In this issue, read about: Year of Building Community Bridging Aging & Disability Network States Showcase Work for Communities We’re Here All Year: DD Council Edition! NACDD Launches Community Webinar Series Join us for our next webinar on January 14th! Stay engaged with the NACDD network! If you have ideas and stories you want to…
Disability advocacy is often framed around policy, access, and systems, and those things matter. They shape whether we can learn, work, participate, and move through the world with dignity. But as I have grown in my work and witnessed the legacy of disability justice leaders like Alice Wong, I have learned a deeper truth: Disabled…
Every state has a developmental disabilities council (DD Council) and these organizations receive federal funding to support policy change and programs that promote self-determination, integration, and inclusion for all people in the United States with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Below are stories from DD Councils on projects and programs underway to advance community living for…
In this issue, read about: Protecting Your Benefits: What to Know About Accepting Gifts State DD Councils Sign On Joint Statement to Express Concern over Recent Layoffs U.S. Department of Education and SAMHSA Advocacy Project Empowers People with Developmental Disabilities to Lead Change NACDD Celebrates 2025 Champions of Equal Opportunity Award Winners at National Leadership…
On November 1, 2025, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may be stopped affecting almost 42 million people across the nation, including people with developmental disabilities (DD). This is due to the current government shutdown. Friends, neighbors, and family may be reaching out and wanting to help people with disabilities who receive food assistance through the SNAP…
The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities and the undersigned State Councils on Developmental Disabilities are deeply concerned about the recent layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These cuts affect key offices that make sure people with disabilities get the education, mental health…
HARRISBURG, PA — October 22, 2025 — The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) proudly announced the winners of its 2025 Champions of Equal Opportunity (CEO) Awards during a special ceremony held at the Governor’s Reception Room in the Pennsylvania State Capitol on October 21. The awards, the Betty Williams Champion of Equal…
Broad Coalition of Disability, Civil Rights, and Education Organizations Call for Reversal of Layoffs at Department of Education Washington, D.C. – A broad coalition of national, state, and local disability, civil rights, and education organizations is sounding the alarm over sweeping layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education. These cuts have gutted key offices—including the…
Employment is about more than a paycheck — it’s about belonging, purpose, and being valued for your skills. For people with disabilities, work represents independence and the chance to contribute meaningfully to our communities. But for many of us, the barriers to employment start long before graduation. I became a client of North Carolina Vocational…
For Immediate Release Organizational Contacts: AAPD: Jess Davidson, jdavidson@aapd.com; 202-465-5528 AUCD: Lillie Heigl, lheigl@aucd.org The Arc: dilworth@thearc.org ASAN: media@autisticadvocacy.org Autism Society: press@autismsociety.org WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, September 22, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced the department’s actions to address what he called the “epidemic of autism.” The theories that Secretary Kennedy…