Washington Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)

Address: PO Box 45310
Olympia, WA 98504-5895 Phone: (360) 725-3413 Fax: (360) 4070955 Email: dddcoreception@dshs.wa.gov Website: http://www.dshs.wa.gov/ddd/

"Quality supports and services that are: individual/family driven; stable and flexible; satisfying to the person and their family; and able to meet individual needs. Supports and services that ensure people have the necessary information to make decisions about their options and provide optimum opportunities for success. We believe the system of supports for people with developmental disabilities needs to meet more of the significant and growing unmet need. We will respond to the shift in consumer preferences toward community integration and self-direction. We will support individuals to live in, contribute to, and participate in their communities as much as possible. We will rely on and support shared responsibility with families to help people with disabilities remain in their home communities. Not only is that the direction preferred by most families and consumers, but it makes the most efficient use of resources. We envision steady investment in locally available options that help people live, work, and thrive; improved supports to families of both children and adults; individualized supports directed by consumers that allow them to make choices and realize their greatest potential; building service plans based on individual needs and the strengths of the individual and family; addressing the needs of people with disabilities and their families as their lives change – recognizing that most families continue to provide supports to their family member with disabilities through adulthood and these families are aging; sharing the expertise and resources currently at Residential Habilitation Centers for future community needs. We will engage communities, local service providers, partners, and other stakeholders; listen to focus groups of individuals with disabilities and families who will tell us what elements need to be enhanced in the system of supports to meet their needs; continue to build a system of supports based on our commitment with the resources available. "