Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council

05/21/2026

Last evening, the Guardianship Alternatives and Innovation Network (GAIN) hosted the online panel discussion "Unraveling the Mysteries of Guardianship: A community conversation with people who live it."

Thank you to our panelists from Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong, Beth Kollett, Daysiree Perez-Bastista, and Sam Paster; Morgan Whitlatch from the Center for Public Representation; Betsy Johnson from Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, and Sandra Heller, MDDC Member-at-Large and her son Craig Kinney. Your personal stories and subject matter expertise will continue to help educate our communities.

A recording of the meeting and a copy of the presentation is now available online here:

The Guardianship Alternatives and Innovation Network (GAIN) examines guardianship issues that impact adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Massachusetts. GAIN develops recommendations to improve the guardianship system and educates about guardianship alternatives to help increas...

05/20/2026

El MDDC todavía está aceptando respuestas para nuestra encuesta del Plan Estatal. Queremos escuchar a más personas con discapacidades intelectuales y del desarrollo. Háganos saber si necesita ayuda para realizar la encuesta.

En español: es.surveymonkey.com/r/LS88X7X
En inglés: surveymonkey.com/r/CGSXQKF

¡Su voz es importante!

El Consejo de Discapacidades del Desarrollo de Massachusetts (MDDC) está realizando una encuesta para saber qué es importante para las personas de la comunidad con discapacidades del desarrollo (DD) que viven en Massachusetts.

Queremos escuchar a las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo, familiares, profesionales y otros. Incluiremos la información de la encuesta en nuestro nuevo Plan Estatal de Cinco Años. Este plan guiará nuestro trabajo en el futuro y la forma en que apoyamos a las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo (DD) y a sus familias en Massachusetts.

Realizar nuestra encuesta: es.surveymonkey.com/r/LS88X7X

05/20/2026

The MDDC is still accepting responses for our State Plan survey. We want to hear from more people with intellectual & developmental disabilities. Let us know if you need help to take the survey.
Survey in English: surveymonkey.com/r/CGSXQKF
Survey in Spanish: es.surveymonkey.com/r/LS88X7X

Your voice is important!

The Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) is doing a survey to learn what is important for people in the developmental disabilities (DD) community living in Massachusetts.

We want to hear from people with developmental disabilities, family members, professionals, and others.
We will include information from the survey in our new Five-Year State Plan. This plan will guide our future work and how we support people with developmental disabilities (DD) and their families in Massachusetts.

Take the survey: surveymonkey.com/r/CGSXQKF

05/19/2026

Meet the panelists!

Tomorrow, the Guardianship Alternatives and Innovation Network (GAIN) will be hosting an online panel discussion "Unraveling the Mysteries of Guardianship Alternatives" from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m on Zoom.

This discussion will feature the stories and expertise of lived-experience advocates, clear and accessible explanations about topics related to guardianship and alternatives, and a supportive space for learning.

Registration is required, visit: https://bit.ly/gainpanel

05/14/2026

The MDDC is excited to announce the appointment of our newest Citizen Member, Natalie Burgo!

Natalie brings a wealth of lived and professional experience, focusing her advocacy on family-centered care, equitable access to services, and meaningful inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in their schools and communities.

Learn more about Natalie here: https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-developmental-disabilities-council-welcomes-new-member-natalie-burgo

05/13/2026

This week at the MDDC, we're excited to welcome two new members to our Policy Team staff!

Destiny Maxam joins our team as Policy Coordinator, and Rick Glassman joins us in the role of Legal Disability Policy Analyst.

Learn more about Destiny: https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-developmental-disabilities-council-welcomes-destiny-maxam-as-policy-coordinator
Learn more about Rick: https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-developmental-disabilities-council-welcomes-richard-rick-glassman-as-legal-disability-policy-analyst

05/12/2026

See below for an exciting job opportunity with the Disability Law Center Inc.!

DLC is hiring a Litigation Attorney - https://www.dlc-ma.org/litigation-attorney/
Please consider applying or sharing - applications due June 15th

05/11/2026

REMINDER: The MDDC Policy Committee will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12 from 3 to 4 p.m.

Attending is a valuable opportunity get informed. We will offer updates on MDDC priority/endorsed bills, state/federal legislative process, state/federal budget process, coalition activities, and recent Council events and activities.

Register here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/gy3bq8c/lp/c1bdcc15-8aec-45ba-96db-758bc48bb2de?fbclid=IwY2xjawRu0jpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFoSndqU1JsMGttVjFFSFhSc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtvuiSr-scvBmBCcFBpRXFPXoXzcl5hLkfsPP_wrPHf0zuojGaA4f4l5e3Hs_aem_f8iZGNDeLeZ5ZzAuYyjyXg

05/07/2026

We are still accepting responses for our State Plan Community survey. Thanks to everybody who responded so far!
Take the survey: surveymonkey.com/r/CGSXQKF

Your voice is important!

The Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) is doing a survey to learn what is important for people in the developmental disabilities (DD) community living in Massachusetts.

We want to hear from people with developmental disabilities, family members, professionals, and others.
We will include information from the survey in our new Five-Year State Plan. This plan will guide our future work and how we support people with developmental disabilities (DD) and their families in Massachusetts.

Take the survey: surveymonkey.com/r/CGSXQKF

05/07/2026

Seguimos aceptando respuestas para nuestra encuesta comunitaria sobre el Plan Estatal. ¡Gracias a todos los que han respondido hasta ahora!
Realizar la encuesta: es.surveymonkey.com/r/LS88X7X

¡Su voz es importante!

El Consejo de Discapacidades del Desarrollo de Massachusetts (MDDC) está realizando una encuesta para saber qué es importante para las personas de la comunidad con discapacidades del desarrollo (DD) que viven en Massachusetts.

Queremos escuchar a las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo, familiares, profesionales y otros. Incluiremos la información de la encuesta en nuestro nuevo Plan Estatal de Cinco Años. Este plan guiará nuestro trabajo en el futuro y la forma en que apoyamos a las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo (DD) y a sus familias en Massachusetts.

Realizar nuestra encuesta: es.surveymonkey.com/r/LS88X7X