Official Site of The State of New JerseySelf-Advocacy
Self-advocacy is the worldwide civil rights movement led by and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Self-advocacy can take on many forms, including voting in local and general elections, participating in your Individual Education Plan and Individual Service Plan meetings, testifying at legislative hearings, and letting people know what you want and how you feel.
New Jersey is home to a thriving advocacy community, including individual self-advocates as well as local, regional and statewide self-advocacy groups and organizations. The Division even has its own self advocacy group called the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities’ Self-Advocacy Advisory Committee (SAAC).
New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities’ Self-Advocacy Advisory Committee (SAAC)
Established in 2019, the Division’s Self-Advocacy Advisory Committee is a professional workgroup composed of adults with I/DD and staff from the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, and The Boggs Center.
The Committee’s mission is to maintain consistent communication between members of New Jersey’s Self-Advocacy Community and the Division.
The Division is committed to amplifying the voices of self-advocates. The Committee’s collaborative work is done in the spirit of enhancing resources and education as well as creating meaningful opportunities for stakeholder engagement on behalf of people using services funded by the Division. Please see our listing of 2023 Self-Advocacy Advisory Committee Meeting Dates below.
For more information about the quarterly SAAC meetings, please contact Ashley.Ritchey@dhs.nj.gov, Family & Advocate Education Liaison.