History and Accomplishments

You Are Here: Coalition Home Page > History and Accomplishments

In 1989 our members determined that the growth and effectiveness of the Coalition could be enhanced by the development of additional resources to support the efforts. The first capacity- building grant was awarded in 1989 by the Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Council. Incorporation as a formal entity and the addition of employees were not far behind.

As it incorporated, the Coalition changed its name to the Coalition for Tennesseans with Disabilities to reflect its growth and expansion. Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 sparked a new era of enthusiasm and commitment to promoting self -determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of community life.

During the 1990’s Coalition membership grew to more than 60 organizations that worked together to promote compliance with the ADA, more public awareness of disability issues, and progressive public policy. Those efforts that organized
people with disabilities, their families, and the organizations they operate, resulted in important public policy successes.

The Coalition was able to:

• Campaign successfully for a flexible program of family-centered, consumer-directed supports needed by families to support their family members with disabilities at home. This low-cost, highly effective state program was the first home and community-based service program to appear in Tennessee law.
• Advocate for and achieve many state Medicaid reforms such as covering elderly and disabled people who were below poverty through the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program, expanding home and community-based waiver programs for the people with disabilities, and putting in place consumer protections in the state's Medicaid managed care plan.
• Work to establish new home and community-based alternatives to institutional and nursing home care for adults with physical disabilities and those disabled by age.
• Deter the Governor from abolishing the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation through a grassroots organizing effort and legislative and media strategies.
• Lead the fight to reform all of the state's mental health and disability laws, including an expansion of eligibility from mental retardation to developmental disabilities.
• Advocate public policy that promotes inclusion in public schools for all children.

Print-Friendly Version

Back To Top