Through the following national programs, VOR achieves its Mission to unite advocates, educate and assist families, organizations, public officials, and individuals concerned with the quality of life and choice for persons with mental retardation within a full array of residential options, including community and facility-based care:
Awareness and Outreach: Family-to-family advocacy, publications, media outreach, disability policy forums, and conferences help promote VOR's experienced perspective to affected families, policymakers and the general public. Click here to learn more about VOR's Family Advocacy and Reaching the Media programs.
Legislative and Government Affairs Program: Leveraging the power of its grassroots membership, VOR coordinates regular communciation with federal officials on issues of critical importance, including an annual Washington Initiative, where volunteer participants hand-deliver VOR's positions to Congressional offices and federal officials. Click here to learn more VOR's Legislative and Government Affairs Program.
Legal Advocacy Program: VOR’s Choices for a Lifetime, Options for All legal advocacy program minimizes the injustice of excluding families by defending choice and empowering families in the legal system. Click here to learn more VOR's Legal Advocacy Program.
To help illustrate the scope of VOR's national advocacy, VOR developed an Advocacy Map that shows the 23 states where VOR has been actively involved during the past 12 months (see the blue states). VOR's advocacy ranges from from helping families in crisis to assisting our state coordinators and affliates with statewide legal and legislative initiatives.
About VOR Founded more than 25 years ago in 1983, VOR is a national 501(c)(3) organization governed by a volunteer board of directors and funded solely by dues and donations. We receive no government support.
Throughout its history, VOR has been the only national organization to advocate for a full range of quality residential options and services, including own home, family home, community-based service options, and licensed facilities. We support the expansion of quality community-based service options; we oppose the elimination of the ICFs/MR (institutional) option.
VOR represents primarily individuals with mental retardation and their families/guardians. VOR advocates that the final determination of what is appropriate depends on the unique abilities and needs of the individual and desires of the family and guardians.
Our Mission is to unite people in advocacy, to educate and assist families, organizations, public official, and individuals concerned with the quality of life and choice for persons with mental retardation within residential options. This includes home, community based options, and facility-based care.
Advocates and policymakers agree that the pejorative use of the word "retarded” is unacceptable under any circumstances. More and more, however, states are removing completely “Mental Retardation” in agency names and state laws, opting for broader terms such as intellectual or developmental disabilities. Advocates are split on whether this trend is in the best interest of individuals with mental retardation. Broadly, opinions regarding the use of this language fall into two camps:
1. "Mental Retardation" describes a specific condition that links an individual to services. "Sanitizing" language and laws puts people with mental retardation into a much larger pool of people all competing for services. Dropping “mental retardation” from usage does not make the condition go away. The need for services remains. More generally, use of "mental retardation" allows for clarity of message and need, when speaking to policy, lawmakers, the media and others.
2. Use of "Retarded" (especially) and also "mental retardation" can be a "show stopper” or "deal breaker," when trying to communicate a message, urge a particular policy, or otherwise engage in discussions, testimony, etc. about the issues. It also is hurtful to some of the very people we claim to advocate for. In short, its usage can be an impediment to our advocacy objectives.
