opening plenary

Self-Determination & Citizenship Three people with disabilities and a parent from the United States talk about the meaning of self-determination in their lives, and its value in their efforts to secure full citizenship.	Jackie Golden has two children with disabilities: her son has significant disabilities including Angelman Syndrome, while her daughter has attention deficit disorder. Jackie is the chairperson on Maryland's Developmental Disabilities Council, secretary for the Arc of Maryland and serves on committees at the state/federal level of government. Jackie just completed a one year fellowship as a Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Parent Public Policy Fellow where she worked with the Special Committee on Aging. She put together a congressional forum entitled "Can We Rest In Peace', The Anxiety of Elderly Parents Caring for Baby Boomers with Disabilities." Jackie works with the National Parent Network on Disabilities on issues of importance to people with disabilities. Caroline "Ann" Thomas is a self-advocate whose job involves traveling and speaking to help others advocate for themselves. Ann is the Vice President for People First in Ohio and sits and votes on many committees. Ann is very proud to be on the Robert Wood Johnson's Self-Determination Grant Steering Committee for the State of Ohio. She is involved in the Arc of Ohio with the Choices Grant that will assist people now living in developmental centers in Ohio to be able to experience community involvement, and learn how to make choices. Ann is co-chairperson for the People First/Self-Determination Conference to be held in Columbus in December 2000 which is truly consumer driven! Tia Nelis is president of Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) and is also a nationally recognized speaker and consultant on various issues relating to the developmental disability field, including self-advocacy & inclusive communities. Tia is a member of the core organizing group for the first international conference on self-determination & individualized funding. Chester Finn is from Lockport, New York and graduated from the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia and Genesee Community College. Currently, Chester is employed as a special assistant by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. In this position, he maintains contact with participants in the state’s self-determination project and also advises the Commissioner on matters related to the rights and welfare of consumers. He is a member of the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State, Inc., and was previously a president of the association. Chester also serves as a member of the State Rehabilitation Advisory Council. Over the past several years, Chester has spoken at many conferences and given workshops about self-advocacy. Last year he traveled to British Columbia where he gave a presentation on individualized funding and self-determination. Chester is very active in local and regional self-advocacy activities, for example, he was the president of his Lockport self-advocacy group and served on many related committees. Chester also hosted his own monthly, local cable TV program, “Self-Advocates in Action”.

Individualized Funding: A Pre-Requisite for Citizenship A discussion of the ways in which individualized funding enables people with disabilities to become fully empowered citizens.	Raffaello Belli is from ITALY and carries on research on fundamental freedoms of people with disabilities in collaboration with the Italian National Research Council, the University of Florence and local authorities. As a person living with a physical disability, he receives frequent invitations to write legal review papers, as well as speak at both national and international conferences, on a wide range of disability issues. Raffaello has recently written two books that will be released in March, 2000: 1) Libertà inviolabili e persone con disabilità - a book focusing on basic freedoms for persons with disabilities that also contains papers from some of the best Italian University professors on legal science; 2) Assistenti personali per una vita indipendente - a book on personal assistance for independent living. Raffaello is also the editor of the following Internet web site on Law and Disability: http://www.idg.fi.cnr.it/attivita/disabilita/disabili.htm

The Challenges Ahead An analysis of the challenges that stakeholder groups face in their efforts to gain greater control of their lives through the implementation of individualized funding.	David Wiens is a Lecturer in Applied Communications at Kwantlen University College in Langley, British Columbia, CANADA. A recognized parent leader and advocate for major system change, David works actively with individuals with disabilities and family members, service providers, professionals and government to ensure that individualized funding becomes an option for people with disabilities in BC.

The Conference Declaration: Setting a Standard For the Future An Overview of the importance and purpose of the Conference Declaration, and the process that will be used in its development	Steve Dowson has been involved with services for people with developmental disabilities for over 25 years - as a social worker, researcher, advocate, and for 7 years as the director of the leading UK advocacy organisation, Values Into Action. He was also co-founder of the UK Learning Disability Coalition, which brings together the leading national organisations representing all the major interest groups. He now works as an independent consultant on a very diverse range of projects involving research, training, writing, and software development. Steve's work and extensive publications reflect enduring interests in the ways that service structures impact on the allocation of power; and on the interaction between the cultures of services and ordinary community life. Steve is, along with Brian Salisbury, Co-chair of the planning group for this conference.