ABOUT THIS BULLETIN

This is the second of a series of Policy Bulletins presenting information based on and summarizing research findings relevant to federal and state policy on community integration for people with developmental disabilities. These Policy Bulletins are sent, free of charge, to people involved in policy issues at the national and state levels. They are available, for a fee that covers the cost of copying and handling, to others who write for copies.

The information in this bulletin may be reproduced without further permission; a credit line would be appreciated, and we ask that you inform us of your use of the bulletin. The Center on Human Policy welcomes comments and suggestions.

This bulletin was edited by Bonnie Shoultz. Contributors include Rannveig Traustadottir and Susan O'Connor. Like everyone who considers gender, culture, and class, we are influenced by our own cultural, class, gender and racial identities, and our work reflects these influences. Bonnie Shoultz is a U.S. citizen of European ancestry, and has worked at various times with people and organizations in low income communities. Rannveig Traustadottir is an Icelandic citizen who has lived in this country for five years to study and conduct research on gender issues. Susan O'Connor is a U.S. citizen of European ancestry, and spend many years working in Morocco and with Palestinians on the West Bank.

We are all women, and are all doctoral students at Syracuse University. We also believe that the responsibility for trying to create a more just and sensitive society should be a shared one. Therefore, while w do not represent people whose racial, cultural, and/or class backgrounds are different from our own, we try in our research to understand their perspectives.

We wish to express our appreciation to our informants and the many other people who have contributed to our thinking about how gender, culture and class issues play out in disability and family policy. We would especially like to thank Steve Taylor, Bob Bogdan, Zana Lutfiyya, Julie Ann Racino, Pam Walker, and the other members of the research team at the Center on Human Policy. We would also like to thank Rachael Zubal for preparing the bulletin for publication.

This bulletin was prepared by the Research and Training Center on Community Integration, Center on Human Policy, Division of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Syracuse University, with support from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, through Cooperative Agreement H133B00003-90 and Contract Number H133B80048. No endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of the opinions expressed herein should be inferred.