Position Statement from the Cross Disability Rights Coalition

The Cross Disability Rights Coalition (CDRC) is a group of people with disabilities, from Maryland ADAPT and People On the Go of Maryland. The CDRC is funded by a three-year grant from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council

The CDRC advocates for all people with disabilities to live in the community, not in nursing facilities or state residential centers. We are working on a goal of freeing people from nursing facilities and institutions and improving supports in the community so that people can have more control of their lives. Currently there is a funding bias in Maryland that favors institutionalization and segregation of people with disabilities. We are working to correct this outdated idea.

In addition to building CDRC into an influential and powerful group, we have two main goals: to get people out of nursing facilities or state residential centers, with full funding for community services; and to change the current system to one that ensures people who transition from nursing facilities or state residential centers do so with tools of self-determination.