Austin resident Judy Fluor has been accepted into the eight-month Minnesota Partners in Policymaking leadership training, which starts in the fall.

Fluor was chosen from a statewide pool of applicants.

Participants include adults with disabilities and parents raising children with developmental disabilities. 

Fluor has two children in their early teens with disabilities ranging from anxiety, depression and hyperactivity to Asperger’s syndrome and resulting social difficulties.

She joined the class to gain skills and insights and to utilize the resources that best help her children and others with disabilities.

Partners in Policymaking was created by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.

“The goal is to develop leaders statewide who create effective partnerships with elected officials, schools, counties and the business community so that individuals and families can be independent, productive and included in their home communities,” said Dr. Colleen Wieck, executive director of the Governor’s Council through a press release. 

The Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities introduced the program in 1987, and, through expansion to other states and countries, Partners has trained more than 27,000 people worldwide.