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October 20, 2023 • 28 mins
The TN Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) is the state agency responsible for supporting Tennesseans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is done in several ways, including Medicaid waiver Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), state-operated ICF/IIDs, and the Family Support Program. DIDD administers services directly or through contracts with community providers. Recently John Clark talked about this important state operation that is critical for individuals and families in Tennessee. Website: https://www.tn.gov/didd
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Episode Transcript

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(00:00):
It's Tennessee Matters on the Tennessee RadioNetwork. Welcome to Tennessee Matters. I'm
John Clark on the Tennessee Radio Network. The Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental
Disabilities works to become the nation's mostperson centered and cost effective state support system
for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They're there to support all Tennessee and

(00:23):
live the lives that they envision forthemselves. Today, our guest is Commissioner
Brad Turner. First of all,what's the tell us about what's going on
in your department? So we're busy. So our state department is doing a
lot of good things, hopefully movingTennessee forward and continue to move us forward
and how we work with individual disabilities. I got a lot of programs that
we're working on right now. Oneof the new ones that we actually have,

(00:44):
we're partnering very closely with the Departmentof Children's Services in making sure that
we can start meeting the needs ofchildren in foster care that have intellectualvomo disabilities.
It's really been an underserved area forthe last several years because a lot
of folks just don't think about it. They acknowledge the challenges in foster care.
Disabilities is part of that. Sowe're working with the Department Children Services,
Governor's Office, and the legislature anda program called Tennessee Stronghomes, And

(01:08):
I'm really excited about that. You'retalking about a lot of kids that already
have a lot of significant challenges andad birth, childhood experiences, but when
you compound that with an intellectualvem ofdisability, it makes it really challenging,
not only on the child, buton the on the foster care parents or
families that might want to do adoption. We feel like we've got an obligation
to try to help. So reallyexcited about where that program's heading in Tennessee.

(01:29):
Yeah, in the case of achild going into foster care or adoption,
what happens in that case? Hasit been there? Their parents just
don't want them? I mean,what happens? Yeah, you see that
unfortunately, I mean, life happensto some folks, and whether it's through
choices that they make and bad decisions, or sometimes just life happens and they
lose a job and they can nolonger afford you know, the cost of

(01:52):
childcare. Things like that really startsto elevate the need for foster care.
So you see families starting to puttheir children in there, but ultimately the
disability can create a significant challenge ifthey feel like they can't take care of
the child. They're trying to worktwo jobs and the child needs them at
home twenty four to seven, whatdo you do? And so it's really
sad when you see that, butI think most of the folks that have

(02:12):
to do that are not doing itbecause they're bad parents. They just feel
like they have nowhere else to turn. So what we want to do is
try to create programs that help supplementand support a child with disabilities, the
families that are stepping up to fosterthose children, and then ultimately create opportunities
for reunification with the parents if appropriate, but creating a sense of independence for
the child and for the families tosay, hey, if you do this,

(02:34):
the state's going to come alongside youand walk with you and try to
support you to make sure that thechild's needs are being met. And whether
it's an intellectual aspect or the developmentalaspect of it, we think it's the
right thing to do from a moralperspective to make sure that we're there to
help families. What about on theother side, the foster parents, you
need more, right, Oh,absolutely, I mean, and that's the
big thing, right Its DCS hasspoken very openly about the conversation that we

(02:59):
need more people to step up tobe foster parents. So anything that we
can do with our programs to makesure the parents that are interested in being
foster parents, specifically towards children withdisabilities, we want them to know about
the programs, including Tennessee Strong that'sout there for them to be able to
participate in and take advantage of tothe point where they receive, you know,

(03:19):
up to twenty thousand dollars in oneof our programs, our Tennessee Strong
Families program for the Tier two portionto serve the child with disabilities and foster
care and ultimately keep that you know, for up to a year after the
family hopefully adopts that child. Butyeah, we want to make sure we're
being good partners, but we doneed more foster care parents in the state
to come alongside s, come alongsidedcs and step up and help these children.

