Autism and I/DD Safety Training for First Responders
Year 1: October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025
System Gap Addressed
- People with I/DD and other disabilities are unnecessarily jailed, injured, and even killed during routine interactions with law enforcement officers and other first responders.
- Law enforcement officers and other first responders do not always receive training on how to appropriately interact with people with autism and I/DD.
Initiative Goals and Timeline
- Research the autism and I/DD safety training landscape in North Carolina for first responders, including law enforcement officers, to determine where the greatest areas of need exist.
- Pilot a training or a series of trainings in one or more areas of need.
- Scale the training statewide after the pilot to train first responders, including law enforcement officers, and people working in North Carolina’s justice system as well as people with I/DD and their caregivers.
Description of Activities
- Conduct an inventory of available trainings related to I/DD for law enforcement and/or related crisis response in North Carolina and nationally and conduct a gap analysis of what is needed for law enforcement and/or related crisis response to determine where training and education needs exist in North Carolina.
- Meet with state agency officials, non-profit organization officials, and officials at private businesses who are involved in training law enforcement officers or providing crisis response for people with I/DD in North Carolina.
- Do outreach to diverse populations, including North Carolina Hispanic and Latino I/DD community and North Carolina’s black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) I/DD community.
- Develop and implement, adapt, or utilize a pilot training for first responders, including law enforcement officers, crisis response teams, and related personnel.
- Scale the training statewide after completing the pilot training during Year 1.
Achievements and Outcomes to Date
- Grantee connected to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, the Autism Society of North Carolina, and various individuals with I/DD and their family members who are concerned stakeholders in this work.
Expected System Change as a Result
- Increase the quality of interactions between people with I/DD and first responders, especially law enforcement officers.
- Improve the number of positive interactions between people with I/DD and first responders, especially law enforcement officers.
- More individuals with I/DD and their caregivers as well as first responders will stay safe during interactions with each other, particularly in times of emergency or crisis.
- Fewer individuals with I/DD will be unnecessarily arrested, injured, or killed during interactions with law enforcement officers and other first responders.Who can I contact for questions?
Download a PDF about this initiative: Autism and I/DD Safety Training for First Responders
Contact for questions:
Philip Woodward, NCCDD Systems Change Manager: [email protected]
Popular Links
North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities
This project was supported, in part by grant number 2001NCSCDD-02, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.