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Interviewer: Today, I am very fortunate to have
with me Danny Cowart. Danny thanks so much for joining me to talk
about your agency. First could you introduce yourself and tell the
audience something about your background.
Danny Cowart: I am Danny Cowart, the Director of Mill Creek
Community Services, here in Mississippi. I taught in public schools
for 21 years in my [previous] life. The only background that I had
in MR/DD was special education through the public schools. I began
working in this field in one of the five regional mental retardation
centers located in Mississippi. Mississippi is divided into five
large regions where these centers provide services. A couple of
years into my state work in the centers, I became the Director of
the Home and Community-Based Waivers Coordination Unit at one of
the centers at Boswell.
I had previously worked there as a Division Director at an ICF-MR
at the Boswell Center. My other background that qualifies me for
talking about individuals with disabilities and how to deliver services
is that my wife and I have a daughter, Brandi. She was born with
Trisomy 18 in 1996. Trisomy 18 is not a disease. It is a chromosomal
disorder. It causes very severe and profound limitations in what
Brandi is able to do. After that, I reached the age of retirement
in the state of Mississippi. Through a friend in the Mill Creek
organization I became Director of their Waiver Services.
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