(03:40):
Yeah, that's amazing. The fosterparents amazing people. Yeah, and
that's why I think we owe itto them, right. I think parents
in general are are awesome people.Specifically when it's a family that steps up
because they feel like there's something thatthey can do in their own home to
help a child that desperately needs it, I think we owe them a little
bit more to say, hey,we see you, and we want to

(04:01):
make sure that we're going to begood partners with you by providing access to
programs and dollars to make sure thatnot only is the child taking care of,
but the family knows that there's goingto be support for them as well.
And then it ultimately I think benefitseverybody. Yeah, it does,
It really does. Now in theproblem of intellectual and developmental disabilities, you
start out, let's go through yourseveral ways that you work together. Sure,

(04:23):
the medical waiver, Home and Communityservice program, basic services, how
do you up. Yeah, sofor the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services.
Historically, what has happened is individualswith INTELLEXI deveopmental disabilities unfortunately, were
institutionalized. So regardless of whether ornot you needed to be institutionalized because you
had such severe medical complexities or intellectrialcomplexities, or if it was a child

(04:45):
that the doctor, the pediatrician mighthave told the family, Look, your
child is going to have an intellectualdisability. You can't take care, then
the best thing to do is placethem in institutions. So to understand where
we are right now, it's veryimportant to understand where we came from,
and where we came from was fullinstitutions that would have north of one thousand
individuals, including children with disabilities.And when we talk about institutions, it's

(05:06):
not a glorious thing or anything thatwe want to glorify because there were significant
hardships that happen in there. We'vegot documented pictures, documented stories of children
that were basically placed in cages andyou can see claw marks in the boxes
of the children trying to get outand children being placed in there that really
did not have significant medically complex disabilitiesthat started to develop deformities over time because

(05:31):
nobody take care of them, nobodyshowed them love, nobody invested in them.
So it's important to understand why theseprograms, the home and community based
services matter because we have never beenable to do that. In fact,
Tennessee is one of only fourteen statesin the country that no longer has institutions.
Thirty six states still have institutions.So when you hear a lot about
what progress looks like and the ideaabout where do we need to move for

(05:55):
protected classes and individuals with disabilities,this is still a relatively new concept that's
individual with disabilities can live independently.So we shut down institutions in twenty thirteen,
actually not twenty thirteen, twenty seventeen, that's right, twenty seventeen,
and my predecessor, in her wisdomand her passion, said this is something

(06:15):
we're gonna do, and the stateof Tennessee did that, and that's been
really important in driving us forward.So a lot of folks that are that
my peers across the country are veryinterested in what Tennessee is doing because there's
a lot of states that are probablya decade behind as to how they serve
individual with disabilities. So the ideaabout living independently is still relatively new in
the disability community. But in Tennessee, that's something that we've been doing for

(06:39):
you for the better part of sixseven eight years because we know that was
the right thing to do. Andso now we have thousands of Tennessee and
disabilities, living independently, working independently, developing relationships the same manner that you
and I do and probably take forgranted. That's the direction that we're wanting
to go in the State of Tennesseeand continuing to push that conversation, that
narrative forward. How do they nowthat you don't have it's been a while

(07:00):
since you don't have. What didyou do with the people that were in
there? Yeah, so they wereplaced in what we're called intermedia care facilities,
or they were a little bit ofa step down from institutions, And
now those facilities still exist for individualsthat live in them and families that might
choose or conservers might choose for themto live in those homes. But they're
also built specifically for folks that havereally medically complex needs, So individuals that

(07:23):
might find themselves on ventilators or reallychallenging medical conditions. There's a higher level
of care that can be found sometimesin those facilities. But what we're wanting
to do is make sure that wetake care of the individuals that need that
level of care, but we startremoving those barriers for individuals that don't want
and just don't try to put everybodyinto one box, right, and that's
the temptations saying if you have adisability, then you just need to be

