About CED
Established in 1978, the Center for Excellence in Disabilities (CED) is located in Morgantown, West Virginia and is part of the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center at West Virginia University. The CED is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDD) designated and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities/Administration for Community Living and sustained through leveraging from the University, the state and 25 - 30 federal and state-funded projects, yearly.
The CED has been an integral part of the state and WWVU and has worked with its AIDD/ACL partners-the West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) and the protection and advocacy group, West Virginia Advocates (WVA)-to address issues faced by West Virginians with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who serve them. The CED has been instrumental in: promoting and carrying-out the Medley-decree deinstitutionalization of the 1980s; developing and conducting models such as the family-based living arrangements for individuals leaving congregate settings and positive behavior support to enhance community living; designing a state Medicaid "Buy-In" to insure workers with disabilities; leading the state in creating and maintaining an assistive technology system; using telehealth to assist local healthcare providers in serving children with epilepsy; facilitating the state's "Long-Term Care" and Olmstead Plans; and, developing a system of Parent Network Specialists and Family-to-Family Programs that support families in directing their services.
Mission
The Center for Excellence in Disabilities (CED) at West Virginia University is dedicated to ensuring that individuals with developmental and other disabilities of all ages can access the supports and services that promote their full inclusion, independence and self-direction for culturally sensitive, family-centered and person-centered community living. The CED works toward a time when every individual with disabilities has the self-advocacy skills and resultant supports that ensure they experience an interdependent quality of life that includes a secure and healthy environment, work that is meaningful and fulfilling, avenues for growth and development and opportunities for friendship and play.