04/03/2026
Date: March 30, 2026
To: I/DD community members
From: Acacia McGuire Anderson, Director, Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS)
Subject: Meet ODDS leadership to discuss budget
Hello there,
I have news for the entire intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community. The Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) is hosting a series of public meetings in April and May. I invite you to come and join us.
At the meetings, you will:
Meet me and other new members of the ODDS leadership team.
Learn about the data we collected in our recent budget survey. Thank you, all who participated in the survey.
Share your ideas about services and supports.
Have a discussion that will help us create guidelines based on our core values. These will be the guiding principles for our 2027‒2029 budget requests.
Your voice matters to us. I hope you’ll come to one of the meetings. Please read this full message to learn how to participate.
Will the meetings be in person or online?
Both: We’ll host meetings in person and online. Unfortunately, we can’t make it to every part of the state. If you can’t come in person, we’ve got you covered. We’re hosting three online meetings. One of these Zoom meetings will be in Spanish.
What is the meeting schedule? How do I sign up?
Online meetings and registration
These meetings are for people who can’t travel to an in-person meeting. One of these meetings is for Spanish speakers.
When you register online, you must enter your name and email address. After you register, Zoom will send you an email with a link to join the meeting.
Here’s the online meeting information:
April 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Please note: This meeting is for Spanish speakers. It will be held in Spanish. Please use this link to register for the April 13 Spanish-language meeting.
April 15 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. This meeting is for all members of the community. Please use this link to register for the April 15 meeting.
May 11 from 4 to 6 p.m. This meeting is for all members of the community. Please use this link to register for the May 11 meeting. Fill out the section of the form that is in your preferred language.
Schedule for in-person meetings
The in-person meetings will be in public spaces. They will be accessible and safe spaces. We’ll also provide some food and refreshments.
In each city we visit, we’ll have separate meetings for:
Self-advocates, family members and caregivers: This includes direct support professionals (DSP) and personal support workers (PSW). Please note: We’re working with the Oregon Self-Advocacy Coalition to set up meetings that are just for self-advocates.
Our partners: Staff from community developmental disabilities programs (CDDP), brokerages, provider agencies, foster homes, Host Homes and community organizations.
Our schedule is still coming together for the in-person meetings. Here are the places we will visit:
Mid-Willamette Valley, Salem: April 8‒9 (We’ve scheduled these meetings. Please read the full details below to learn more about these meetings and to sign up.)
Portland Metro Area: Week of April 20
Central Oregon, Bend: Week of April 29
Eastern Oregon, Pendleton: Week of April 29
Southern Willamette Valley, Eugene: Week of May 4
Southern Oregon, Medford: Week of May 4
We will send email updates throughout April with more details for each of these locations.
Salem and Mid-Willamette Valley meetings registration
Meeting for self-advocates, families and caregivers
Date: April 8
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location:
Oregon Department of Human Services, Tandem Office
1430 Tandem Ave. NE
Clyde Saiki Room 159
Salem, OR 97301
Who can attend? This meeting is for self-advocates, individuals with I/DD, and their families, guardians and caregivers.
Register to attend: Please fill out this form to register. You can fill it out the language that works best for you: English | Spanish | Arabic | Russian | Simplified Chinese | Somali | Vietnamese
Meeting for our partners and providers
Date: April 9
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Location:
Marion County Health and Human Services
3160 Center St. NE
Rockaway Conference Rooms A, B and C
Salem, OR 97301
Who can attend? This meeting is for our partners and providers. This includes staff from CDDPs, brokerages, provider agencies, foster care, Host Homes and community organizations.
Register to attend: Please fill out this form to register. You can fill it out the language that works best for you: English | Spanish | Arabic | Russian | Simplified Chinese | Somali | Vietnamese
What supports will you offer at these meetings? How do I ask for support in a language other than English?
We want everyone to feel welcome and safe. We will provide free support on request. Please contact us if you need support to fully participate. Some examples you can request include:
American Sign Language
Spanish interpretation
Live captioning for the Zoom events
Any other languages or supports that you need
To request support, please email us at odds.questions@odhs.oregon.gov or call us at 503-945-5811. We accept all relay calls. Please do this at least three business days before the meeting you will attend. Thank you.
What is the format for the meetings?
We will use the “World Cafe Method” for the meetings. This is a simple and effective way to hold large group discussions. It gives everyone who wants to share a chance to participate. By the end of the meeting, we’ll share a clear summary of what we learned from you.
Where can I find more information or ask questions about the meetings?
Please watch your email inbox for more messages. We’ll send more details about other locations as our schedule is finalized.
The schedule and details are on our Community Engagement web page. We’ll update that information as we finalize locations.
You can also send your questions to odds.questions@odhs.oregon.gov.
I look forward to meeting you in person and having some great conversations. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
