Past ADARA National Conferences:
The first official conference of ADARA/PRWAD was in Pittsburgh in 1967, entitled "New Vistas for Competitive Employment of Deaf Persons." Eighty-eight persons were in attendance. Today, ADARA is proud to host biennial national conferences across the United States for hundreds of professionals working with individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, and Late-Deafened in the fields of vocational rehabilitation, education, interpreting, behavioral health, and related fields. The ultimate goal of each conference is for colleagues to leave the conference with ideas for new pathways and opportunities, new skills, innovative program ideas and strong partnership connections for mentoring, consultation, training and collaboration.
Year and Location:
2024 – Atlanta, GA
2022 – Albuquerque, NM
2021 – 1-Day Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019 – Baltimore, MD (joint conference with AMPHL)
2017 – Portland, OR
2015 – Rochester, NY
2013 – Minneapolis, MN
2011 – San Diego, CA
2009 – San Antonio, TX
2007 – St Louis, MO
2005 – Orlando, FL
2003 – East Rutherford, NJ
2001 – Monterey, CA
1999 – Washington, DC
1997 – Milwaukee, WI
1995 – Kansas City, MO
1993 – San Francisco, CA
1991 – Chicago, IL
1989 – New York, NY
1987 – Minneapolis, MN
1985 – Little Rock, AR
1983 – Kansas City, MO
1981 – Seattle, WA
1980 – Cincinnati, OH (joint conference with NAD)
1978 – San Antonio, TX
1976 – Salt Lake City, UT
1974 – Tucson, AZ
1972 – Washington, DC
1970 – Rochester, NY
1969 – Hot Springs, AR
1967 – Pittsburgh, PA
1966 – Original Meeting – St. Louis, MO
Past ADARA Breakout Conferences:
The Breakout Conference originated as a breakout session from the International Association of Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Services Conference. It began in 1989 as a stand-alone conference through partnerships with the Thresholds Bridge Program and the National Health Care Foundation for the Deaf, jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. ADARA began hosting the Breakout Conference in 2009 which is held on alternate years of the ADARA national conference.
History of Breakout Conferences
By Charlene Crump
Breakout has a 20-year history, beginning with the first conference in 1989 in Washington, DC. Originally, it was a breakout session from the International Association of Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Services conference, hence the name "Breakout." Thirteen conferences have been held in the intervening 26 years. From for the first 27 years, Breakout was at least semi-autonomous, with local committees essentially taking up the mantle on an ad hoc basis. Federal funding for training, so abundant in the late 80’s and 90’s has dried up. Ad hoc committees could no longer afford to volunteer to run such an endeavor, especially given that over most of that 26 year period, Breakout conferences routinely operated at a loss. By 2006, sponsoring agencies were unable to absorb those losses and it looked as if the conference series would go extinct. This proved untenable and the series was threatened with demise until ADARA took it up in 2008. Steve Hamerdinger and Steve Larew, together with then President Barry Critchfield arranged to have the conference in Atlanta under joint auspices of ADARA and the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health. It was a modest beginning, but it took root in the minds of ADARA members. Each succeeding year has been well attended, with participant numbers sometimes reviling the attendance to the main ADARA conference. Breakout has been an integral part of ADARA since that time.
Why is Breakout so important to ADARA? As mental health becomes increasingly an important part of the service array for people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind, the opportunities for specific training in mental health and deafness become scarcer.
Year and Location:
2023: 1-Day Virtual Conference
2020: No Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2018 Breakout: Indianapolis, IN
2016 Breakout: Colorado Springs, CO
2014 Breakout: Pittsburgh, PA
2012 Breakout: Atlanta, GA
2010 Breakout: Atlanta, GA
2009: ADARA adopts Breakout Conference
2008: No Conference
2006 Breakout: Columbus, OH
2004 Breakout: Washington, DC (in conjunction with NAMI Convention)
2002 Breakout: Raleigh, NC
2000 Breakout: St. Louis, MO
1998 Breakout: Washington, DC
1996 Breakout: Chicago, IL
1994 Breakout: Charleston, SC
1992 Breakout: Washington, DC
1989 Breakout: Washington, DC
The first official conference of ADARA/PRWAD was in Pittsburgh in 1967, entitled "New Vistas for Competitive Employment of Deaf Persons." Eighty-eight persons were in attendance. Today, ADARA is proud to host biennial national conferences across the United States for hundreds of professionals working with individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, and Late-Deafened in the fields of vocational rehabilitation, education, interpreting, behavioral health, and related fields. The ultimate goal of each conference is for colleagues to leave the conference with ideas for new pathways and opportunities, new skills, innovative program ideas and strong partnership connections for mentoring, consultation, training and collaboration.
