Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council

What Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council does

The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council is a state government council established in 1971 under the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, headquartered at 217 East Redwood Street, Suite 1300, Baltimore. It is 100% funded by a federal financial assistance award totaling $1,254,032 from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with no commercial revenue streams. The Council's mission is to create change so people with developmental disabilities in Maryland can live the lives they want with needed supports; its primary beneficiaries are individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, with secondary constituencies of service-providing nonprofits and Maryland state legislators.

Its core deliverables are programmatic rather than technological: a Small Grants program (up to $5,000 per project and $3,000 per training), a Large Grants program for systemic-change initiatives, plain-language publications (e.g., Guardianship Made Simple, Maryland ABLE User's Guide, Planning Now Guide, COVID-19 fact sheets in seven languages), and advocacy resources including weekly legislative reports during session and the annual DD Day at the Legislature in Annapolis. Recent digital products include the Playgrounds for All website (September 2025) launched with the Maryland Department of Disabilities. The Council's technology surface is a WCAG 2.0-compliant website with accessibility features, with no proprietary software, APIs, SDKs, or modular product architecture.

Its operating model is statutory: it is led by a Council Chair (Dee Sapp) and an Executive Director (Rachel London, succeeding Brian Cox), sets a five-year State Plan (current cycle 2022-2026), and channels federal funds into third-party grants (e.g., $75,000 to Abilities Network, $116,335 across 12 providers via Maryland Works, $15,000 to Ready At Five). Distribution is entirely through grants, publications, public events, and direct legislative advocacy; the Council does not sell products or services commercially and operates outside normal PE/VC/M&A investment boundaries as a public entity.

Name

Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council

Legal name

Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council

Website

https://md-council.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council is a Baltimore-based state government council, established 1971 and 100% federally funded by HHS/ACL, that provides grants, plain-language publications, and legislative advocacy to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities in Maryland and their families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Advocacy and Public Sector Grant-making

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Community Health & Prevention Program Funding (HLAJALAF)

Keywords

• Disability advocacy services
• Developmental disability grants
• Policy advocacy
• Disability publications
• Community inclusion programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Funding (Administration for Community Living): The Council is funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,254,032 with 100% funding by ACL/HHS.
2. State Funding: The Council operates as part of Maryland state government and works with state agencies including the Developmental Disabilities Administration.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council provides grant funding (Small Grants up to $5,000 and Large Grants), legislative advocacy, plain-language publications, training programs such as Partners in Policymaking, and public awareness campaigns to empower people with developmental disabilities and their families in Maryland. Its offerings are directed at creating systemic change through policy advocacy, community education, and direct funding of community projects that improve inclusion, employment, healthcare, housing, education, and other life domains.

Product overview

Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council is a state government council that operates as a unified advocacy and grant-making organization rather than a technology product company. The Council's offerings include Small Grants and Large Grants programs that fund projects benefiting people with developmental disabilities, numerous publications including guides on guardianship, estate planning, and COVID resources, the Playgrounds for All website developed in partnership with MDOD, training programs like Partners in Policymaking, and advocacy resources. The Council does not offer a software platform or modular product architecture but provides grant programs, educational resources, and advocacy tools focused on improving lives of people with developmental disabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Small Grants Program Funding program providing grants of up to $5,000 for projects and up to $3,000 for trainings that benefit people with developmental disabilities in Maryland, aligned with the Council's mission and State Plan priorities. Available to individuals, groups, and organizations in Maryland.
• Large Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• $891,000 invested in creating more inclusive communities; 27,626 people educated about developmental disability issues; 39 programs and policies improved; 188 legislators educated; 12,434 people engaged with Council projects

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Maryland Department of Health (MDH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 January 2022Partnership to create seven COVID-19 fact sheets in plain language to help people with developmental disabilities understand COVID-19, testing, vaccines, and treatments.
• Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Council and MDOD partner on multiple initiatives including the Playgrounds for All website launched in September 2025, which promotes playgrounds where people with and without disabilities can play together. This builds on the Framework and Toolkit for Inclusive Playgrounds released in 2023.
• The Arc MarylandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arc Maryland was chosen to manage the Partners in Policymaking program to train individuals with developmental disabilities and families to become effective advocates for long-term change.
• Ready At FiveminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Council invested $15,000 to expand family engagement efforts, supporting Ready At Five's Parent Leadership Learning Parties for parents and caregivers of children with and without developmental disabilities.
• Abilities NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReceived a $75,000 grant to provide intensive, customized technical assistance to child care providers throughout Maryland to increase skills, knowledge, and capacity for inclusive child care.
• Developmental Disabilities CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Council co-sponsors Developmental Disabilities Day (DD Day) at the Legislature with the Developmental Disabilities Coalition, bringing together hundreds of advocates in Annapolis annually.
• Parents' Place of Maryland (PPMD)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Council funded PPMD to create supported decision-making (SDM) fact sheets for families, including resources for youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Maryland WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Maryland Works to fund TIP (Transforming and Improving Practices) grants providing technical assistance to provider agencies to improve employment outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. Third round provided $116,335 to 12 provider agencies.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MDDDCouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maryland-developmental-disabilities-council
• Instagraminstagram.com/mdddcouncil
• Xx.com/MdDDCouncil

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council