Populations & Partners

Advisory
 Council


The
 HDWD
 Advisory
 Council
 consists
 of
 self‐advocates, 
parents, 
advocacy 
groups, 
and
 state and 
community
 organizations 
dedicated 
to 
health
 promotion 
and 
wellness
 for 
people 
with
 disabilities. The 
Advisory
 Council 
is
 an 
important 
and 
integral 
part 
of 
the 
project 
and
 its 
members
 provide 
information,
 technical
 assistance, 
and
 expertise 
in
 health 
and 
disability‐related
 areas. 
The
 council 
has 
more 
than 
40
 active members 
and
 meets
 to
 discuss
 health and
 disability‐related
 topics, 
needs, 
activities, 
and 
policies,
 and 
to
 plan 
and 
implement 
needed
 health 
promotion 
and 
prevention
 activities.


Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)

DHSS is the Center for Disabilities Studies primary partner in addressing disability and health issues. DHSS is the the state’s largest agency, employing more than 4,000 individuals in a wide range of public service jobs. The department includes 11 divisions, which provide services in the areas of public health, social services, substance abuse and mental health, child support, developmental disabilities, long-term care, visual impairment, aging and adults with developmental disabilities, and Medicaid and medical assistance. The Department includes four long-term care facilities and the state’s only psychiatric hospital, the Delaware Psychiatric Center.

The Department’s mission is to improve the quality of life for Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Delaware is one of 18 state-based disability and health programs and four National Public Health Practice and Resource Centers supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which promote healthy lifestyles and work to improve quality of life for people with disabilities. The HDWD project is supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number DD000953‐02 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center 
on 
Birth 
Defects 
and 
Developmental
 Disabilities
 (NCBDDD).

The
 primary
 goals
 of
 the
 state
 programs
 are 
to:

• Increase
 health 
promotion
 opportunities 
for 
people 
with 
disabilities.
• Improve
 access 
to
 health
 care 
services 
for
 people
 with
 disabilities.

• Improve
 emergency
 preparedness
 for
 people 
with
 disabilities.


CDC 
also 
maintains 
the 
Disability 
and 
Health 
Data 
System 
(DHDS), 
an
 online 
interactive 
tool 
that
 provides 
 instant 
access 
to
 state‐level,
 disability‐specific
 health
 data. 
Users
 can
 customize 
the
 disability 
and 
health
 data
 they
 view, 
making 
it
 easy
 to
 identify 
health
 differences 
between
 adults 
with
 and 
without
 disabilities.