FINDS Community Report 2023: Family & Individual Needs for Disability Supports

/in , , , , , , /by The Arc

The Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) survey provides insights and understanding of the experiences of families supporting a family member with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It is critical research to inform better policy development.

The FINDS survey was initially conducted by The Arc of the United States in 2010. It was updated in 2017 through a collaboration between the Research and Training Center on Community Living (RTC/CL) at the University of Minnesota and The Arc.

The 2023 report focused on:

  1. What are the challenges families face in meeting the support needs of their family members?
  2. What are the economic implications of caregiving?
  3. How does caregiving affect caregivers, and what supports do they need?

A better understanding of the experiences and needs of caregivers can help policymakers and others support caregivers in this critical role.

Jacobs v. Salt Lake City School District

/in , , /by The Arc

Filed: September 29, 2023

Court: Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Overview: Amicus brief explaining that children with disabilities must have access to education in their neighborhood schools.

Excerpt: “The ruling below is flatly inconsistent with the IDEA and case law interpreting its least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate. Congress has made clear through IDEA (in all its iterations over the past five decades) that one of its overriding priorities was giving students with disabilities access to the general education curriculum and education in the regular classroom to the maximum extent possible. Congress enacted IDEA, an “ambitious piece of legislation,” in response to the serious problem that a “majority of handicapped children in the United States were either totally excluded from schools or [were] sitting idly in regular classrooms awaiting the time when they were old enough to drop out.” Endrew F. v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist. RE-1, 580 U.S. 386, 397 (2017) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)… IDEA’s mandates are not empty aspirations: decades of scientifically based research demonstrates that children with disabilities achieve considerably more educational benefit from placement in general education classes with access to the general education curriculum through supplementary aids and services than from placement in special education classrooms or schools with limited access or no access to their age-appropriate non-disabled peers or general education curriculum.”

Case Documents

Jacobs v. Salt Lake City School District Amicus Brief

Ybarra v. Gittere et. al.

/in /by The Arc

Filed: August 29, 2023

Court: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Overview: Amicus brief in a death penalty case filed to prevent a man with an intellectual disability from facing execution.

Excerpt: “Relying on stereotypes or lay assumptions about what a person with ID “must” look like, or what people with ID “cannot” do, rather than applying clinical standards for assessment and diagnosis may result in an unreasonable (and invalid) interpretation of the diagnostic facts in an Atkins evaluation. See, e.g., Brumfield v. Cain, 576 U.S. 305, 312-320 (2015) (finding an unreasonable interpretation of the facts where a state court abandoned clinical standards in determining that an individual was ineligible for an Atkins adjudication). In this context, a clinically invalid assessment risks execution of an individual with ID, a clear Constitutional violation.”

Case Documents

Ybarra v. Gittere et. al. Amicus Brief

Griffith v. El Paso County Colorado

/in /by The Arc

Filed: August 25, 2023

Court: Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Overview: Amicus brief filed explaining that people with disabilities, including people who identify as having gender dysphoria, are not required to show that their exact disability is well-settled across the courts and are entitled to compensatory damages for emotional distress under Title II of the ADA.

Excerpt: “[T]he court erroneously posited that a defendant can be shielded from liability for damages for intentional discrimination based on a contention that one of the elements of the plaintiff’s claim—here, whether the Plaintiff was legally disabled—was unsettled. If permitted to stand, the district court’s analysis will allow entities free rein to discriminate unless and until all courts agree a condition is a covered disability. This will severely weaken enforcement of the ADA… In Cummings, the Supreme Court addressed the very limited question of whether emotional distress damages are available under Section 504 and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. § 18116 (“Section 1557″)… The expansion of Cummings’ bar on emotional distress damages to Title II of the ADA would eliminate an essential remedy that Congress intended to make available to victims of disability discrimination when the ADA was enacted.”

Case Documents

Griffith v. El Paso County Colorado Amicus Brief

Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer

/in /by The Arc

Filed: August 9, 2023

Court: Supreme Court of the United States

Overview: Amicus brief filed in case before the Supreme Court that will decide whether testers – disabled people who investigate compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – have the ability to sue businesses for discrimination when their rights under that law are violated.

Excerpt: “Under the Reservation Rule, information about hotel accessibility features must be posted on hotel websites. 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(e)(1). Unfortunately, despite the 1990 enactment of the ADA and 2010 promulgation of the Reservation Rule, people with disabilities regularly encounter inaccurate or incomplete information, or no information at all, when they attempt to ascertain a hotel’s accessibility features online. The message these individuals receive during these encounters is that their patronage is less valuable and desirable than the patronage of nondisabled guests because the public accommodation did not consider disabled people among its potential customers…By making the apparently advantageous business decision to share information about its hotels with a much larger audience over the Internet, while simultaneously failing to provide the accessibility information that disabled members of that audience need in order to be treated equally…Acheson is discriminating against every disabled person who encounters that noncompliant online reservations service. Each of these individuals— interacting with this noncompliant reservations service — could suffer their own concrete and particularized injury: the dignitary harm of disregard and erasure that Title III was enacted to prevent.”

