Lisa Schoenbrodt, Ph.D., chair of speech-language and hearing sciences and Leah Saal, Ph.D., assistant professor of literacy have been awarded a $43,961, two-year grant from the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD) for their innovative project, “Learning to Lead: Training Self-Advocate Educators for Law Enforcement.”
Under this award, Loyola—in collaboration with Municipal Police Academy - Prince George’s Community College and Best Buddies Maryland—will pilot a replicable and sustainable model to recruit, hire, train, and supervise individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD). These individuals will serve as educators alongside law enforcement and other public entities throughout the State of Maryland.
"Police officers interact with a variety of individuals every day, including those with a wide variety of communication challenges," said Schoenbrodt. "The LEAD program provides an innovative way for those individuals to advocate for themselves and for law enforcement to receive proper training directly from citizens with disabilities."
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