For the last five years, the Autism Society Inland Empire received a grant from the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to continue the Colaboración, Liderazgo, Abogacía, Servicio y Educación (CLASE) Community of Practice for leaders of groups and non-profit organizations that serve Hispanic and Spanish speaking individuals and families with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) here in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.   

CLASE is a group of leaders united to create better communication bridges to address the disparity of services. Our mission is to provide information, educate, train, and empower community group leaders who primarily serve families in the Hispanic community with a loved one with disabilities in the Inland Empire.

Projects we worked on included developing new resource material shared by the group, increase knowledge and skills around stakeholder advocacy, reducing burnout during COVID, person-centered thinking, and social media marketing.  You can find many of the created resources on the Recursos En Español page.