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For Immediate Release:                                          Contact:
March 7, 2018                                                           Melanie Mowry Etters
                                                                                  Communication Director
                                                                                  850-414-7551

 

Cabinet Declares Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

“Creative Preschool” Employee Addresses Cabinet Members

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida Governor Rick Scott and Cabinet members declared the month of March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in Florida during today’s Cabinet meeting. To view the resolution, click HERE.

Representatives joined the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) in accepting the resolution introduced by Attorney General Pam Bondi. They were:

    • Family Care Council Area 2
    • Florida Developmental Disabilities Council
    • The Arc of Florida
    • Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities
    • RESPECT of Florida
    • ABLE Trust
    • Vocational Rehabilitation
    • Blind Services
    • Association of Support Coordination Agencies of Florida
    • Support Coordination Association of Florida
    • Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology

APD customer Susan Mikesh of Tallahassee addressed Governor Scott and the Florida Cabinet on the importance of meeting the changing needs of individuals with developmental disabilities. Mikesh, who has cerebral palsy, has worked for more than 20 years at Creative Preschool in Tallahassee.

Governor Rick Scott said, “I’m proud to join the Florida Cabinet in recognizing March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in Florida. Our state is fully committed to supporting Floridians with developmental disabilities. We’ll continue to work so every Floridian has the opportunity to live their dreams in our state.”

APD Director Barbara Palmer said, “I want to thank Governor Scott for his steadfast support of individuals with disabilities. APD works every day to meet the changing needs of the individuals that we serve.”

APD supports people with developmental disabilities to live, learn, and work in their communities.  The agency annually serves more than 50,000 Floridians with severe autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome. For more information about the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, visit APDcares.org or call toll-free 1-866-APD-CARES (1-866-273-2273).


From left to right: Allison Chase, Vice President of Youth Programs with the ABLE Trust; David Alexander, Support Coordination Association of Florida; Thomas Buddington, Support Coordination Association of Florida Chairman ; Dixie Samson, The Arc of Florida ; Attorney General Pam Bondi; Valerie Breen, Executive Director of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council; Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) Director Barbara Palmer; Florida Governor Rick Scott; Susan Mikesh, APD Customer; Coleen Birch, Sister of Susan Mikesh; Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam; Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis; Janice Phillips, Chairperson of the Association of Support Coordination Agencies of Florida; Suzanne Sewell, President and CEO of the Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities; Lindsey Davin, Commodities and Procurement Director with RESPECT of Florida; Allison Flanagan, Director of Vocational Rehabilitation; Lou Ogburn, Area 2 Family Care Council Chairperson; Robert Doyle, Director of Blind Services; Michael Daniels, Executive Director of the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology.

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