The "2022 State of the Science Conference on Community Living: Engaging persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities from underserved racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups in research” was an invitation-only event hosted by ICI’s Research and Training Center on Community Living in September 2022. The two-day event brought together persons with IDD and current and emerging researchers who led stakeholder groups in topic strands focused on community living. Participants critically examined community living as experienced by persons with IDD across underserved and marginalized racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups to determine what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know. Together, participants developed and prioritized research recommendations with the greatest potential to affect evolving policy and practice to address the gaps in the areas of direct support workforce, social inclusion, family support, employment, living arrangements, and criminal justice.

Recommendations and future research questions developed by each strand are available here.

Below are short video summaries of each of the research strands and personal perspectives on each topic by individuals with lived experience with disability. Impact: Feature Issue on Engaging Communities Underrepresented in Disability Research explores these topics through in-depth articles, personal stories, and program profiles.

Research strand: Family Support

Sandra Magaña, PhD, is the executive director of the Texas Center for Disability Studies, University of Texas at Austin. Read her article, One Size Doesn't Fit All Families, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Family Support - Sandy Magaña, PhD: https://www.youtube.com/embed/YUf6vuds9G4

Leonard Boston is a parent and a board member of Parent to Parent USA. Read his story, Access and Awareness, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Family Support - Leonard Boston: https://www.youtube.com/embed/M1srsjbRUH8

Research strand: Social Inclusion

Matt Bogenschutz, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University. Read his article, Contexts in Social Inclusion and Belonging, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Social Inclusion - Matt Bogenschutz, PhD: https://www.youtube.com/embed/FcEipDVxRsw

Angela West, MS, is a multicultural specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University. Read her article, Two Cultures, One Challenge in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Social Inclusion - Angela West, MS: https://www.youtube.com/embed/JjNkOyxvZFo

Research strand: Living Arrangements

Joe Caldwell, PhD, is a senior scientist at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Brandeis University. Read his article, The Importance of Home, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Living Arrangements - Joe Caldwell, PhD: https://www.youtube.com/embed/x8JPldF3bCk

Greg Robinson, MPH, is ... Read his story, Coming Home: Why I'm Fighting for Others' Freedom, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Living Arrangements - Greg Robinson, MPH: https://www.youtube.com/embed/gbq6EKbVmCQ

Research strand: Employment

John Butterworth, PhD, is a senior research fellow at the Institute on Community Inclusion, UMass Boston. Read his article, Employment: The Multiplier Effect, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Employment - John Butterworth, PhD: https://www.youtube.com/embed/-MkxTP_-D3A

Ajani Lewis-McGhee works at Allianz Life Insurance and is a board member of MN-APSE. Read his story, A Job to Finish, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Employment - Ajani Lewis-McGhee: https://www.youtube.com/embed/0JZAi78MPog

Research strand: Criminal Justice

Beverly Frantz, PhD, is director of the Criminal Justice Project at Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities. Read her story, Criminal Justice: Why Is This Happening?, co-authored with Roger Stancliffe, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Criminal Justice - Beverly Frantz, PhD: https://www.youtube.com/embed/dHuJlt6QIys

Debbie Robinson is the executive director of Speaking for Ourselves. Read her article, MY Perspective: We Need to do More, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Criminal Justice - Debbie Robinson: https://www.youtube.com/embed/XIaT4cFQMnc

Research strand: Direct Support Workforce

Carol Britton Laws, PhD, is associate clinical professor at the Institute on Human Development and Disability, University of Georgia. Read her article, Workforce: Bearing the Cost of Inclusion, in Impact.

Video from the Web version of this publication:

Workforce - Carol Britton Laws, PhD: https://www.youtube.com/embed/ntIxW32bwNs