CRAAG – Charlottesville Region Autism Action Group began in 2010 in collaboration with Commonwealth Autism. CRAAG’s mission is to raise awareness and enhance the quality of life for people with autism, developmental disabilities, and their families in Charlottesville City, Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson counties. We are a volunteer action group for families, self-advocates, and professionals who are interested in all age groups and levels of need. The daily concerns of CRAAG’s active volunteers inform our focus on the needs of students transitioning out of high school, adults throughout the lifespan, and their families. Our advocacy is person-centered aimed at maximizing independent living with supports; meaningful employment; social connectivity; and community engagement. CRAAG’s 2021 Housing survey initiated a years-long initiative in our region to expand the number of housing options, supports and services available to meet the needs of adults with developmental disabilities.

Housing, Supports, and Service Needs of Adults with Developmental Disabilities: State of Need in Central Virginia

This project presents data from a preliminary study exploring the housing and support needs of adults with developmental disabilities within the Central Virginia region. While initially intended for the purposes of reorganizing our advocacy group, our findings are highly consistent with those from larger datasets and the research literature on the needs and limited opportunities for adults with DD. We believe it is necessary to bring these findings to the attention of stakeholders and legislators to inform them on the current state of crisis in the developmental disabilities field. To emphasize the representativeness of these findings, we draw parallels throughout this report between current results and those of other studies on this population. This project was authored in collaboration with University of Virginia STAR Initiative.

About the UVA STAR Initiative: The Supporting Transformative Autism Research (STAR) initiative, led by the University of Virginia’s (UVA) School of Education and Human Development in partnership with colleagues from across the UVA, aims to improve the lives of individuals with autism and their families through ground-breaking interdisciplinary research and development of innovative models for care, support, and education.