IAC 14th Annual Conference

The field isn’t just evolving—it’s hitting a true inflection point. You can feel it everywhere. The signals are clear, the pressure is building, and the question is no longer if change is coming—it’s whether we’re ready to meet it.
This is a moment that demands more than incremental improvement. It calls for bold retooling, deep restructuring, honest reevaluation, and full-scale reinvention. Even our language is lagging behind reality. “Community inclusion”? We’ve moved beyond that—it’s about meaningful engagement and affirmation. “Supports”? That framing no longer captures the complexity of today’s needs. Traditional funding models, vacancy thinking, Medicaid dependence—these are no longer sustainable foundations.
Every industry faces moments like this—tipping points where markets shift, expectations rise, and systems must transform or fall behind. We’ve been here before. Early programs in the 1800s were dominant—until they weren’t. Institutions led—until they didn’t. ICF/MR models defined the field—until they no longer could.
Now, community-based systems are at their own crossroads.
Leadership is changing. Boards are increasingly composed of business leaders rather than founding families. The needs are changing. De-institutionalization is no longer the driving force—today’s referrals often involve individuals with far more complex, intensive support needs than our systems were designed to handle. And yet, funding structures have not kept pace.
At the same time, the field faces one of its greatest vulnerabilities: an overwhelming reliance on Medicaid. This funding stream built the modern system—but no industry remains stable when over 90% of its revenue depends on a single, increasingly uncertain source.
Some organizations are already adapting—rethinking growth, redefining their mission, and expanding beyond traditional I/DD services to meet broader community needs. But the pace of change may not be fast enough.
And we haven’t even begun to grapple with what’s coming next: the accelerating impact of technology and AI, and how it will reshape everything from service delivery to workforce models.
This session isn’t about small adjustments. It’s about reimagining what’s possible.
We’ll challenge assumptions, explore new frameworks, and ask the question at the heart of it all:
Can our system adapt quickly enough to meet the future—or will the future outpace us?

This interactive presentation is designed for executive leadership and upper management supporting adults with dual diagnoses of IDD and mental health challenges who are aging in group home settings. The session focuses on building a trauma-informed, person-centered framework that strengthens organizational culture while equipping leaders with concrete tools they can bring back to front-line staff. Particular attention is given to the intersection of trauma, aging, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and mental health—recognizing how cumulative life experiences, loss, and system involvement impact both the people receiving supports and the staff providing them.
The training introduces foundational trauma concepts—what trauma is, how it affects the brain, body, and behavior, and why it matters across the lifespan for people with IDD. Leaders will explore how trauma can be misunderstood as “behavior” or “decline,” especially in aging adults, and how person-centered approaches help shift the focus from functional levels to personal history, preferences, and meaning. Emphasis is placed on behavior as communication, highlighting how everyday interactions, routines, and environments can either escalate distress or promote safety and regulation for people living in group homes.
A core component of the session addresses trauma-informed leadership. Participants will examine how organizational practices, supervision styles, and responses to staff stress can either reinforce or reduce trauma—for both staff and the people they support. Leaders will learn how to guide teams in gathering and synthesizing person-centered information, incorporating trauma considerations into person-centered plans, and supporting staff when they personalize challenging situations. Real-world examples tailored to aging adults with IDD will illustrate how trauma-informed, person-centered planning leads to more effective supports, improved staff confidence, and reduced burnout.
The session concludes with practical tools and strategies leaders can immediately apply with front-line teams. These include simple frameworks for coaching staff to interpret behavior through a trauma-informed lens, questions leaders can model to shift conversations from “what’s wrong” to “what’s needed,” and concrete ways to promote healing environments within residential settings. The presentation also introduces options for grief-informed supports—recognizing the impact of loss on both aging individuals and long-term staff—and highlights how therapeutic and reflective practices can be integrated into everyday supports. Participants will leave with actionable takeaways that support consistent, compassionate, and person-centered trauma-informed practice across their organization.


Learning Objectives
By the end of this 1.5-hour session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the impact of trauma across the lifespan for adults with IDD and co-occurring mental health conditions, with specific attention to aging, cumulative loss, and long-term system involvement.
2. Recognize behavior as communication and identify how trauma, grief, and unmet needs may present as behavioral or emotional changes in aging individuals living in group homes.
3. Apply trauma-informed, person-centered principles to leadership and planning, shifting practice from function-based responses to supports rooted in individual history, preferences, and lived experience.
4. Identify leadership strategies that reduce staff burnout and personalization, including supervision approaches that normalize stress responses and support reflective practice.
5. Utilize concrete tools and frameworks that executive and management staff can model and reinforce with front-line teams to strengthen trauma-informed, person-centered supports where people live.

This executive session is designed for agency leadership overseeing residential and day services regulated by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), as well as special education programs governed by the New York State Education Department. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of the core service components, reimbursement methodologies, and regulatory considerations that drive funding across these systems. The session will also examine how operational and programmatic changes can significantly impact reimbursement rates and overall financial performance.