Case Documents

Disability Antidiscrimination Law Scholars Amicus Brief

Disability Rights Groups Amicus Brief

Press Release

Amicus Brief Filed in U.S. Supreme Court Case Emphasizes Importance of Testers to ADA Enforcement

Related Media

Disability Scoop: Disability Advocates Urge Supreme Court Not to Limit ADA Protections

USA Today: ‘Sleeping in my car.’ This Supreme Court Case Could Change How Disabled Americans Book Hotel Rooms

Slate: The Americans With Disabilities Act Is Under Threat at the Supreme Court

Cultivating a Strong Assistive Technology Program

/in , , , , /by The Arc

In this webinar, The Arc of Ohio presented a summary of its popular Assistive Technology Program, including information about the program’s history and impact. Watch the video to learn more about the program and the opportunities it can create for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in their local communities.

Speaker Bio: 

David Lewis is the Vice President for The Arc of Ohio in Columbus, Ohio. He received his Cisco CCNA Certification from Columbus State Community College and is Microsoft A+ Certified. David has over 25 years of experience in the technology field having spent 15 years as a network administrator and 10 years as a technology specialist for the digital industry. After a long and successful career in the technology field, David decided to follow his passion for helping others.

Emma Kincaid is the Director of the Assistive Technology Program at The Arc of Ohio. She has worked with The Arc since August 2019. Emma has three years of experience in assistive technology at The Arc of Ohio. Emma’s favorite part of her career with The Arc of Ohio is how the assistive technology program gives individuals throughout Ohio the equipment they need in their daily lives. Emma hopes to keep helping more people with disabilities live happy and independent lives.

Building a Powerful and Sustainable Self-Advocacy Program

/in , /by Pam Katz

In this webinar, The Arc of Beaumont will present a summary of their self-advocacy program.

The Southeast Texas Self Advocates Program increases the quality of life for people living with disabilities in Southeast Texas through leadership, education, and community service opportunities. Learn about the ways their adults are finding their voices, advocating for themselves and others, and being active in their community.

View presentation slides here.

2023 Policy & Advocacy Kick-off Webinar

/in , /by Pam Katz

Hear from The Arc’s policy and advocacy teams about:

  • The latest on Capitol Hill and what to expect from the new Congress
  • Information and resources about the end of Medicaid continuous enrollment
  • How to get involved in advocacy in 2023

Download the presentation slides here.

For further questions, please email events@thearc.org.

Creating Integrated Employment Opportunities for People With Disabilities

/in , /by Pam Katz

The disability community is one of the most overlooked talent pools in today’s labor force, causing many job seekers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to remain unemployed. At the same time, many employers who want to hire people with disabilities are hindered by a lack of training and capacity to provide accommodations and supports to their new hires.

Enter your information below to watch a free video about how one organization created diverse employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

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Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools

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Filed: November 16, 2022

Court: U.S. Supreme Court

Overview: Amicus brief explaining that students with disabilities are not required to exhaust their administrative remedies to bring non-IDEA civil rights claims.

Excerpt: “…the decision below significantly undermines IDEA’s policies of protecting students’ rights and the use of alternative dispute resolution procedures as a preferred method for resolving IDEA claims. If allowed to stand, the decision will force parents who could otherwise achieve all available IDEA relief through settlement to nonetheless litigate their claims, lest they be left foreclosed from pursuing non-IDEA civil rights claims as Miguel Perez (Miguel) was. This would be true even though an administrative record regarding appropriate educational instruction serves no purpose whatsoever for adjudicating non IDEA claims and, more significantly, would delay the implementation of any appropriate IDEA remedy…In other words, it adds nothing of value and may further harm students who already prevailed on their IDEA claims.”

Case Documents

Amicus Brief

Press Releases

National Disability Rights Groups File Amicus in Perez v. Sturgis

National Disability Rights Groups Applaud SCOTUS Decision in Perez v. Sturgis

Related Media

Disability Scoop: Supreme Court Case Could Change How Special Ed Disputes Are Handled

Disability Scoop: Supreme Court Unanimously Sides With Student in Special Ed Case

USA Today: Special Education Clash: How One Student’s Supreme Court Case Could Make Schools More Accountable

K-12 Dive: 3 Takeaways From the Perez Special Education Case