InterHab
Our Story
Independence. Inclusion. Innovation.
For more than 50 years, InterHab has worked to improve the lives of Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 1969, community service professionals formed an alliance with skilled family advocates to form the Kansas Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (“KARF”). They came together to collaborate for the extension of civil rights to Kansans with IDD. From time immemorial to that point in time, Kansans with IDD and their families had suffered profound isolation and discrimination. Through KARF’s efforts to raise public awareness of developmental disabilities and the value of investing in home and community-based services, Kansas led a national movement towards de-institutionalization.
Now called InterHab, the association has become the predominant voice in Kansas for persons with IDD, their families, and the providers of services and supports needed to live independently and inclusively. We continue to educate lawmakers and communities about the benefits of community inclusivity. Our 50+ member organizations have long been the vanguard of innovation for community-based services and employment opportunities for Kansans with IDD. In the last few years, InterHab has been instrumental in securing needed funding for IDD services in Kansas.
“We continue to educate lawmakers and communities about the benefits of community inclusivity.”
We Believe
- In the inherent dignity of all individuals.
- Community services, employment, and housing should be available to Kansans, regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, or disability.
- Community services should reflect the needs of the individual, and that they should reflect a reasonable response to the whole community’s needs.
- Supports and services for Kansans with IDD should be available in their respective communities or geographic regions of choice.
- Government, businesses and IDD service providers should form partnerships to create and promote employment opportunities for Kansans with IDD.
- We are all responsible for advocating against discrimination through education and training, promoting needed supports and services, and providing resources to assist individuals to live as independently as possible.