(07:46):
like this or in this space orlive this way, And that's not true.
We don't ask ourselves, you know, do we just want to live
one way, work in one place, have a second group of friends,
and we just don't expand our horizonsor boundaries. Why do that to individual
disabilities? So, the State ofTennessee has been really forward thinking in creating
these networks of homes with our providerswho have been incredible partners. We work

(08:07):
very closely with private providers that receivefunding from our department and from the federal
government and providing these services. Butwe're wanting to continue to expand that.
I mean, housing is a massiveneed. We just talked about it a
little bit before we went on airabout the incredible challenge of housing in Nashville
but also in the country. Soyou see that everywhere. And so we're
working through a lot of scenarios andhopefully the solutions to create more opportunities for

(08:30):
better housing and for more individual disabilitiesto actually enjoy independence and what it's supposed
to look like. Wow, that'sYeah, that's got to be Uh,
that's that's got to be pretty prettytough to do to. Yeah, come
up with more and more ways.Yeah, it is. I mean,
you know, we fight the windshave change a lot of times because you
know, sometimes folks think that they'reso progressive thinking that actually go backwards.
And what I mean by that is, you know, we still have people

(08:52):
saying, hey, we should goback to just build one big building and
let a thousand people live there andthen we can take care of the problem,
while you're actually going back to institutions, and they don't know what they're
saying when they bring that up.I think their intent is pure in wanting
to help people with disabilities, butthey don't realize what they're actually asking them
to go back into. And you'retalking about putting somebody in prison for having

(09:13):
a disability, and having a disabilityis not a crime. But that's how
we treated it, we really did, Yeah, really, yeah, And
a lot of folks don't realize that, right. So when we have these
conversations, we go out and speakpublicly about this, it's never in a
putative way. What we try todo is just educate people to say think
about what the right thing to dois here in this instance for somebody with
a disability, and if it's somebodythat you cared about. I have my

(09:35):
own story. My daughter has intellectrobomadisabilities. I could not imagine the doctor
telling us when she was three yearsold that the best she's ever going to
do is live in a brick buildingfor the rest of her natural life.
So when we go to our regionaloffices now that are house on these campuses
and I have to bring her withme for an event or something like that,
it's not lost on me that twentyyears ago i'd be bringing her there

(09:58):
because I'd be told that's the bestshe's ever going to do. You need
to leave her there. Now I'mbringing her there to participate in, you
know, public service announcement. It'sabout license plates for folks with disabilities,
technology for folks to use disability tolive independently communicate, and she actually gets
to participate in that. So wewant to drive a conversation that moves us
into a world where institutions are arean afterthought and a relic of the past,

(10:22):
but understanding that the temptation to movebackwards is going to be very strong,
So how do we keep pushing peopleforward to make sure we never go
backwards. So you're somebody who livesit, yeah, every day, and
that has given me a level ofI think, authority to speak around some
of the challenges that families think,but also the ability to be relational to
the individuals not only that we serve, but their loved ones. You know,

(10:43):
I know what it's like to beup all night. I know what
it's like to deal with seizures.I know what it's like to deal with
doctor's appointments and multiple surgeries and thefact that you can't go everywhere. Your
child may not play sports the waythat all of your friends do. When
you hear those stories and you're like, my child's never going to do that.
I live every day. But Ithink that's why it's also been an
incredible blessing, you know, forthe governor to appoint me in twenty nineteen

(11:05):
to this position to say, hey, I know what you're going through.
And as a result of that,we're trying to create more and more programs
that allow parents to know there isa better hope for your child than what
you might have been told in thepast, and we're going to keep moving
Tennessee forward. Yeah, that's anotherchallenge you mentioned too, is having a
doctor visit, getting them to adoctor. That's right, what about that?
What do you do? Yeah,I mean it's we work very closely

(11:26):
with the medical professionals. We're havingconversations with state nursing schools about the importance
of healthcare, specifically for individuals withinalexabil of disabilities. We actually have an
adult Changing Tables grant. That's someof your listeners that might be in business
or in churches or community organizations,they can apply for a grant to have

