BPD Committee on Disability and Persons with Disabilities

Robin M. Kohn, MSW, LCSW

The Committee on Disability and Persons with Disabilities has been a working committee since its inception in 2001 thanks to Diane Strock-Lynskey and Marquessa Brown. The mission of the committee is to serve as an advisory body on matters pertaining to disability and persons with disabilities to the Board o f Directors, committees, and membership-at-large of the Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors. Some of our goals include offering consultation and assistance related to matters of disability and persons with disabilities, providing leadership in developing Baccalaureate Social Work Education curriculum as it pertains to disability using the strengths perspective, advising the BPD Program/Conference Committees on matters pertaining to disability and conference planning such as workshops, papers, presentations, and speakers related to disability as  well as other considerations such as accessibility and accommodations.

Accomplishments have included updating and implementing a Committee-specific strategic plan, a continued partnering with CSWE Council on Disability and Persons with Disabilities, assisting in the review of abstracts submitted for BPD conference presentations, increasing the number of presentations and workshops selected for the BPD conference, and conducting an annual Disability Forum. Some examples of presentations at this year’s conference in Destin included: “Strengthening Work with Individuals with Developmental Disabilities:  The West Virginia Curricula Project”, “Adapting Experiential Learning in BSW Education for Persons with Physical Disabilities”, and “Yes…I’m Crazy, Mental Illness: Counteracting Stigma with Strength-based Interventions”, to name aa few. 

During our committee meeting in Destin, members decided to re-vitalize our website. This will assist in continuing with our goals of educating our members and students about disabilities and resources available. We will be requesting faculty to share their publications and knowledge in the area of disability help accomplish our goals of education and increased awareness in this area. It was also decided to develop fact sheets to include information on types of disabilities, resources, etiquette, ADA compliance and accessibility with hopes of having them completed for distribution for APM at the earliest or at the next BPD conference. Members discussed the new EPAS standards and recommended everyone review carefully for disability issues and make any recommendations as needed.

The input and feedback of our membership is vital to continuing in accomplishing our goals. Any one interested in assisting with the fact sheets or joining our committee, please contact me (Robin Kohn) at rkohn@mail.ucf.edu .