The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed our lives overnight. And it exacerbated challenges that people with disabilities, their families, and the direct care workforce have been facing for decades.
We now have a historic opportunity for change!
Congress is responding to COVID-19 by considering bold action to address the long-term challenge people with IDD face. We can achieve policy priorities The Arc has been fighting for years:
- Invest in Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) to expand access to those services and create more and better direct care jobs.
- Create a national paid leave program so that families can better balance work and care for a loved one.
- Lift people with disabilities out poverty by improving the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
#CareCantWait
A Historic Investment in Disability Services
For years, the service system that people with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) and their families rely on, Medicaid, has needed an update. People are stuck on waiting lists for home and community-based services, the direct care workforce is underpaid, and too often, unpaid family caregivers are filling in the gaps in service.
Why The Wait? Word Doc | PDF
Ver información en español: Word | PDF
Workforce 101 Word Doc | PDF
Ver información en español: Word | PDF
If passed, the 2021 Better Care Better Jobs Act will make a big impact on disability services.
Learn more about how this investment would impact care in your state!
Paid Leave for All
People are forced to choose between their own health, the health of their families, and their livelihood. We must invest in our care infrastructure and pass a national paid leave program that guarantees paid leave to all – including family caregivers.
Paid Leave and Disability Word Doc | PDF
Ver información en español: Word | PDF
Modernizing Basic Living Benefits
People with disabilities are forced to live in poverty to access modest benefits to live on – and that must change. The benefits of the SSI program must be updated to asset limits, and other program rules lift people with disabilities out of poverty.
Needed Improvements to SSI Explained Word Doc | PDF
Ver información en español: Word | PDF
Spread the Word
Download our toolkit for advocates to spread the word on your commitment to #CareCantWait!
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The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