(11:46):
an adult changing table installed in theirbuilding. A lot of folks to think
about that. So, yeah,we it's hard for us sometimes to go
places because we have no place forour daughter to be allowed, dignity to
be changed if there's something that happens, or even a senior citizen that might
need a little bit of extra support. The Adult Changing Tables grant is something
that we've started to offer all acrossthe state. So we're working very closely

(12:09):
with a lot of big companies tosay, hey, we just need you
to take that next step. Everybody'sinterested, but we need somebody to take
you know, kind of take themight of the apple and say we're going
to do this. It's going tobe part of our culture and who we
are as a business, as achurch, as a community organization, and
applying for the grant and then installingthat and we go out to celebrate that.
We've been to, you know,one of the museums in Chattanooga.

(12:30):
We're working closer with Dollywood, We'reworking close with the Tennessee Titans, the
Predators, a lot of different bigorganizations we need to step up and they're
very interested in doing that. Wejust have to make sure we all see
it through across the finish line.It's just little things like that you don't
think about and people don't think about, and so we want to educate so
people when they when they know better, they do better and that creates a

(12:50):
more inclusive environment for folks with disabilitiesand want to go to events and concerts
in your space was with my HeartRadio, and those are things that people
just don't think about, but theyare core to who we are at the
disability community about if it's not there, I can't go and that creates levels
of emotional distress and you know,you lose confidence and it creates a home

(13:13):
bound experience that nobody wants to wantto get out and be able to enjoy
life. And our population is nodifferent. You mentioned the word dignity,
and that's what it's all about,right, So right, I mean,
you know, ultimately is dignified.That's right, Yeah, that's right.
And people, I think all ofus want to be acknowledged for who we
are and who God creates to beright in our population. Historically Secretary of

(13:35):
Being Carson, he was the Secretaryof Vener of Housing and Urban Development.
We had a conversation here in Nashvilleand he said north of seventy percent of
the discrimination complaints that they receive aroundhousing, we're not built around race or
gender, but actually disability really doorsbeing built too small, not being wheelchair
accessible. Folks that might have difficultywalking that use a walk or sometimes the

(13:56):
carpet can catch their feet or canit's their device that they used to walk
that people don't think about. Soyou have tripping hazards and things like that,
and when you hear those things ona national scale, that creates I
think a necessary conversation of is thiswas your loved one? How would you
want them to be treated and acknowledgedand their voice being heard. And one

(14:16):
of the things that I share allthe time with people is diversity is having
a seat at the table. Inclusionis having a voice, but belonging is
actually having that voice heard. Whatwe're trying to do is make sure that
not only do we have a seatat the table and the conversation, but
the voice is actually being heard,and not in a way that makes us
to be stand office or militant ordeliberate, but intentional and making sure that

(14:37):
folks just understand, hey, there'sa better way for us to do things
together to keep pushing Tennessee forward.And the governor has challenged us on that
rural counties, you know, conversation, seventy five percent of our state is
rural. How do we get topeople that desperately need services that don't have
access to what you have in Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Clarksville,
a lot of the bigger cities.So we're working very hard on that

(14:58):
to make sure that we can getservices those folks as well. Who are
some of the people that you partnerwith, you have to well for you
said it out in rural Tennessee.Yeah, you have to partner with people
out there, who do you workwithout there? Yeah, it's so there's
We have an organization that we workwith called TENCO that's a community organization for
providers and a lot of the individualsthat we work with our partners in TENCO,

(15:20):
and we work very closely with TENCOto understand what they're seeing as providers.
So how do we work better withthem around pay for what we call
desps or ex support professionals who arethe lifeblood of service cliverty. They actually
serve and participate in the lives ofthe individuals that they're responsible for taking care
of. So our partner network,our provider networks are incredibly strong partners we

