The Center for Excellence in
The Center for Excellence in
Support Coordination
Support Coordination
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Research for Social Change
The Research Center for Excellence in Support Coordination (RCSC) represents a specialized research and development component exclusively focused on support coordination as a distinct service model separate from case management. RCSC is dedicated to advancing theoretical foundations, empirical understanding, and practical implementation of support coordination as a transformative intervention for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and a primary leverage point for transformational change in human service delivery systems. This research center is positioned at the forefront of a paradigm shift that fundamentally reimagines the role of support coordination within the home and community-based services (HCBS) system.
Foundational Framework
Foundational Framework
This Center builds directly on the foundational research by NOIREs founder and CEO, which reveals:
The unique knowledge, skills, and competencies required for effective support coordination
The tensions support coordinators experience between bureaucratic mandates and person-centered practice
The critical role support coordinators play as system navigators and relationship builders
The organizational conditions that enable or constrain support coordinator effectiveness
The need for support coordination to be recognized as distinct from administrative case management
The absence of the support coordinators' voice in the academic literature and in the decision-making rooms
Each research center within the National Organization for Interdisciplinary Research and Evaluation focuses on specialized domains of expertise that advance NOIRE's mission. We call these integration points Knowledge Areas Modules (KAM). Each KAM is a comprehensive unit of study encompassing theoretical foundations (Breadth), current research developments (Depth), and practical applications (Application) within a specific area germane to its parent research center's focus.
Knowledge Areas
Support Coordinator as
Support Coordinator as
Scholar Practitioner
Scholar Practitioner
Establishes the theoretical and conceptual foundations for understanding support coordination as a scholar-practitioner profession that integrates evidence-based knowledge with reflective practice, cultural humility, and commitment to social justice. This knowledge area examines support coordination through multiple disciplinary lenses while centering the lived experiences of support coordinators themselves.
Theories and Models: Gentle
Theories and Models: Gentle
Support Coordination
Support Coordination
Advances a specific theoretical model of support coordination grounded in the Gentle Teaching framework (McGee, Menolascino, Hobbs, & Menousek, 1987; McGee & Light, 2021) and the Quality-of-Life conceptual framework developed by McCrovits and Magee. This knowledge area represents the philosophical and practical depth of NOIRE's vision for transforming support coordination from a service management function to a relationship-centered practice that honors human dignity, fosters companionship, and promotes meaningful community participation.
Applied Support Coordination:
Applied Support Coordination:
High-Impact Practice Domains
High-Impact Practice Domains
Addresses specialized areas of support coordination practice in which support coordinators have a significant impact on safety, justice, and quality-of-life outcomes for individuals experiencing multiple forms of vulnerability and system involvement. This knowledge area bridges the theoretical foundations of KAM 1 and the relationship-centered model of KAM 2 with the complex realities that support coordinators navigate daily, particularly when working with individuals facing abuse, neglect, exploitation, justice involvement, or multi-system navigation challenges.
Information provided by PsychHub
High Impact Domains
Abuse -Neglect-Exploitation
Abuse -Neglect-Exploitation
Preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation is crucial for the well-being of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). NOIRE addresses both individual acts of mistreatment and systemic patterns of abuse that affect vulnerable populations. We recognize that harm against people with IDD occurs across multiple levels—from interpersonal violence to institutional failures and broader societal structures that perpetuate discrimination and marginalization.
Multi-System Participants
Multi-System Participants
Approximately 35% of individuals with intellectual and developmental distinctions experience concurrent mental health conditions, while substance use and abuse also pose ongoing challenges. NOIRE investigates prevalence, risk factors, and system responses, aiming to synthesize research and identify promising practices in supporting individuals with IDD/MI/SUD.
Indigenous/Native American
Indigenous/Native American
At NOIRE, we believe the legacy of colonization and cultural suppression has inflicted intergenerational trauma and socio-economic disparities on Native American communities, potentially contributing to elevated rates of developmental disabilities. The Decolonization of service systems and the importance of native voices in the design and development of structures and models of service delivery will be explored.
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