Year and Location:
2024 – Atlanta, GA
2022 – Albuquerque, NM
2021 – 1-Day Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019 – Baltimore, MD (joint conference with AMPHL)
2017 – Portland, OR
2015 – Rochester, NY
2013 – Minneapolis, MN
2011 – San Diego, CA
2009 – San Antonio, TX
2007 – St Louis, MO
2005 – Orlando, FL
2003 – East Rutherford, NJ
2001 – Monterey, CA
1999 – Washington, DC
1997 – Milwaukee, WI
1995 – Kansas City, MO
1993 – San Francisco, CA
1991 – Chicago, IL
1989 – New York, NY
1987 – Minneapolis, MN
1985 – Little Rock, AR
1983 – Kansas City, MO
1981 – Seattle, WA
1980 – Cincinnati, OH (joint conference with NAD)
1978 – San Antonio, TX
1976 – Salt Lake City, UT
1974 – Tucson, AZ
1972 – Washington, DC
1970 – Rochester, NY
1969 – Hot Springs, AR
1967 – Pittsburgh, PA
1966 – Original Meeting – St. Louis, MO
Past ADARA Breakout Conferences:
The Breakout Conference originated as a breakout session from the International Association of Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Services Conference. It began in 1989 as a stand-alone conference through partnerships with the Thresholds Bridge Program and the National Health Care Foundation for the Deaf, jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. ADARA began hosting the Breakout Conference in 2009 which is held on alternate years of the ADARA national conference.
History of Breakout Conferences
By Charlene Crump
Breakout has a 20-year history, beginning with the first conference in 1989 in Washington, DC. Originally, it was a breakout session from the International Association of Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Services conference, hence the name "Breakout." Thirteen conferences have been held in the intervening 26 years. From for the first 27 years, Breakout was at least semi-autonomous, with local committees essentially taking up the mantle on an ad hoc basis. Federal funding for training, so abundant in the late 80’s and 90’s has dried up. Ad hoc committees could no longer afford to volunteer to run such an endeavor, especially given that over most of that 26 year period, Breakout conferences routinely operated at a loss. By 2006, sponsoring agencies were unable to absorb those losses and it looked as if the conference series would go extinct. This proved untenable and the series was threatened with demise until ADARA took it up in 2008. Steve Hamerdinger and Steve Larew, together with then President Barry Critchfield arranged to have the conference in Atlanta under joint auspices of ADARA and the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health. It was a modest beginning, but it took root in the minds of ADARA members. Each succeeding year has been well attended, with participant numbers sometimes reviling the attendance to the main ADARA conference. Breakout has been an integral part of ADARA since that time.
Why is Breakout so important to ADARA? As mental health becomes increasingly an important part of the service array for people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind, the opportunities for specific training in mental health and deafness become scarcer.
Year and Location:
2023: 1-Day Virtual Conference
2020: No Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2018 Breakout: Indianapolis, IN
2016 Breakout: Colorado Springs, CO
2014 Breakout: Pittsburgh, PA
2012 Breakout: Atlanta, GA
2010 Breakout: Atlanta, GA
2009: ADARA adopts Breakout Conference
2008: No Conference
2006 Breakout: Columbus, OH
2004 Breakout: Washington, DC (in conjunction with NAMI Convention)
2002 Breakout: Raleigh, NC
2000 Breakout: St. Louis, MO
1998 Breakout: Washington, DC
1996 Breakout: Chicago, IL
1994 Breakout: Charleston, SC
1992 Breakout: Washington, DC
1989 Breakout: Washington, DC