(15:41):
work. We're trying to work morewith churches, We're trying to work with
schools. I'm actually traveling the statemeeting with school districts to say, here's
ways that we can impact a child'sexperience in the education system by making sure
that your teachers are aware of programsthat we have. Your principles are,
where your parents are where. We'vegot a program now that's called Tennessee Belieze,
which is a grant program that providesaccess to dollars for community colleges,

(16:06):
for four year institutions, and forteacats to actually create inclusive programs for students
with disabilities in college. So thingsthat have never been thought of, we're
actually doing that now in Tennessee.And that's where we were Monday. We
were at Chattanooga State. We wereat Johnson City at East Tennessee State University
last week preventing them a check fora grant and watching their programs expand.

(16:29):
So a lot of these schools,their target audiences is rural areas, so
a lot of students that are inrural areas and East Tennessee come to Johnson
City to go to East Tennessee StateUniversity. So we believe that if an
individual can pursue an education and wantsto do, who are we to stop
them because they have a disability.So very excited about what the Tennessee Beliefs
Program is doing in a lot ofrural areas. Diersburg State at Community College

(16:51):
in West Tennessee is now allowing studentsin those areas to pursue college if they
want to do that, and we'reworking with our Board of regents to create
the right certificate of completion programs.So when an individual disability goes into iHeart
Radio or into a business says,here's my degree and it might not look
like what you're thinking, they shouldbe treated with the same dignity to say
they're actually a graduate of a collegeprogram. That might be a talent that

(17:12):
we want to tap into to deliverservices in our space and really improve our
ecosystem. Here about how are webeing diverse in these conversations with disability so
excited about where that program is andeven more excited about where it's headed.
That's great, yeah, and thathas to make a difference to well to
everyone. But I look at thepeople out in Tennessee in the rural areas.

(17:33):
You know, if you can getto college, and you get to
college and you get a job atiHeart or whatever, sure, and that's
got to be that's a huge differentit is. And a lot of our
folks historically have just never been giventhat chance, right, And they want
to become taxpayers. They want tohave a paycheck, you know. And
I have said it and go andRelee has said it many times. There's
dignity in a paycheck and there's dignityin a job, and I think all

(17:56):
of us are proud to talk aboutwhat we do is profession or in most
instances we probably wouldn't have chosen thatroute, right, you know, if
you're not proud of that. Soour population is no different and even if
it's not going to college. That'swhy we want to partner very closely with
the teacats, the applied technology youknow institutions that are all across the state.
In rural areas. There needs tobe you know, more of plumbers,

(18:19):
there needs to be welders. Andwe are definitely missing a massive talent
pool of citizens in our state thathappened to fund the disabuted community because people
haven't thought about that. Just inour support network alone, our waiver programs
alone, we have over four thousandfolks that are ready to go to work
today. So when you hear frombusinesses, man, I just got open

(18:40):
jobs. I can't find anybody tofill them. We want them to reach
out to us. We have afull team that is steeped in employment and
what it should look like, andnot just in a punitive way where we
tell them you hire them and that'sit. We actually work to partner with
companies, to have job coaches allthe way up through a year into the
program and to the employment to makesure the companies that we're there to support
them and that we're not just goingto ask them to do this and then

(19:03):
leave them kind of on the lurch. We want to make sure that we're
good partners. And the rural Tennesseeis in the same way that say we've
got to get more jobs and moreability to be able to be gainfully employed
in rural Tennessee. And we've donethat. I mean, our state is
now at three point one percent unemployment, which is the lowest that it's ever
been. We want to continue topush that in COVID just like it was
for everybody, was incredibly detrimental toour population will come to employment. We

(19:26):
were often the last ones hired andthe first ones let go during the pandemic.
And there's kind of a slow uphillwalk right now for us to get
back to where we were in employment. But we're making progress. So I'm
really excited about the businesses that arewanting to partner with us, and we're
going to keep pushing to make surethat more businesses know that we have a
talent base, it's ready to goto work. Who's some of the businesses?
Can you tell the ken? Yeah, well there's different ones, right.

