FAIR LAWN – Senator Bob Gordon was honored with the “Legislator of the Year Award” by The Arc of New Jersey for his continued support and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and their families.
The Senator was presented with the award last evening during the organization’s annual ceremony, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison.
“I am so pleased to be honored by The Arc of New Jersey, an organization that is committed to helping people with developmental disabilities, and their families,” said Senator Gordon (D-Bergen). “Each day, their work makes a positive impact in our communities. I am happy to have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with them to increase public awareness of individuals with developmental disabilities and to develop public policies to enhance their lives. I look forward to continuing those efforts.”
“We are thrilled to be able to give Senator Gordon the ‘Legislator of the Year Award.’ He has always been, and continues to be, incredibly responsive to the needs of individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities in his district and throughout the state,” said Tom Baffuto, The Arc of New Jersey executive director.
Senator Gordon was selected as a recipient of The Arc of New Jersey’s annual award for his sponsorship of legislative initiatives designed to improve the quality of life of individuals with disabilities and their families.
One such measure requires the Department of Human Services and the Division of Developmental Disabilities to create and maintain a system to collect and distribute important data pertaining to people with developmental disabilities. Developing and maintaining a reliable data system is sorely needed so the State, community service providers and families can effectively plan to meet the needs of the developmentally disabled community. Another key initiative sponsored by Senator Gordon, which was signed into law by Governor Chris Christie, removed the words “mental retardation” and other offensive terminology from state statutes; these terms will be replaced with the terms intellectual disability and developmental disability.
“When it comes to our issues, Senator Gordon works to make positive change in people’s lives, even when it is difficult to do, or potentially politically unpopular,” said The Arc of New Jersey President Wally Bender.
The Arc of New Jersey is a human rights advocacy organization committed to promoting and protecting the rights of all individuals with intellectual and related developmental disabilities. Their mission includes supporting participation of individuals with developmental disabilities in their community and enhancing the quality of life of those individuals and their families. It is an affiliated chapter of The Arc of the United States.