The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies
Established in 1992, the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) is Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) and part of a national network of congressionally authorized university-based interdisciplinary programs sponsored by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CCIDS offers an undergraduate and graduate curriculum in interdisciplinary disability studies; partners in a graduate-level leadership education in neurodevelopmental and related disabilities program; conducts research, evaluation and policy analyses relevant to the lives of individuals with disabilities, their families and communities; engages in a broad range of community education, technical assistance and consultation activities; and serves as a resource to professionals and community members to positively affect the lives of people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families throughout Maine and beyond.
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Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies’ Activities
Interdisciplinary Education
CCIDS offers an undergraduate Minor, Graduate Specialization, and online Graduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies. Additionally, CCIDS collaborates with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability on a five-year Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (NH LEND) program that supports graduate-level leadership education for five graduate students, community professionals and family members of children with developmental disabilities each year.
Research and Evaluation
CCIDS contributes to and advances the knowledge base in a wide range of disability-related areas through ongoing research, evaluation, and the analysis of public policy.
Community Service
Through outreach education, training and technical assistance, CCIDS enhances the capacity of individuals, communities, organizations, and state systems to create and sustain services and supports for individuals with disabilities.
Information Dissemination
CCIDS develops its publications, products, presentations, scholarly and community resources, curricula, multimedia and virtual environments in a manner consistent with the principles of universal design and access with respectful and culturally competent use of language.