Through a grant from The Arc US supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago Family Support Research and Training Center (FSRTC), The Arc Oregon partnered with The Arc Lane County to hold a full day focus group with people who experience I/DD and Mental Health challenges, their families, and professionals in the field.

On August 4, 2018, The Arc Oregon staff facilitated a focus group hosted by The Arc Lane County for 18 people with personal and profession experience in the area of co-occurring diagnoses. We also surveyed Oregonians with similar experiences to supplement the in-person discussion and received valuable feedback that contributed to the nationwide study being conducted by The Arc US in a five-year research project.

We were pleased to have had the opportunity to participate in this important work last Summer, and to now share The Arc US’s report of activities conducted in the fourth year of the project. We would like to thank all of the participants who traveled up to 3 hours each way to participate in the discussion, and The Arc Lane County for their partnership.