The National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities conducts research and provides training and technical assistance to improve the lives of parents with disabilities and their families. We share our findings here on this website.
We offer resources to support parents with disabilities, and information about working with parents with disabilities for social workers, researchers and legal professionals.
The Center for Parents recognizes that parents with disabilities know what they need. We are guided by the principle "nothing about us without us."
Reproductive Health
08/05/2019 We have released a series of briefs on the intersection between reproductive health, sex education, contraception use, and disability. These materials provide information on a variety of topics relating to the sexual and reproductive health of women with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States. This information was compiled by researchers from The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy and provides digestible summaries of some of the barriers women with disabilities face in receiving high-quality reproductive care and sex education.
Female Sterilization and Cognitive Disability in the United States, 2011-2015 (Brief)
Sterilization of Women with and without Cognitive Disabilities in the United States (Fact Sheet)
Birth Control for Women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Fact Sheet)
ParentingWell Learning Collaborative
Massachusetts Behavioral Health Providers are participating in the ParentingWell Learning Collaborative
ParentingWell® is an approach to routine practice that makes talking about parenting, children, and family experiences a natural part of the conversation and of an adult’s recovery process.
Learn more about the ParentingWell Practice Profile
Call for Blog Submissions
Next deadline: Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at 5:00pm EST
The National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities, a program of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University, is currently looking for parents with disabilities to contribute to a quarterly blog on the experiences and needs of parents with disabilities. Contributors will be paid $100 per accepted submission. We believe in placing parents with disabilities at the forefront, and one way to do that is invite them to share their own experiences. We are interested in bringing together a racially, culturally, and experientially diverse group of people to contribute.
Go to Call for Submissions | Go to Community Blog
Upcoming & Recent Webinars
Passing State Legislation to Protect the Rights of Parents with Disabilities
Little People and Parenting
Supporting the Social Lives of Children of Parents with Disabilities
Research Briefs
Parents with Disabilities & Adoption
Go to all Research Briefs | Go to all Research Briefs for Parents | Go to all Research Briefs for Professionals
Current State Legislation Supporting Parents with Disabilities
Despite notable achievements in other areas of disability rights, parents with disabilities continue to encounter significant discrimination. Parents with disabilities are more likely to have their children removed by the child welfare system as well as have their parental rights terminated. Moreover, within the family law system, disabled parents are less likely to gain access to custody or visitation of their children. Finally, prospective parents with disabilities encounter barriers to adopting children or becoming foster parents. While there are many reasons for the pervasive discrimination, it is notable that the child welfare, family law, and adoption systems are largely driven by state statutes.
Website Feedback
We Want to Hear from You!
We value your input and strive to make this website work well for everyone.
Please take this very brief survey to give us your website feedback!