Cover and Acknowledgements

The Developmental Disabilities Network Journal (DDNJ) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published two times per year by the Center for Persons with Disabilities, Utah State University, Logan UT 84322, USA. The journal is available online at http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ddnj.

©2020 Center for Persons with Disabilities. Material appearing in the DDNJ, unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0). Under this license, others may distribute, copy, remix, adapt, build upon the material and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially, as long as they credit the author for the original creation. The views expressed in the DDNJ are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Editor-in-Chief: Matthew T. Wappett, Ph.D.
Managing Editor: M. Bryce Fifield, Ph.D.
Assistant Editors: Mary Ellen Heiner and Dave Clark
Editorial Board (Associate Editors):

• Tawara Goode, Ph.D., Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
• Mark Innocenti, Ph.D., Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities
• Wendy Parent-Johnson, Ph.D., University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities
• Marcia Moriarta, Psy.D., University of New Mexico Center for Development and Disability
• Derek Nord, Ph.D., Indiana University Institute on Disability and Community
• Randall Owen, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco Institute for Health Policy Studies
• Christine Pisani, M.S., Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities
• Jesse Suter, Ph.D., University of Vermont Center on Disability and Community Inclusion
• Kiriko Takahashi, Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa Center on Disability Studies
• Matthew Wangeman, M.C.P., Institute for Human Development at Northern Arizona University

Journal Subject Area: The DDNJ publishes high-quality research and evaluation about the multiple systems that serve individuals with disabilities and their families. Central to these systems is the “Developmental Disabilities Network,” a group of federally designated programs in each U.S. state and territory, that provide advocacy, training, research, and service focused on the unique needs of people with disabilities and their families. This journal specifically highlights programs, practices, and policies that encourage the full inclusion of people with disabilities in communities and all aspects of public life.

Advertisements: The DDNJ accepts digital advertisements. For advertising rates and specifications, contact editor.ddnj@usu.edu.

Articles appearing in the DDNJ are not currently included in any research indices because there is not enough content for indexing purposes. The DDNJ will be indexed after the publication of Volume 1, Issue 2.

Cover Design: The DDNJ cover and logo were designed by Kelly Smith from the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University.

Acknowledgments

This journal has been a labor of love for our team here at Utah State University’s (USU) Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) and it has been a project that I have wanted to pursue for a very long time. The need for a publication that highlights the work done in UCEDD, LEND, DD Councils, and Protection & Advocacy (P&A) organizations has been something that has been on my mind for years. However, the ability and resources to pull it together have been harder to come by. Fortunately, the stars aligned in 2019 when I was attending a training hosted by the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) at Georgetown. This training included participants from UCEDDs, DD Councils, P&As, and self-advocacy groups. Our conversations got me thinking again about the need for a dedicated publication to share the innovative and collaborative work being done by these organizations. Tawara Goode, the director of the NCCC and the Georgetown UCEDD, has always been a remarkable thinker and I was inspired by her ability to bring these different organizations together to work on issues collaboratively. As we worked together during that week, I was
convinced that I needed to pursue this project to share the innovative work that is done within the Developmental Disabilities Network.

One evening, during that same training in Georgetown, I was walking back from dinner with Wendy Parent-Johnson, the director of the Arizona Sonoran UCEDD, and we were talking about the concept for this journal and the need for more open-access and truly accessible publications in the disability field. Although there are many publications that cover disability issues, the majority are behind exceedingly expensive paywalls and they are often inaccessible, both technically and intellectually. We saw a niche for a publication that democratizes the knowledge that is emerging from the field and that is accessible to everyone. Jesse Suter, the director of the Center for Disability and Inclusion at the University of Vermont, was also participating in the training at Georgetown and he also expressed his support in a short conversation on the final day. These pivotal conversations motivated me to begin working on this project in earnest, and in Fall 2019 we found a supportive publishing partner in the USU Merrill-Cazier Library and Digital Commons/bepress.

Although it has taken us longer than we anticipated, we are excited to finally launch our inaugural issue. This project would not have been possible without the hard work of many people who have supported the vision for this journal. I would like to thank the following individuals for their dedication and commitment to this project.

• The team at the USU Merrill-Cazier Library including Becky Thoms, Rebecca Nelson, and Shannon Smith.
• Benedek Nyikos at Digital Commons/bepress
• The Production Team at the USU Center for Persons with Disabilities: Bryce Fifield, Ph.D., Dave Clark, Mary Ellen Heiner, and Kelly Smith
• The founding Editorial Board for this new journal:
  • Tawara Goode, Ph.D., Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
  • Mark Innocenti, Ph.D., Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities
  • Wendy Parent-Johnson, Ph.D., University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities
  • Marcia Moriarta, Psy.D., University of New Mexico Center for Development and Disability
  • Derek Nord, Ph.D., Indiana University Institute on Disability and Community
  • Randall Owen, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco Institute for Health Policy Studies
  • Christine Pisani, M.S., Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities
  • Jesse Suter, Ph.D., University of Vermont Center on Disability and Community Inclusion
  • Kiriko Takahashi, Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa Center on Disability Studies
  • Matthew Wangeman, M.C.P., Institute for Human Development at Northern Arizona University

This team has been integral to the launch of this project and their support and guidance has been invaluable. We hope that you find value and utility in this new journal and we are interested in your thoughts and feedback. If there are ways that we can make this publication more accessible or inclusive we want to hear from you. Please send your comments and feedback to editor.ddnj@usu.edu.

Thank you.

Matthew Wappett PhD
DDNJ Editor-in-Chief