National Catholic Partnership on Disability gets new director

Published: 2004-06-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Janice LaLonde Benton, former associate director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability in Washington, has been named the third executive director of the agency, formerly known as the National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities. Benton, who worked for the past eight months for Abledata, a federally funded project providing information and resources on assistive technology products, helped to set up the Catholic office in 1982 and worked there for 21 years. She praised her predecessors, Sister Rita Baum, a Sister of St. Joseph, and Mary Jane Owen, and said, "Much good work has been done over the years to welcome and fully include people with disabilities in their faith communities. "But there remains much to be done to support dioceses and parishes in their efforts, and to work with our partner organizations to support their commitment to inclusion," she added. A graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, where she earned a bachelor's degree in human development, Benton came to Washington in 1979 to work with the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities.

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