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          Celebrating 40 Years of NIDILRR Celebrating 40 Years of NIDILRR
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    *** COVID-19 ***
                          ACL A to Z: Programs, Networks, & Focus Areas
                          Overview
                                
                
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                          University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
                                Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
                                
                
        Connecting People to Services
          
                                  Aging and Disability Resource Centers Program/No Wrong Door System
                          Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act
                          State Health Insurance Assistance Program
                                      
                
        Consumer Choice and Control
          
                                  Person-Centered Planning
                          Supported Decision Making
                          Transportation Research and Demonstration Program
                          Veteran Directed Care Program
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        Empowering Advocacy
          
                                  The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
          
                                  President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities releases 2015 Report to the President
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                                Disability and Rehabilitation Research Program
          
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                                Field-Initiated Projects Program Rehabilitation Research
                          Model Systems Program
                          NIDILRR Annual Report
                          NIDILRR External Evaluation
                          NIDILRR Performance and Evaluation
                          Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center Program
                          Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) Program
                          Small Business Innovation Research Program
                          Switzer Research Fellowship Program
                                Retirement Planning and Pension Support
                                
                
        Support to Caregivers
          
                                  Lifespan Respite Care Program
                          National Family Caregiver Support Program
                          RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council
                          Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
                                      
                
        Support for People with Limb Loss, Paralysis and TBI
          
                                  Limb Loss Resource Center
                          Paralysis Resource Center
                          Traumatic Brain Injury
                                      
                
        Strengthening the Aging and Disability Networks
          
                                  Aging and Disability Evidence-Based Programs and Practices
                          Diversity & Cultural Competency
                          Duals Demonstration Ombudsman Program Technical Assistance
                          Improving Business Practices
                          Improving Quality of Services
                          National Resource Centers
                          Projects of National Significance
                          Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Service
                                Success Stories
                          Volunteer Opportunities and Civic Engagement ACL's National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) will celebrate its 40th Anniversary today (Thursday, October 18) from 1 to 5pm ET, in the Great Hall of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, DC.
Watch the 40th anniversary celebration of NIDILRR live at 1 pm - 5 pm ET.
NIDILRR’s mission is to generate new knowledge and to promote its effective use to improve the abilities of individuals with disabilities to perform activities of their choice in the community, and to expand society’s capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for its citizens with disabilities. Work supported by NIDILRR has led to accessible transportation options, universal design, website accessibility, assistive technologies, and much more.
Alex M. Azar, II, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Community Living Administrator Lance Robertson, Principal Deputy Administrator Mary Lazare, and many others will give remarks. The event will include comments and historical perspectives from current and former directors and staff, research highlights from current Switzer Fellows, and guest speakers from the NIDILRR grantee community. It will also feature 60 scientific research posters describing the work of grantees.

**View the event agenda and speakers list.**

**Follow the event on Twitter using #NIDILRR40.**

**Submit comments and questions about NIDILRR's anniversary.**

NIDILRR LogoNIDILRR was created as the National Institute on Handicapped Research (NIHR) in 1978, with the passage of the Rehabilitation, Comprehensive Services, and Developmental Disabilities amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It was charged with the prime responsibility of providing the required knowledge for defining the needs of people with disabilities, and with identifying the means for improving services.
Its original goal was to focus -- in one agency -- a strong commitment to a major program of research on all aspects of disability and the related socioeconomic implications of the problems encountered by individuals with disabilities.
The scope of activities prescribed for NIHR was all encompassing and cut across practically every facet of rehabilitation and habilitation research activities imaginable, with no limitations in terms of type of disability, age, or intended goals.
In 1986 NIHR became the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The terminology needed an update to reflect the current times, but the mission was as important in 1986 as it had been in 1978, and it remained largely unchanged.
In 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act gave the organization both a new name and a new home. In recognition of a key philosophy that had long been a NIDRR priority, “independent Living” was incorporated into the name, turning NIDRR into NIDILRR. Additionally, it was transferred to the Administration for Community Living, within the Department of Health and Human Services.

***
**About ACL**
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) was created around the fundamental principle that all people, regardless of age or disability, should be able to live independently and fully participate in their communities. By advocating across the federal government for older adults, people with disabilities, and families and caregivers; funding services and supports provided by primarily by networks of community-based organizations; and investing in training, education, research and innovation, ACL helps makes this principle a reality for millions of Americans.

                    *Last modified on 10/18/2018*
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ACL was created around the fundamental principle that all people, regardless of age or disability, should be able to live independently and fully participate fully in their communities. Learn more about community living.

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    An official website of the Administration for Community Living, an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.