Since the beginning, The University of Montana Rural Institute has strived to collaborate with partners across Montana and across the nation to further its mission.

Current and Previous Collaborating Partners

Montana State Agencies

• Department of Public Health and Human Services
  • As a funding agency
  • Early Childhood Services Bureau of the Human Community Services Division
  • Developmental Disabilities Program
  • Medicaid waiver teams
• Montana Child Care Resource and Referral Network
  • Child Care Resources, Missoula, MT
• Missoula City/County Public Health Department, Missoula, MT
• Montana Department of Commerce
  • Economic Development – Micro-Business Finance Advisory Council
• Montana’s Office of Public Instruction,
  • Helena, MT Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Council
  • Susan Bailey-Anderson, State CSPD Coordinator and Program Specialist
  • B.J. Grandberry, Montana OPI Title 1 Coordinator
• State Deaf-Blind Coordinator
• Vocational Rehabilitation agencies throughout the state
  • Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation
  • Fort Belknap Reservation, MT
  • Montana Vocational Rehabilitation

Speech Language Pathologists/Therapists

• Above & Beyond Speech Therapy, Missoula, MT
• Cashe Burrows, Glendive, MT
• Twila Tabor Berg, Missoula, MT
• Cathy Fisher, Bozeman, MT
• Beth Johnson, Missoula, MT
• Carolyn S. Long, Livingston, MT
• Cheryl Palm, Anaconda, MT
• Jill E. Tooley, Great Falls, MT

The University of Montana System

• Disability Services for Students, Missoula, MT
• Helena College of Technology, Helena, MT
• MSU-Billings, Special Education Dept., Billings, MT
• The University of Great Falls, Disability Resource Center, Great Falls, MT
• The University of MT, Environmental Health & Occupational Safety Dept., Missoula, MT
• The University of Montana, Psychology Department, Missoula, MT
• The U of MT – Western, Dept. of Education, Center on Early Childhood, Dillon, MT

Independent Living Centers

• Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow, Billings, MT
• Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow, Glendive, MT
• Montana Independent Living Project, Helena, MT
• New Horizons Unlimited, Harlem, MT
• North Central Independent Living, Black Eagle MT
• Summit Independent Living Center, Ronan, MT
• Summit Independent Living Center, Missoula, MT

School Districts, Schools, Learning Resource Centers

• Anaconda School District #10, Anaconda, MT
• Bozeman School District #7, Bozeman, MT
• Corvallis Public Schools, Corvallis, MT
• Darby schools
• Deer Lodge Elementary School, Deer Lodge, MT
• Dickinson Lifelong Learning Center, Missoula, MT
• Eureka School District, Eureka, MT
• Flathead Valley Comm. College, Off. of Advocate for Students with Disabilities, Kalispell, MT
• Glendive Public Schools, Glendive, MT
• Great Divide Education Services, Deer Lodge, MT
• Hamilton Schools
• Hardin Public Schools, Hardin, MT
• Helena School District #1, Helena, MT
• Hellgate Elementary School District #4, Missoula, MT
• Manhattan Public School, Manhattan, MT
• Missoula County Public Schools, Missoula, MT
• Northcentral Learning Resource Center, Great Falls, MT
• Polson School District, Polson, MT
• Poplar Public Schools, Poplar, MT
• Ramsay Elementary, Ramsay, MT
• Rocky Boy High School, Box Elder, MT
• Ronan Schools
• St. Ignatius Schools
• School District #1, Butte, MT
• Stevensville Schools
• Target Range School, Missoula, MT
• West Valley School, Kalispell, MT

Special Education Cooperatives

• Bear Paw Cooperative, Chinook, MT
• Big Sky Special Needs Cooperative, Conrad, MT
• Bitterroot Valley Special Education Cooperative, Stevensville, MT
• Central MT Learning Resource Center Cooperative, Lewistown, MT
• Marylou Coutts, Deer Lodge, MT
• Flathead Special Education Cooperative, Kalispell, MT
• Miles City Special Services, Miles City, MT
• Missoula Area Education Cooperative, Missoula, MT
• Park County Spec. Ed. Cooperative, Livingston, MT
• Prairie View Special Services, Glendive, MT
• Prickly Pear Cooperative, East Helena, MT
• Sanders County Ed. Services Cooperative, Thompson Falls, MT
• Stillwater/Sweet Grass Special Education Cooperative, Columbus, MT
• Tri-County Special Education Cooperative, Broadus, MT

Supported Employment/Employment Services

• Billings Training Industries, Billings, MT
• Blackfeet Training Industries, Browning, MT
• Career Transitions, Belgrade, MT
• COR Enterprises, Hardin, MT
• Counterpoint Inc., Livingston, MT
• Easter Seals of Montana, Conrad, MT
• Glenwood, Inc., Plentywood, MT
• Job Placement Services, Shepard, MT
• Missoula Developmental Services Corp., Missoula, MT
• Opportunity Resources, Inc., Missoula, MT
• Ravalli Services, Hamilton, MT
• STEP, Inc., Billings, MT

