On March 11, a mini-conference was held at As Paris Restaurant for the community of Rota from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The theme of the conference was “Creating Communities of the Future.”
There were presentations on “Traumatic Brain Injury, Serving Customers with Disabilities: Train Hospitality Industry Workers” and “Behaviorlist: Questions and Answers.”
Ray Diaz, program officer of the CNMI Council on Disabilities, and Lynn Corella of the CNMI Public School System were the presenters.
Seventeen participants ranging from parents, employers, staff, government and private sector employees were in attendance for the training and workshops.
In addition, the Council on Developmental Disabilities staff visited 10 government and private businesses establishments to provide a brief training on “Sensitivity Training: People First Language.”
The training is a part of the CDD state plan to meet its goals and objectives which are to “provide training on developmental disabilities for the staff and management of local housing authority, private realtors, and landlords” and “provide training on developmental disabilities for the transportation services providers of people with developmental disabilities.”
Ray Diaz, program officer of the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities, conducted the training with the assistance of Pam Sablan, executive director, and Lillian Ada, program coordinator, CDD FS360.
The staff of Family Hope Center of FS360 under Dorene Camacho of the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems Inc. was also on Rota to provide services to families are under served and under privileged.
Dorene Camacho was very essential in visiting families in Rota and gathering information needed for assistance.
Overall, the workshop, training, and services were a success and the families, government, and private business sectors of Rota were thankful for CDD in making this event available to them.
Events are also scheduled for Tinian for March 21 and 22 with a presentation by Dr. Kent Logan who specializes in developmental disabilities. He will be on Tinian to meet with families and teachers.
On Saipan, the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities will hold a conference at the Saipan World Resort from March 24 to 27 with a variety of presentations and sessions scheduled throughout the week.
For more information, contact the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities Office at 664-7000/7002/7003.
