The Mailman Center
is an academic center that addresses concerns of individuals with
developmental disabilities and children with special health care
needs through research, clinical service, training for professionals
and community members, and advocacy. It is housed in a 9-story
building with nearly 115,000 square feet of office, clinical,
training, conference, and laboratory space. It is located in Miami's
busy University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. Jackson
Memorial Hospital is the largest part of the medical complex,
with an 1800-bed inpatient facility, 400 of which are pediatric
or newborn at the Holtz Center for Maternal and Child Health.
The Mailman Center annually serves over 15,000 children, youths,
and their families.
The Mailman Center
is Florida's Center
for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research
and Service, formerly known as University Affiliated Program
(UAP), authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance
and Bill of Rights Act of 2000*
The Mailman Center
is also Florida's Maternal Child
Health Bureau's Leadership Education
in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) training program,
a major partner with Children's Medical Services (CMS) for training
health care professionals, and a member of the Developmental Disabilities
Research Centers Association. The combination of support from
these federal and state agencies makes it possible for us to accomplish
our overall mission, and enhance the mission of each supporting
agency.
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Definition
of Developmental Disabilities
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*The
term developmental disability means a severe, chronic
disability of an individual 5 years of age or older that:
- Is attributable
to a mental or physical impairment of combination of mental
and physical impairments;
- Is manifested
before the individual attains age 22;
- Is likely
to continue indefinitely;
- results in
substantial functional limitation in three or more of
the following areas of major life activity: self care,
receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility,
self direction, capacity for independent living, and economic
self-sufficient; and;
- Reflects the
individual's need for a combination and sequence of special,
interdisciplinary, or genetic services, supports, or other
assistance that is of lifelong or external duration and
is individually planned and coordinated,
except that
such term when applied to infants and young children means
individuals from birth to age 5, inclusive, who have substantial
developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired condition
with a high probability of resulting in developmental disabilities
services are not provided.
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Activities that help
address the concerns, independence, and integration of individuals
with developmental disabilities and other special health care
needs include:
-
Training
of graduate students in professional fields, community providers,
consumers and a myriad of others both inside and outside the
field of developmental disabilities.
-
Direct
services, including screening, diagnosis, and intervention for
conditions associated with developmental delay and/or disability.
These services also serve as the basis for clinical and research
components of the University Center for Excellence.
-
Technical
assistance (e.g. professional consultation, editorial assistance,
grant support, and assistance) to local, community and national
groups in order to promote knowledge about state-of-the-art
practices. Technical assistance is frequently provided to state
agencies and policy groups and results in large-scale changes
at the systems and public policy levels.
-
Dissemination
of new information about the field.
-
Research
(including basic, clinical, transitional, and public health/public
policy) to develop new knowledge and skills and thus advance
the field of developmental disabilities.
- University Centers
for Excellence do not work in isolation. They accomplish their
goals in collaboration with individuals with disabilities and
their families and with a vast network of collaborating universities,
agencies, and groups.
- A key to success of
University Centers for Excellence are their location within a
college or university. In the case of the Mailman Center, the
University Center for Excellence is an integral part of the University
of Miami School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. It serves
as the Human Development Section of the department. While organizationally
located in Pediatrics, the Mailman Center recognizes the commitment
to life span issues for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Special programs and agency linkages permit the Mailman Center
to address life-span concerns.
MISSION
STATEMENT:
Within the context of interdisciplinary collaboration, cultural competence
and family centered perspectives, and using the integrated mechanisms
of research, training, service, and advocacy, the mission of the Mailman
Center for Child Development is to:
The Mailman Center serves
as an equal partner with academic programs, community agencies,
and individuals with disabilities and their families. The mission
is accomplished through training,
service,
technical
assistance, dissemination,
research,
and evaluation. An
emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary
and interagency collaboration, systems change, and leadership.
The Mailman Center
is located at 1601 N.W. 12th Avenue, Miami Florida 33136, on the
corner of N.W. 16th Street and N.W. 12th Avenue. It is just east
of the Civic Center Metrorail Station. (For more detailed directions
or a map, click here.)
Last
Updated:
May 13, 2008
Please contact the
Webmaster
for any comments, suggestions or help.
Phone: (305) 243-4466 |
