The Developmental Disabilities (DD) Network consists of three partners in each state and territory authorized under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act) and administered by the Administration on Disabilities.

This includes the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, State Protection and Advocacy Systems, and State Developmental Disabilities Councils. In Mississippi, these agencies are the Institute for Disability Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi, Disability Rights Mississippi, and the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The DD Act authorizes the DD Network for the purpose of assuring that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have access to needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life, through culturally competent programs.

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For more information about the Institute for Disability Studies, visit www.usm.edu/ids.

For more information about Disability Rights Mississippi, visit www.drms.ms.