Who We Are:

On June 11, 2001, Harris County's Commissioners Court created the Intellectual & Developmental Needs Council of Harris County (IDDNC) to assess services currently available to clients, identify gaps in services and to advise Commissioners Court on issues related to mental retardation and related developmental disorders. The IDDNC is a consortium of organizations within Harris County dedicated to:

• Promoting the services and supports necessary for improving the lives of persons with mental retardation and related developmental disorders.
• Ensuring their fullest possible participation in community life.
• Bringing together the stakeholders so that their efforts will be unified,coordinated, focused, and more effective.
• Identifying community problems and recommending solutions, which encompass this vision.

The IDDNC works to ensure a society in which all persons with mental retardation and related developmental disorders have access to services and supports to enable their fullest participation in community life. The IDDNC will work to ensure that Harris County will have a health and human services delivery system which is a partnership of consumers, family members, service providers, educators, advocates, and policy makers. This partnership will work to create service options for all individuals with mental retardation and related developmental disorders, which are flexible, dependable, accessible, cost effective, and promote individual choice. The IDDNC is a partnership between advocates of persons with mental retardation and providers of mental retardation services. The IDDNC is charged with identifying issues affecting persons with mental retardation and related developmental disorders, and making recommendations to address those issues.

The IDDNC Goals are:

Goal #1
To increase public understanding of people with mental retardation and related conditions.

• Identify venues
• Identify target publics
• Develop educational tools - metro bus / Telemundo
• Survey
• On-going projects
• Clarify messages
• Public service announcements
• Establish relationship with media
• Communicate causes
• Web sites
• Network existing groups partner

Goal #2
To promote opportunities for people with mental retardation and related disorders to participate in the community.

• Include people with mental retardation when doing presentations
• Develop mechanisms to identify barriers
• Develop action plan to address barriers

Goal #3
To secure and promote the mission and vision of the MRNC.

• Identify ways to get operational dollars
• Develop brochure/fact sheet identifying what it is all about
• Hire part-time person to help with adminisrative tasks
• Seek volunteers to help
• Provide public forums
• Keep public officials informed - Harris County
• Target larger systems for information
• Target public policies - Harris County