Welcome to the Family Advocacy & Resource Portal
In Partnership with the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council
This portal is designed for individuals with disabilities and their families to:
- Engage with Current Advocacy Efforts: Stay updated on the latest news and initiatives.
- Access Vital Information: Find relevant documents, training recordings, and valuable links.
- Connect to Resources: Connect & Network with other family led organizations
- Goods and Services: Discover goods, services, and supports for everyday needs.
- Advocate for System Change: Join forces with other families to advocate on a large scale for system change and join forces with self-advocates on issues of common interest to the disability community.
Together, our unified advocacy efforts strive to transform systems to better empower people with disabilities and their families, ensuring their needs are prioritized over those of providers.
Our Training Library is for people with disabilities and their family.
Our Resources provide information, support and services.
Unified Advocacy
Agenda
Hearing on Economic Opportunity for People With Disabilities
Government officials, business owners, and disability advocates testified on access to economic opportunity, employment, and home care for people with disabilities at a Senate Special Aging Committee hearing. Topics included Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and disability benefit limitations, incentivizing businesses to increase disability workforce while providing fair wages, accommodations for elected officials with disabilities, and investing in caregivers.
The State of America's Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2024
The new report from the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) sheds light on persistent problems facing community providers of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities due to ongoing recruitment and retention challenges
Read the story here on Ancor.org
Black caregivers express concerns over police interactions with autistic children
Center for Autism Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) conducted a study to examine perceptions and concerns of Black caregivers of Black autistic children regarding police interactions. The findings published in December in the journal Autism, revealed important changes that could be made to improve the quality of interactions between police and Black autistic youth.
Read the story here on News Medical
Bias, Cost, Access Issues Keep People with Disabilities From Healthcare
A new report released by the FISA Foundation highlights the systemic barriers people with disabilities face when seeking equitable health care.
Read the story here on PublicSource.org
Secretary Buttigieg Announces Sweeping Protections for Airline Passengers with Disabilities
Airlines must meet more rigorous standards for accommodating passengers with disabilities, especially for passengers who use wheelchairs. The new rule sets new standards for assistance, mandates hands-on training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs, and specifies actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged or delayed during transport. The final rule will be effective on January 16, 2025
US Proposes to End Subminimum wage for Disabled Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday that it has plans to phase out certificates that allow employers to give disabled workers subminimum wages.
The department encourages interested parties to submit comments on the proposal by Jan. 17. The announcement follows stakeholder engagement sessions, where the department heard from workers with disabilities, advocates, service providers and employers that hold the certificates.
Social Security Administration (SSA) Announces 2025 Cost of Living Adjustment
SSI is a federal program that provides benefits to adults and children who meet the SSA’s requirements for disability, income, and resources. This income benefit is designed to help qualified individuals meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Periodically, a COLA affects the maximum monthly allotment. Effective January 2025, the SSA increased the SSI allotment by 2.5 percent to reflect an increase in the cost of living.
View the ODP Announcement Here
AUCD's Disability Policy News- December 2, 2024
AUCD’s Disability Policy News (DPN) is a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. (DPN) features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every other Monday while Congress is in session.
View the Newsletter Here-
Disability Policy News | December 2, 2024 | Vol. MMXXVIII | Issue 98
Fact Sheet for Landords and Realtors
Did you know that people with disabilities make excellent tenants and homeowners? Overall, people with disabilities bring diverse strengths and qualities to the rental market, making them valuable and desirable tenants for landlords! Check out our fact sheet for more information.
Video: How to Talk to Your Legislator
Legislators appreciate hearing from their constituents. Don’t forget: they are elected to represent YOUR views. Watch this video to get tricks and tips on chatting with your Legislator.
Pa. lawmakers propose ‘purple alerts’ to help find missing people who have intellectual disabilities
Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Allegheny, is sponsoring the Senate companion bill. He said the alert system could be life-saving.
“Time is of the essence when someone with an intellectual disability is lost since the death rate of a person missing more than 72 hours is as high as 88 percent,” he said. “By establishing a Purple Alert in Pennsylvania, we can put the public on notice quickly and hopefully succeed in bringing the individual back home safely.”
Governor Shapiro Signs Bipartisan 2024-25 Budget- New Opportunity for All Pennsylvanians
Today, Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law a bipartisan budget for fiscal year 2024-25 that delivers on his top priorities and creates more freedom and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians. With historic investments in education, economic development, law enforcement and violence prevention, workforce development, affordable housing, health care, public transit and infrastructure, and much more – this budget invests in the people of Pennsylvania and solves some of the most pressing issues our Commonwealth faces.
Read the full article on Commonwealth of PA >
Dollars & Sense – The Group Home Racket
The Biden administration has proposed a change in the formula behind Medicare reimbursements to U.S. states for their residential care. The change would widen their access to home- and community-based services over and against the “group homes” where they now live alongside residents not of their own choosing, under the supervision of paid caregivers not of their own ilk.
Read the full article on Dollars & Sense >
Act 61
Act 61 of 2023 becomes effective on June 11, 2024. The Office of Elder Justice in the Courts (OEJC) wanted to highlight important aspects of Act 61 that may impact family/lay guardians.
Read about Act 61 >
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Olmstead
On June 20th the United States Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights hosted a panel discussion to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the landmark disability rights decision, Olmstead v. L.C. This decision affirmed that people with disabilities have the right to live in their communities and should not be forced into an institution just because they have a disability.
Watch the video on YouTube >
Fiscal Year 2024/2025 State Budget Update (PIE Info 7/7/2024)
Negotiations are ongoing for the state budget. The budget is due to start on July 1. This week the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 1001, and it is now being considered in the House of Representatives. We expect that the budget will be done in early July, but are still awaiting details about what is included in the final budget deal.
Read about the Governor’s Budget proposal >
Final Rule Implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
On May 1, 2024, HHS made disability rights history with the release of a long-awaited final rule implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This comprehensive update — the first since the initial regulation was put into place more than 40 years ago — creates one of the most powerful tools we have ever had to combat discrimination based on disability in health care and human services.
Read the full article >
July 26 is the Anniversary of the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. Throughout the year and on the ADA Anniversary (July 26), the ADA National Network recognizes this landmark event and the important work to promote equal opportunity for people with disabilities.
Learn more about the ADA Anniversary >
The Family Advocacy & Resource Portal is funded in part through a grant from the Pennsylvania Developmental Disability Council.