A more than $2 million federal grant will ensure the University of Kansas remains the leading repository of data related to how much states spend to fund programs related to developmental disabilities.

KU has received a five-year, $2.25 million grant from a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department to fund the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities project.

The project is the leading source of information about public spending for intellectual developmental disabilities services in the United States. The project was created in 1982, but has only been at KU since 2021, when it moved from the University of Colorado.

Emily Shea Tanis, associate research professor within the KU Life Span Institute, leads the project. She said via a KU press release that the new round of grant funding will provide more opportunities for the project’s data to be turned into robust stories that highlight trends and other developments in the industry.