In 1986 in the state of Minnesota, United States of America
Colleen Wieck noticed a remarkable thing about the way public
policy worked for self advocates, parents and relatives of disabled
people. Important policies and practices were being developed for
them and about them, whilst these people were largely absent from
the policymaking process.
Colleen believed that this was because people were not offered
the knowledge, skills tools and networks to enable them to play a
full part in the policymaking process. She believed that something
could and should be done about this.
The result was the development of a leadership training course
called Partners in Policymaking. This course soon became a rapid
growing movement and graduates from the course soon became a
driving force in the policy making processes in the United
States.
In 1996 Lynne Elwell, Chris Gathercole and Paul Taylor brought the
Partners in Policymaking course to the United Kingdom.
In England
The first Partners in Policymaking course was run in Oldham in
1996. Before this the training that was available in the UK was
designed for service workers. Sometimes parents would be invited,
but it was hard to understand the language and how the systems
worked.
Over time, Partners in Policymaking Courses developed and
expanded ad now run in most areas of the UK. Outside of England
courses have also run in Scotland, Ireland, Holland and Portugal.
All the courses are coordinated and run by family members.
Last Updated : 04 February 2011. Page Author: Administrator.
