History
History of The Arc of the United States 1950-Present
1950s
- First convention of the “National Association ofParents and Friends of Mentally Retarded Children” was held in Minnesota
- Basic Objective: “To promote and stimulate needed research into causes, cure and prevention of mental retardation”
- The organization became the National Association for Retarded Children; national newspaper, Children Limited
- New York City becomes home to the first national headquarters
- President Dwight Eisenhower declared the firstNational Retarded Children’s Week
- The association’s first film, “Tuesday’s Child,” was produced
- Membership rose to 29,000 with 412 local chapters
- The association supported Social Security coverage for adults disabled in childhood, funding for medical facilities for people with mental retardation and increased appropriations for vocational rehabilitation programs
- Mental Subnormality, an important cornerstone inresearch literature in the field of mental retardation,reported findings of a three-year association survey
- The Arc published a landmark report, Decade of Decision, describing the association’s accomplishments and prospects for meeting service needs of people with mental retardation
- The Arc intensifies its advocacy for research and asks Congress for full support for an International Research Plan
1960s
- The Arc establishes a formal liaison with theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Decade of Decision was presented to the White House Conference on Children and Youth
- Membership totaled 62,000
- The Arc was approved as one of 10 voluntary health organizations by the President’s Committee on Fundraising in the Federal Service
- The Arc is represented on the first President’s Panelon Mental Retardation
- The first article about the dangers of lead poisoningon child development is published in Children Limited
- A new screening test for PKU was discovered due to a research grant from the association
- The Arc’s advocacy results in two federal laws that support research into the causes of metal retardation
- Ten years of research grants are given to support work in early childhood development, influencing the establishment of Head Start
- Federal support for mental retardation services andresearch increased from $14 million to $94 million
- Research grants resulted in a test to detect toxoplasmosis and identifying genetic differences in persons with Down syndrome
- The President’s Panel on Mental Retardation recommended the Mental Retardation Construction Act, maternity and child care projects, expansion of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and establishment of special education programs
- Membership totaled 100,000
- The first interorganization conference on mentalretardation convened with representatives from 28 national organizations
- The Arc’s advocacy with other national organizationsresults in the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid
- The Arc spurs measles campaign
- The Arc stepped up insistence on immediate eradication of inhumane treatment and improvement of institutional care
- The Arc receives a federal grant to support a project on Poverty-related Mental Retardation from the Office of Economic Opportunity as part of the War on Poverty
- The Arc’ s Governmental Affairs office was opened in Washington, D.C. to increase visibility in the nation’s capital and attempt to influence federal policy toward children and adults with mental retardation and their families
1970s
- National Headquarters was moved to Arlington,Texas, to be more centrally located for the growing membership
- The Arc supported expansion of Medicaid to allow the federal government to finance residential programs (ICF/MR)
- The Arc passes a resolution at convention to increase the involvement of low income and minority groups in The Arc’s activities as a strategy to prevent poverty-related mental retardation
- The Arc lends its name to a media campaign toeducate and prevent Hepatitis B
- The Arc develops and distributes materials to health professionals addressing the prevention of meningitis
- National and state offices of The Arc begin to join court suits to defend the rights of citizens with mental retardation living in state institutions and to ensure their right to education
- Advocacy intensified to strengthen individuals’ rights to be served by community-based residential services
- Other efforts:– immigration – benefits for dependents of service people– early childhood – fair labor standards as applied to workers with mental retardation – lead paint poisoning – immunization programs
- The Arc emphasized the complex issues surrounding the use of human subjects in research, both biomedical and behavioral
- The Arc adopts a five-year planning cycle andestablishes eleven service goals, including – increase the quantity and quality of research impacting upon prevention and quality of life – actively encourage efforts to identify cures for disorders and conditions involved in mental retardation through basic research, dissemination of relevant scientific findings and increased professional and public awareness
- The Arc awards a research grant to Kenneth Jones, M.D., to continue work originally supported by the March of Dimes. – While supported by The Arc, Dr. Jones names the disorder Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Reflecting a growing service to adults as well aschildren, the Association for Retarded Children’s name was changed to the National Association for Retarded Citizens
- The association worked for two major programs which had significant impact on the lives of people with mental retardation-Supplemental Security Income and Title Twenty Social Services
- Public Law 94-142 passes due to members’ hard work