(19:47):
So one of the unique things thatwe do that Historica has never been
done is give the individual for thefirst time, tell us what you want
to do. Because there's a temptationto say, well, we know this
business is hiring, so we're justgoing to send you down there to work
at this business. Well, Icouldn't be a teacher, so why would
you want to put me in theclassroom? Right, So we offer the
ability for the individual to tell uswhat do you want to do. We

(20:07):
have individuals want to work in thegrocery store. We have folks that work
in the state parks. We haveindividuals that work for certain cities in the
state of Tennessee. We have individualsthat work in regular businesses. Conversations that
we want to have or how dowe continue to expand that network of businesses
that want to participate and then eventuallymake that available to Tennessees with disability to

(20:29):
say, hey, what would youlike to do? So we never try
to dictate where do you go.We just say here's what's out there,
tell us what you want to do, and then we build that support network
around them to allow them to thrivein their choice of industry. Well that's
remarkable. Yeah, yeah, folksdon't think about it, but it's something
we're very proud of. We havecreated, you know, a really strong
ecosystem inside our community about what companiesare interested in hiring tennessees with disabilities.

(20:55):
The challenge in becomes you kind ofput yourself in that box to say,
well, we really need to stayin this because that's who's doing it.
But we want to challenge a lotof these bigger businesses in white collar industries.
Healthcare National is the healthcare capital ofthe country. So I've been meeting
with different healthcare companies and healthcare executives, say you need to create these opportunities
because we know that's part of whoyou are. How do we help you

(21:15):
expand that when you talk about inclusivehiring for folks with disabilities, what does
it look like and how can webe a better partner that. Yeah,
well, I seeing here your departmenthas been recognized nationally for the innovation in
employment first and enabling technology, sothat it proves you're doing it. So
what about that. Yeah, itall ties into that, right. So

(21:36):
you know, everybody uses technology,whether you're you know, three years old
or you're ninety three years old,somebody's seen an iPad or the internet,
right. So we really built anice division in our department, led by
our Deputy Commissioner Jordan Allen, thathas really pushed that. In fact,
a few months ago I was inWashington. I was meeting with Microsoft and
Redmand at their office about how dowe continue to put the envelope in Tennessee

(22:02):
around technology and enabling technology and creatingopportunities for folks with disabilities to use technology.
We were just with the governor andthe first Lady Friday as I mentioned
in Johnson City and one of thegentlemen that was previously in an institution.
We actually went to his house wherehe showed us using his iPad, his
ability to communicate and using the technologyto open his front door, open his

(22:25):
back door, lock his doors,and live independently. So in the shadow
of an institution that was twenty milesup the road, he was living independently
and welcomed us into his home.So it's those sort of things where those
programs matter and Tennessee is unquestionably thenational leader in utilizing technology to create a
better tomorrow for citizens today that havenever been given that opportunity. And one

(22:48):
of the things that I said theother day we were on a news station
in Chattanooga's the American dream looks differentfor everybody, but it should look like
something for somebody, and our populationdeserves the same ability to pursue whatever the
American dream looks like for them.Technology is a huge part of that,
and so we've got great partners allacross the state that have allowed us to
come alongside them with technology to say, how do we continue to expand this

(23:11):
for folks that want to use it, including our MAPS program. We have
a program right now called MAPS,which is short acronym for Medicaid Alternative Pathways
that allow students that are exiting highschool moving into their first layers of independence
as adults. How can they usetechnology to understand transportation better if they have
to take a bus to get toand from or they want to learn more

(23:33):
about how to be a better employee, or creating skills necessary to be a
good employee, and just using technologyto communicate. Those are things that we're
doing and it's something I'm very proudof because it's not something that's talked about
a lot in our space nationally,but Tennessee is going to continue to be
the tip of the spear to makesure we're moving us forward. And two
jobs, for example, using acomputer now look at home. If they

