Members of the NBRC community share why they decided to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and what they’re looking forward to.
Video: Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD
April 2, 2021 by
COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 1A Letter for Family Members
February 11, 2021 by
COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 1A Letter for Family Members
To Whom It May Concern:
California has a large population of people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Recent COVID-19 studies have identified several groups within this population as being at high risk of COVID-19 complications and related fatalities. The purpose of this letter is to clarify that family members of certain people are “health care workers” pursuant to the State of California’s Vaccination Plan (https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/#When-can-I-get-vaccinated), and thus are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination within Phase 1A.
These family members include those who care for people with any of the following conditions. This list is not necessarily exhaustive:
• Cerebral palsy • Down Syndrome • Epilepsy • Specialized health care needs, including dependence upon ventilators, oxygen, and other technology
The eligibility of these family members can be ascertained by documentation from their California regional center, verifying the qualifying condition of the member of their household who has an intellectual or developmental disability. A list of regional centers is available here: https://www.dds.ca.gov/rc/listings/. Alternatively, a family member may choose to present medical documentation of the qualifying condition of the member of their household who has an intellectual or developmental disability.
We hope this letter clarifies the eligibility of certain family members for the COVID-19 vaccine pursuant to Phase 1A of the State’s Plan, and thereby assists in protecting the health of Californians most at risk from COVID-19 impacts.
Sincerely,
NANCY BARGMANN
Director
Please reach out to your NBRC Service Coordinator for more information.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information in Plain Language
December 21, 2020 by
DDS Self-Advocate and Family Survey
November 18, 2020 by
Hello Stakeholders:
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) invites you to complete this self-advocate/family member survey to help us understand how COVID-19 has impacted our community and changed your services. DDS, regional centers, and service providers are working on new ways to safely support you. Completing this survey will identify what’s working, what’s not, and what is important to self-advocates and families.
The survey below includes fifteen questions and is available in 10 languages. DDS will share the combined information from all responses on its website. Individual responses will not be shared. Thank you for your time and for sharing your experience. Your voice matters.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020
Once you click on the survey link above, you have the option in the top right corner of the page to select alternative languages from a drop-down menu where it says “English.”
Or you can also access the alternative language directly through the links below:
Spanish: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=es
Arabic: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=ar
Armenian: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=hy
Chinese (Simplified): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=zh_Hans
Chinese (Traditional): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=zh_Hant
Korean: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=ko
Persian: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=fa
Tagalog: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=tl
Vietnamese: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FamilySurveyYr2020?lang=vi
The QR code below will also take you to the survey when scanned with your smart phone’s camera.
Each person (computer or smartphone) can only complete the survey once, so if you have more than one family member receiving regional center services, your response should reflect your overall experience(s). This survey will be available online through December 18, 2020.
DDS serves over 350,000 people and we’d like to get survey responses from as many individuals and/or families as possible. This is the first time DDS is conducting a survey of this scale and we would very much appreciate your assistance getting the word out to your personal and professional networks.
Questions? Email FamilyInput@dds.ca.gov.
–The Department of Developmental Services
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