The Office of Developmental Disabilities Ombuds (DD Ombuds) released its first report today on systemic issues which affect the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their communities. This report identifies significant gaps in developmental disability services. Specifically, it details situations where adults with developmental disabilities lose their housing because there are no, or not
The Office of the Developmental Disability Ombuds’ very own Lisa Robbe presented at the Justice Lunchbox hosted by the Center for Justice at the Magic Lantern Theater in Spokane. There, Lisa spoke for the first time to a social justice centered group about the DD Ombuds. The Justice Lunchbox is held every 3rd Wednesday of
The Office of Developmental Disabilities Ombuds spent March 27, 2018 at the Tools 4 Success Conference at Tacoma Community College. DD Ombuds staff educated and informed students, teachers and parents about rights in the workplace, self-advocacy, services the DD Ombuds provide and resources about people’s rights and who to contact if you feel your rights
Recently the DD Ombuds expressed concerns with the videos that have been used in the 40-hour CORE training curriculum for new residential staff. The old videos not only portrayed staff and the people they support in a poor light, but also failed to convey lessons on how to interact with individuals with developmental disabilities in
SABE, or Self Advocates Becoming Empowered is a national advocacy organization that strives to promote opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to live full lives. This year, SABE has selected a new group of self-advocate fellows to create projects that will benefit the field of advocacy for individuals with developmental disabilities. Each fellow gets paid
The Office of the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds has participated in many outreach events across Washington over the last few months. Below are just a few of the events that the DD Ombuds have participated in! On January 16th, The Community Residential Services Association welcomed DD Ombuds staff to their winter meeting. Staff presented DD Ombuds
On Tuesday the 28th, the DD Ombuds saw a great turnout at the resource fair preceding the Pierce County Legislative Forum at Mt Tahoma High School. Tim McCue and Noah Seidel passed out information about the new Office of the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds and made plenty of connections. If you missed them, the DD Ombuds
A resident of Tacoma with developmental disabilities, Laura Gholston, was found to have been abused and neglected for 7 years, starting in 2004. At that time her nephew, LaMarcus Gholston, was appointed as her official caregiver, paid by the state. He was found to have kept Laura locked in a room with a filthy mattress
The new website for the Office of the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds is now live! The website features several useful pages where visitors can view the Ombuds’ current work, find information about the Office of the DD Ombuds, and soon, submit complaints and volunteer applications. The DD Ombuds are always looking for feedback from the community!
Since the DD Community can never have enough helpful resources, the DD Ombuds have launched their own resource page! The page contains links to several of the organizations that the Ombuds work alongside in the DD rights field. These organizations offer information and assistance with a wide range of disability-related issues and topics. Advocacy organizations
