On December 7, 2019, Adrienne Mallinson, a Managing Attorney for the Developmental Disabilities and Healthcare team at Disability Rights Maryland (DRM), presented at the 2019 TASH Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

TASH (The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps) is an international leader in disability advocacy. Founded in 1975, TASH works to advance inclusive communities through advocacy, research, professional development, policy, and information and resources for parents, families, and self-advocates. The inclusive practices TASH validates through research have been shown to improve outcomes for all people.

Ms. Mallinson summarized the contents of her white paper which describes the challenges facing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in accessing personal assistance and personal support services in Maryland. Her presentation described the current problems with Developmental Disabilities and Community First Choice (CFC) services in Maryland and outlines the legal and policy choices facing advocates around the State.