On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law; this landmark civil rights law affirmed the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of disability.

The report illustrates the national impact of the SMP program, based on OIG’s analysis of data collected annually from programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Pension Regional Counseling Programs (PRCPs) provide individuals with many pension-related access services, including advice, outreach, referral, location of lost plans, and representation in administrative proceedings. All services are provided regardless of age or income.

With this funding, the Puerto Rico Ombudsman Office for the Elderly will be able to expand their ability to continue to assist older adult survivors by expanding their project from 15 senior centers to up to 51 senior centers, providing these vital community centers with emergency shelf-stable meals and solar panels, as well as cisterns for 19 centers.

In this policy round-up:

ACL is awarding grants to three University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs) to begin a new five-year cycle to further generate knowledge to support the independence and inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in all aspects of community life.

Today, we mark the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Olmstead v L.C. This historic decision affirmed the value of the lives and contributions of people with disabilities, recognized the importance of participation in the community for everyone, and heralded a change in the way our country approaches providing supports to disabled people of all ages. It has transformed the lives of countless people with disabilities.

At a meeting of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council on Wednesday, June 12, 17 federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Justice Department will look back on a decade in which the federal government has significantly expanded efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation — including in the areas of enforcement, public education, training, interagency collaboration, research, and support for older adults who experience or are at risk of experiencing abuse.

The initiative is in keeping with President Biden’s Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, signed April 18, 2023. This executive order directs federal agencies to take more than 50 actions including those that could expand access to home and community-based services; grow and strengthen the direct care workforce; support family caregivers; and more — giving us a unique opportunity to transform our long-term care systems and mitigate the challenges faced by family, kin, and tribal caregivers.

The successful grantee and their partners will work to build the capacity of OAA-funded Title III-E/VI-C programs and the entities administering them (e.g., state units on aging, area agencies on aging, tribes, local service providers) to provide caregiver navigator services.