Welcome to The Boggs Center
About The CenterOur Mission
The Boggs Center, as a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, values uniqueness and individuality and promotes the self-determination and full participation of people with disabilities and their families in all aspects of community life. As a catalyst and resource, The Boggs Center, through partnerships and collaborations, builds capacity in organizations, systems, and communities in a culturally competent manner. The Boggs Center prepares students through interdisciplinary programs, provides community training and technical assistance, conducts research, and disseminates information and educational materials.
News
Deborah M. Spitalnik, PhD Honored with Lifetime Achievement Advocacy Award by NJCDD
Deborah M. Spitalnik, PhD, Executive Director of The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities and Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine & Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Advocacy Award at the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities’ annual Community Building Awards on September 28, 2023 in East Brunswick, NJ. Read more about the award
NJLEND Welcomes Incoming 2023-2024 Cohort
The Boggs Center’s New Jersey Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (NJLEND) program began its eighth year with an orientation for incoming fellows on September 8, 2023. Through the NJLEND program, graduate-level fellows prepare to provide interdisciplinary, family-centered, culturally competent care addressing the complex needs of children with autism and related disabilities as well as other maternal and child health populations. Read more about the program and the incoming cohort of graduate and doctoral-level fellows
BoggsCast is back! We’re kicking off Season 3 of The Boggs Center’s podcast with an episode on sibling experiences featuring Katie Arnold, PhD, faculty member in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her sister Patrice Keiling. All BoggsCast episodes and full transcripts are available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify apps and websites.
Registration is Open for the Fall 2023 Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series Webinars
The Boggs Center’s Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series is a community and continuing education program provided for professionals, policymakers, individuals with disabilities, and family members to enhance their knowledge and skills in innovative approaches and state of the art practices for people with developmental disabilities. Fall 2023 webinars include: Psychiatric Assessment and Treatment in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on September 22; Toward An Authentically Person-Centered System on September 29; Person-Centered Supervision on October 6; and National Core Indicators-Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI-IDD): Using Data for Quality Improvement and System Change on October 27. The webinars are free of charge. Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Read more about the Fall 2023 Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series.
The Boggs Center Celebrates 40th Year with Anniversary Colloquium
The Boggs Center celebrated its 40th year as New Jersey’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities with a 40th Anniversary Colloquium, held on May 31, 2023 in New Brunswick. The event focused on the Center’s lifespan approach and highlighted its contributions to the developmental disabilities community. Read more about The Boggs Center’s 40th Anniversary Colloquium
Publications
Deciding to Self-Direct: Making Choices, Becoming Empowered
The Boggs Center developed Deciding to Self-Direct, the latest guide in the Making Choices, Becoming Empowered series for people with developmental disabilities. People receiving support through NJ’s Division of Developmental Disabilities can choose to self-direct some or all of their services. Available in English and Spanish, this guide helps readers to think about their lives and whether self-directed services are right for them.
Vaccinate to Keep Kids Healthy! Fact Sheet and Poster
Preventing disease is always better than treating it. Vaccines protect against diseases that once caused serious illness, disability, and death, including COVID-19. With funding from the federal Administration for Community Living, The Boggs Center developed new resources for parents of young children to promote and explain the benefits of following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) immunization recommendations to keep kids healthy. Vaccinate to Keep Kids Healthy! fact sheets in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Portuguese, and Tagalog, as well as an 11” x 17” English/Spanish poster, are now available on The Boggs Center’s website. Read More About Vaccinate to Keep Kids Healthy
COVID-19 Vaccine Resources for the Developmental Disabilities Community
The Boggs Center developed two resources to provide information about COVID-19 vaccines and help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities understand what to expect before, during, and after vaccination. COVID-19 Vaccine Facts for the Developmental Disabilities Community and Getting a COVID Vaccine: A Social Story for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities are available in English and Spanish.
Exploring Possibilities & Supports: An Information Gathering Toolkit
This resource provides people with developmental disabilities, family members, and Support Coordinators with Person-Centered Thinking and Charting the LifeCourse tools and concepts to use when exploring life possibilities and planning for supports. The information gathered can be used, together with conversations, to inform the person-centered planning process and development of the Person-Centered Planning Tool and New Jersey Individualized Service Plan. Available in English and Spanish.
Selecting a Support Coordination Agency: Making Choices, Becoming Empowered
People receiving support through New Jersey’s Division of Developmental Disabilities are able to choose the agency they receive support coordination services from. Selecting a Support Coordination Agency: Making Choices, Becoming Empowered provides information and ideas that can help in the selection process. Available in English and Spanish.