(23:56):
can't get out of the house,they can work at home and great,
that's right, So you have thatopportunity. Yeah, and that has been
I never want to say COVID waspositive for anybody or I think, but
one of the lessons that we learnedfrom that is you can actually have successful
employment, you know, working fromhome if you find a job that is
remote based. And that has alsokind of peeled back one of the layers

(24:18):
and not even a very thin layer, but a very strong concrete layer that
has hindered companies from hiring people disabilitieswhere they can't travel to work, they
can't drive, they can't do this, they can't do that. Well,
all of your other employees are workingremotely. Why could we not do that?
So it's created just more of anopen lane of communication for us now
to say there's no more excuses nowabout remote work because our employee can only

(24:42):
work remotely. It's part of yourculture. Now you've established that, how
do we do it better? Andso yeah, it's created really necessary conversations
when we have conversations with the StateChamber of Commerce and local Chamber of Commerce
industries all around the state, whatare you doing and what companies are working
remote because we have employees right nowthat can go to work for you.

(25:02):
And it started, you know,we're starting to slowly read some of those
rewards because they're acknowledging the fact that, yeah, it's a good point.
We need good talent. Doesn't matterif they're inn the officer at home,
we need to hire them and getthem part of our business. Yeah.
Yeah, I see that you're siton the National Association and State Directors of
Developmental Disability Services to talk about that. Yeah. So's it's a national work

(25:22):
group that I have the privilege toserve on right now, and that's what
the conversation is built around, iswhat do we do about employment because we
want to make sure that we drivethat conversation nationwide. And so it's a
privilege to sit on that board.Was appointed to it last year and it's
really about just changing the mindset ofbusinesses, but the community as a whole.
When you think about it now,it seems kind of silly that we

(25:45):
would put people in institutions, youknow, it's very discriminatory and it's offensive
that we would do that based ona disability. But you think about special
education classrooms and when we were inschool, that is exactly what happened in
the school halls was you had studentwith disabilities were placed in a certain area
of the school and they were neverseen and they ate at different times.
Excuse me, they didn't go toschool events. And we want to change

(26:08):
that conversation. So this next generationof school children that are coming up that
are going to merge as business owners, business leaders, managers, vice president's
CEO, we want them to knowthat, hey, there's nothing different here.
So we push inclusive classrooms. Butinclusive classrooms allows you to understand and
gain an education so you can thenmove into what work looks like. So

(26:29):
when I sit on this board,those are the conversations that we have about
how do we continue to push allareas of our community to do better in
understanding what individuals in their state withdisabilities need. So it's an honor to
serve on that board really excited aboutbeing able to push the conversation forward about
what does gainful employment look like forindividual disabilities in the United States of America,

(26:49):
And I'm excited that Tennessee is leadingthe way. Great. Yeah,
where can we go online and findout? Absolutely? You can. So.
Our website is very simple. It'st in dot cog of slash d
idd and that list all of theprograms that we've got, all of our
contact information, and it tells stories. We've got a remarkable social media platform,

(27:10):
so you can find us on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter,
follow us on there. Our communicationsteam does a great job of actually telling
the story through video, through interviews, through pictures. We've won a national
award around our social media as itrelates to government bodies, which is a
huge plus for us because individual disabilitiesutilize social media no different than we do,

(27:32):
and in many times that's their formof relationship voting communication. So we
have a very robust website, veryrobust social media presence. We want individuals
to come out there and check outwhat we do and look to see who
we are and maybe even partner withus in the future because we'll take all
the help we can get that's right, that's right. Well, thank you
so much, sir, Thank youfor having me. Appreciate it, my
pleasure to be here. Absolutely takecare. That's Commissioner Brad Turner, director

(27:56):
of the Department of Intellectual and DevelopmentalDisabilities. We appreciate him for being on
the show. If you have questionsor comments about today's program, you can
email me, John Clark at iHeartMediadot com. Thanks for listening. I'll
talk to you next week right hereon your local radio station on Tennessee Matters
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