• People with disabilities have become Iowa’s largest minority population.

• Each year in Iowa, about 600 infants are born with a disability (PDPC).

• Just under 2.7% of Iowa young children received intervention services through Early ACCESS (IDOE 2007).

• More than 13% of Iowa school children have a condition that requires special education or related services (IDOE 2008 Annual Condition of Education Report)

• Iowa Department of Health data (2002-2008) indicate that an average of 18% of non-institutionalized Iowa adults — both working-age adults and seniors — report having a disability:

  • 10% of adults age 18-44 years

  • 22.3% of adults age 45-64 years

  • 36.2% of adults age 65 and older

The role of this council . . .

Recognizing that disability in Iowa can be reduced by as much as 25%, the Iowa General Assembly created the Prevention of Disabilities Policy Council in 1991 to focus, facilitate, and oversee the development and implementation of a coordinated system for the prevention of disabilities in Iowa (Iowa Code 225B).