. The Institute is exploring new concepts of interdependence with individuals
with disabilities, parents, and other family members. A focus on "community
teams," drawing in not only professionals in traditional disability-related
disciplines, but also personnel from "generic" community disciplines
such as business, law, journalism, and community organizations are being pursued
as well.
Information for Decision Making
With rapid rates of change in the disabilities field and the shift to community-based
services, it can be difficult to acquire up-to-date information. The Indiana
Institute is committed to meeting the information needs of persons with disabilities,
family members, faculty and students, professionals, direct service providers,
policy makers, and the general public to support their decision making. Our
wealth of resources (an interdisciplinary staff, a computerized directory of
services, and a large, specialized library collection) are easily available,
free or at low cost, to all citizens of Indiana. Toll-free and TT services allow
easy access to Institute resources, and information is available in large type,
Braille, or audio tape formats.
Listen, Support, and Follow
Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift (1995) help us remember that despite our
resources, the most effective way to "do the right thing" is to listen
actively to people with disabilities, family members, and communities as they
articulate their hopes and dreams. This ongoing and proactive needs assessment,
before, during, and after activities, guides the Institute's subsequent actions
and decision making processes so that we can better facilitate creative planning
and problem solving. The voices of our constituents articulate the ways to better
support people with disabilities and family members as integral parts of the
Institute. They can be found working and contributing in all aspects of our
programmatic and administrative activities: as members of the Indiana Institute's
management team, as advisory council members, as product developers and reviewers,
and as co-presenters, co-grant writers, co-evaluators, and co-researchers. Since
1986, The Institute has engaged more than 75 parents and family members with
disabilities as active participants in its activities, including 26 in paid
staff positions. More recently, the faculty and staff of the Institute have
committed to include individuals with disabilities as paid staff by employing
local high school students and adults through a local supported employment program.
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Modified: 02/11/02