Institute on Community Integration

05/29/2026

Since 1990, ICI's Check & Connect Student Engagement Intervention has reconnected students to learning. Under the new leadership of Michelle Austin, the staff recently reconnected with one another and with the project's mission.

Positive student outcomes starts with a shared purpose.

This week, our team took time to reflect on how we contribute to our mission. Just like students, when we are connected, we engage better in our work, leading to more successful outcomes. We are looking forward to continue building strong partnerships and improving educational experiences for students, families, and communities.

To learn more about what we do, visit our website at checkandconnect.umn.edu!

05/28/2026

In 1982, Medicaid began the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver program to support people in their communities. Today, 288 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for every 100,000 people in the U.S. get Medicaid Waiver-funded services. Some states serve many more people with IDD through the HCBS Waiver program than others do.

RISP Data Bytes Fewer People with IDD Live in ICFs/IID, But Progress is Not Equal: Data from FY 2021Share this pageShare this page on Facebook.Share this page on LinkedIn.Share this page on Pinterest.Share this page via email.Print this page.Plain Language Summary | In 1982, Medicaid began the Home....

05/27/2026

"It’s been an absolute honor and a career highlight to steer Impact for the past seven years," said the magazine’s principal writer and editor, Janet Stewart (pictured), as she retired. The new editor of the award-winning magazine is Greta Cunningham. https://z.umn.edu/bbh8

05/26/2026

Administered by ICI, the Schleien Scholarship offers up to $3,000 to qualified students who actively promote the community inclusion of individuals with disabilities, disadvantaged youth, and other underserved populations. These activities could take place in the spring, summer, or fall. Applicants must be enrolled full-time at the College of Education and Human Development UMN.

Jason David Schleien Memorial ScholarshipShare this pageShare this page on Facebook.Share this page on LinkedIn.Share this page on Pinterest.Share this page via email.Print this page.About this scholarshipThe Jason David Schleien Memorial Scholarship is provided by Stuart and Dana Schleien in rememb...

05/21/2026

Boldly Challenging Ableism and irreverent host Katrina Simons are back with three new episodes of the ICI podcast/AM950Radio broadcast. She cuts through the red tape of accessible living with Nick Wilkie (Metropolitan Center for Independent Living) and commiserates with Linda Wolford (Minnesota Council on Disability) on the constant need for advocacy. https://z.umn.edu/bbj1

05/20/2026

Tomorrow, listen to ICI’s Dani Dunphy present on “Effects of Historical Trauma on Families and Children with M/E/D/B Needs.” Register at z.umn.edu/MIDB0521

The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain and University of Minnesota Extension is hosting a pediatric behavioral health resource fair geared toward professionals working to support mental health, emotional, developmental, and behavioral health (M/E/D/B).

The resource fair will include lightning talks and exhibit tables featuring local and statewide initiatives and organizations supporting M/E/D/B care in our region, with opportunities for networking. Light refreshments will be provided.

Participants are invited to attend a hybrid Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) session on the Effects of Historical Trauma on Families and Children with M/E/D/B Needs presented by Dani Dunphy with the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration. Lunch will be provided and social work Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered. Registration is required for the hybrid ECHO session.
No registration required for the resource fair. Learn more: z.umn.edu/bbbl

05/20/2026

On a recent episode of BoggsCast, host Colleen McLaughlin of The Boggs Center on Disability and Human Development spoke with Amy Hewitt and Susan O’Nell from the on Community Integration about the evolution, challenges, and progress of the direct support profession.

Description: Amy Hewitt, PhD, Director, and Susan O’Nell, BA, Director of Curriculum Development, from the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota discuss the evolution, challenges, and progress of the direct support profession. Interviewer: Colleen McLaughlin, MEd, Co-Di...

05/20/2026

F***y Fernandez received an “L’Etoile du Nord Honoree” recognition during the Minnesota United FC’s mental health awareness game on May 13 at Allianz Field in St. Paul. She uses her skills as a healing and drumming circles facilitator, an ancestral healing practitioner, and her background as a MNLEND fellow to help families searching for support and resources.

Institute on Community Integration

05/19/2026

"The answer to this problem isn’t to weaken these supports, it’s to strengthen them. If policymakers want to ensure Medicaid dollars reach the right people, our organizations are ready partners in that work. But broadly cutting off funding to entire categories of services in ways that harm the very people they are meant to serve — creating further instability in the caregiving workforce — will only exaggerate problems which Congress has sought to solve in a bipartisan manner."

This workforce and the home and community-based care system that supports them is in crisis.

05/19/2026

Assessing among rural and . Check & Connect director and Impact editor both retire. MNLEND fellow brings resources and drums to help families. Get the latest from ICI in the new FYI newsletter. https://z.umn.edu/FYI-May-2026

To subscribe to FYI, visit https://ici.umn.edu/welcome/subscribe