Deaf/Blind Services

• Montana Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service, Great Falls, MT
• Montana Low Vision Service, Inc., Billings, MT
• Montana School for the Deaf & the Blind, Great Falls, MT
• Montana Radio Reading Service, Missoula, MT
• Montana Talking Book Library, Helena, MT
• Montana Telecommunications Access Program, Helena, MT

Hospitals, Clinics, Nursing Homes

• Broadwater Health Center, Townsend, MT
• Community Medical Center, Missoula, MT
• Great Falls Clinic, Great Falls, MT
• Kalispell Regional Medical Center, Kalispell, MT
• Libby Care Center, Libby, MT
• Madison County Nursing Homes, Ennis, MT
• Montana Community Mental Health Center, Kalispell, MT
• Mountain View Care Center, Bozeman, MT
• Sheridan Memorial Hospital, Nursing Home, Plentywood, MT
• Sidney Health Center, Sidney, MT
• St. James Healthcare, Butte, MT
• St. Joseph Hospital, Polson, MT

Physical Therapists and/or Occupational Therapists

• Assiniboine Sioux Vocational Rehabilitation, Poplar, MT
• Benefis Therapy Center, Great Falls, MT
• Big Sky Occupational Therapy Services, Miles City, MT
• Joyce DeFreest, Victor, MT
• Helping Hands Occupational Therapy, Missoula, MT
• Holy Rosary Healthcare, OT Dept., Miles City, MT
• Mosaic Rehabilitation, Missoula, MT

Assistive Technology Services

• Augmentative Communication Solutions, Virginia City, MT

Comprehensive Service Centers

• Child Development Center (CDC), Missoula, MT

Charities

• Muscular Dystrophy Association, Billings, MT

Efforts By and For Families of Those With Disabilities

• Family Outreach Inc., Helena, MT (main office)
• Family Outreach Inc., Bozeman, Montana (satellite office)
• Family Outreach Inc., Butte, Montana (satellite office)
• Families of individuals with developmental disabilities (in general)
• PLUK: Parents Let's Unite For Kids, Billings, MT

Durable Medical Equipment Dealers

• Spectrum Medical, Inc., Great Falls, MT
• Others throughout the state

Assisted Living Centers

• Sage Wood, Inc., Thompson Falls, MT

Montana Office of Public Instruction, Special Education Division, initiated its state Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Council

Collaborators from throughout the United States

• Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD): Fed. Regions I-V and VII
• Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
• SafePlace Disability Services, Austin, TX
• Portland State University, Portland, OR
• Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
• American Association on Health and Disability, Washington, D.C.
• Elementary and Middle School Technology Assistance Center, Washington, D.C.
• Center for Community, Sitka, AK
• Services Maximizing Independent Living Empowerment, Yuma, AZ
• Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled, Anaheim, CA
• Urban Miyares, President, Disabled Businessperson's Association, San Diego, CA
• University of Colorado, HSC-JFK Partners, Boulder, CO
• University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO
• Southwest Center for Independence, Durango, CO
• Colorado Agrability, Montrose, CO
• University of Connecticut, School of Medicine Dept. of Pediatrics, Farmington, CT
• Diane Ryndak, Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
• LIFE, Inc., Savanna, GA
• University of Hawaii, Center for Disabilities Study, Manoa, HI
• Rehabilitation Cont. Education Program in Fed. Region VII (RCEP VII), Carbondale, IL
• Research and Training Center on Independent Living, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• LINK, Inc. (Living Independently in Northwest Kansas), Hays, KS
• Professor William Sharpton, Department of Special Ed.and Habilitation, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
• Alpha One IL, Portland, ME
• Career Concepts, Allegan, MI
• Living Independence for Everyone of Central Mississippi, Jackson, MS
• Hollie Filce, Project Coordinator, Institute for Disabilities Studies, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
• Marc Gold and Associates (for training, technical assistance, and product development purposes), Gautier, MS
• Southwest Center for Independent Living, Springfield, MO
• Independent Living Center of Mid-Missouri, Columbia, MO
• Rehabilitation Cont. Education Program in Fed. Region V (RCEP V), Columbia, MO
• Granite State Independent Living Foundation, Concord, NH
• University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability, Durham, NH
• San Juan Center for Independence, Aztec, NM
• New Mexico Department of Health, Santa Fe, NM
• Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation, Pueblo of Jemez, NM
• San Juan Center for Independence, San Juan, NM
• ARC of Stanly County, Albemarle, NC
• Professor Fred Spooner, Professor, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Economic Research on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living, Kent, OH
• HASL, Inc., Grants Pass, OR
• ARCIL, Inc., Austin, TX
• Utah State University Rehabilitation Counselor Education - Advisory Board, Logan, UT
• Eastern Regional Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Price, UT
• Utah Professional Development Center, Jerry Christensen, Program Coordinator, Michael Herbert, Program Specialist, Salt Lake City, UT
• State Improvement Grant, Bruce Schroeder, Coordinator, Salt Lake City, UT
• University of Vermont, University Affiliated Program of Vermont, Burlington, VT
• Clark County, WA
• Snohomish County, WA
• Village Community Services, Arlington, WA
• Volunteers of America, Everett, WA
• Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Eastern Shoshone Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation, Fort Washakie, WY