- The Arc received two federal grants for theestablishment of the federal program information and assistance project – project trained hundreds of advocates in the states about federal programs – project developed three comprehensive federal resource guides
- The Arc worked toward extending andstrengthening two federal acts, Rehabilitation and Developmental Disabilities
- The month of March became Mental RetardationMonth, designed by The Arc and The Advertising Council
- The Arc addressed the issue of meeting the mental health needs of individuals with mental retardation
1980s
- The name was changed to Association forRetarded Citizens of the United States
- State and local chapters also adopted a uniform identity by becoming ARC of…
- The Arc conducts a survey of state geneticscreening programs
- A listing of each state’s specific infant screeningtests is developed and distributed to state andlocal chapters
- The death of a baby born with Down syndrome renewed efforts toward protecting the lives of other infants born with mental retardation and other disabilities
- National convention delegates approved aresolution declaring the right of all people to community-based services
- Spearheaded meetings leading to the signing of the “Principles of Treatment of Disabled Infants” and the passage of “Baby Doe” Amendments to the Child Abuse Act
- Research was completed proving a computer system equipped with voice recognition and environmental controls could be configured for use by people who have profound mental retardation and severe physical impairments
- 11 major laws enacted in 1986, includingmandated preschool program and early intervention • Advocacy by the Governmental Affairs Office results in the establishment of the Disabilities Prevention Program at the Center for Disease Control
- Teaming with Johnson & Johnson, begin a three year awareness and fundraising campaign that reached an estimated 75 million households annually
- The Arc joined a collaborative effort to form theNational Consortium of Community Health Services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities
- The Arc’s On-The-Job Training Project became the National Employment and Training. The NET program included such activities as supported employment, professional and volunteer training, job development and placement
- “A Status Report on Waiting Lists for CommunityServices” revealed more than 139,000 children and adults on waiting lists for community services across the country
- Played a major role in achieving congressionalenactment of The Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988, prohibiting housing discrimination based on disability
- Large growth of the self-advocacy movement
1990s
- The Arc celebrates its 40th anniversary
- Joined the battle against AIDS by being involvedwith educating people with mental retardation
- Celebrated passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed by President George Bush
- Helped plan a national conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Supported research into aging and mental retardation
- Changed names again to become “The Arc”. Forthe first time the word “retarded” was gone from the name
- “Access ADA”, a project of helping peopleunderstand and comply with the ADArequirements
- Celebrated the 25th year of matching employers with employees having mental retardation, with more than 45,000 placements
- The Arc prepared its first “Report to the Nation on Inclusion in Education of Students with Mental Retardation”
- The Arc took a stand against the unfair, imbalanced treatment of criminal offenders with mental retardation
- The Board of Directors identifies the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome as one of three objectives for the Strategic Plan
- The Arc stepped up its efforts to reduce the incidence of FAS
- The Arc passes a resolution to object to the House of Seagram’s TV advertising
- Fact Sheet on “Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention” is completed and disseminated
- The Arc Test is developed~newborn screening test to identify pre-natal use of alcohol
- Alzheimer’s Disease and People with Mental Retardation fact sheet is revised
- Funds a new position: the Health Promotion andDisability Prevention Specialist
- Passes a resolution on genetic discrimination
- The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention and Education Act is passed with advocacy from The Arc
- The Arc is included in the list of agencies that must be represented on the national advisory board
- The Arc lends its name to a community education campaign on the prevention of Hib Disease
- The Arc receives a grant from CDC to update FAS materials
The Arc of Mississippi
History of Services
- 1961 Parent Support & Advocacy
- 1988 Parent Support & Advocacy
- 1 employee, Budget of $68,750
- 1988 Supported Employment
- One of the first agencies funded through Voc-Rehab
- 1991 Respite-Children’s Medical Program expandedgrowth from 1991 with $5,000 to $65,000 in 1995
- 1992 State Affiliation Fee discontinued for locals
- 1993 Prevention Grant
- FAS
- Contractual Behavior Management
- Sensitivity Training
- 1994 Parent Partners-PTI
- Mandt Behavior Management
- Systems Change
- Expanded Supported Employment
- Resource Library
- Medicaid Waiver
- 1994 12 employee, Budget of $425,000
- 1995 Estimated 12 employees, Budget of $525,000
- Actual 20 employees, Budget of $637,000
- 1996 10-25 employees budget of $750,000
- Services
- Parent/Consumer Support
- Behavior Management
- Systems Change
- Supported Employment
- Parent Partners-PTI
- Empower-PTI-Delta Counties
- CMP Respite, EIP Respite, Arc Respite
- FAS Awareness
- Mandt Behavior Management Training
- Medicaid Waiver
- Member Chapter Services, Chapter Enhancement
- Sensitivity Training