Our Story

In 1951, a young woman named Jean Walker Bentley, opened her hands to innovate for children and families who were largely unnoticed and unpopular. She overcame barriers in her cultural context of being thought of as "less than" as a woman and of the people she wanted to serve being thought of as "less than".

U&I was originally the Children's Development Center designed to meet the scholastic and socialization needs of children with special needs. Through partnerships with Southern Methodist University, The University of North Texas, and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Development Center achieved a worldwide reputation as a leader in the field of educating children with disabilities and was renowned as a pioneer in programming that facilitated the integration of individuals with disabilities into society.

In 1981, we redirected our program focus from the education of children with disabilities, now a federally mandated public school responsibility, to serving all adults with all-types of disabilities. As the Citizens Development Center/Achieve, we grew from a vocational training/placement center to serving and finding employment for veterans then we added vocational adjustment training for special education students preparing to transition out of high school.

Today, as one of the largest workforce development centers in DFW, we continue to meet the ever-increasing needs of the disability population through our programs that last year provided vocational training, job readiness training, paid work opportunities, and community placement to over 1000 youth and adults with severe intellectual, physical, and/or mental health disabilities.

Celebrating 70 years of community impact, we have the opportunity and responsibility to carry the mission forward and make it flourish into the future. In 2051, we will celebrate 100 years of impact. That said, our VISION is to SPREAD THE LIGHT OF INCLUSION; ENDING EXCLUSION for people with disabilities with 1 MILLION PEOPLE BY 2051. It will take U & I, so join the movement and make together-history with us!"

Citizens Development Center

U&I Art Auction