PI: Joseph Evans, PhD
Title: MMI AmeriCorps
Grant Agency: Corporation for National and Community Service
Award: $550,000
MMI AmeriCorps – national award from CNCS national competition – three years of federal support for an AmeriCorps program to be located at the Munroe-Meyer Institute of UNMC. The award is for $184,000 per year (a total of $550,000+). This project focuses on providing service opportunities for individuals with, and without, disabilities. The project has three areas of emphasis: Services to other persons with disabilities, enhancing rural behavioral health care delivery, and service delivery in urban inner city areas. The program had been funded by at a local level by ServeNebraska since 2004 and was twice recognized with the Nebraska Impact Award, presented by the Governor's Office. The new AmeriCorps grant, however, was funded competitively at a national level from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Background: Estimates suggest that 15% of children under the age of 21 have developmental disorders, genetic conditions, mental retardation, and/or other specialized healthcare needs. When adults and the elderly are added, nearly 35% of the overall population experiences a disability of some type. Services provided for these individuals vary dramatically in availability and quality. MMI AmeriCorps is unique in its emphasis upon providing services for, and with, persons with disabilities. Using a combination of members who are able-bodied and who have disabilities themselves, the program is designed to address provision of supports and services for citizens across a wide variety of disabilities, especially in underserved areas.
To enhance the Institute's capacity to provide these services, MMI AmeriCorps members are recruited to serve both in the Omaha metropolitan area and in underserved rural communities which have included Hastings, Lexington, Kearney, Columbus, Nebraska City, North Platte, Grand Island, Crete, Friend, Chadron, Gordon, Crawford and Rushville. MMI has developed training and service delivery models which maximize members’ experiences and which are explained in greater detail throughout this application.
Each member identifies individual service goals at the beginning or his/her service term. Based on these goals, members will be placed in service positions that will permit them to participate in direct service (e.g., counseling, classroom assistance, counseling, parent education, patient relations, etc.) and/or support service (e.g., curriculum development, intervention evaluations, etc.) activities in their respective home communities. Members will also participate in "legacy activities" designed to record members' experiences and thereby: 1) improve services available to people with disabilities, and 2) demonstrate leadership skills through service.
