This month has been a whirlwind of exciting activity and announcements for the Administration on Aging and the Administration for Community Living as a whole. We celebrated the 50th anniversaries of the Older Americans Act and Medicare and Medicaid and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which together with Social Security (which will celebrate its 80th anniversary in August), help enable older adults to live their later years in the homes and communities they choose.

This post was originally published on the HHS Blog.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community. For decades, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research has funded the ADA National Network, a consortium of 10 regional organizations dedicated to the successful implementation of the ADA. In this blog post, Robin Jones of the Great Lakes ADA Center reflects on the progress made since the ADA’s passage, and the work yet to be done to ensure full inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

As we head into a weekend of events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) is releasing a final rule (PDF) that will strengthen critical programs that promote the independence, inclusion, and civil rights of Americans with developmental disabilities and their families.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community. In this blog, Judith Heumann, a lifelong civil rights advocate for disadvantaged people and the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community and highlighting how ACL programs continue to advance the ADA’s promise of inclusion and civil rights for people with disabilities. DD Councils and the Four Pillars of Integration By Donna Meltzer, CEO, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)

Before independent living was a program, it was an idea that sparked a social movement to advance the rights of people with disabilities. The independent living movement embodies the idea that no one should be denied dignity, self-determination, or equal opportunity simply because they are living with a disability. And no one could be a greater expert on the needs of people with disabilities than a person with a disability. Decades before federal laws required curb cuts and workplace accommodations, this was considered a radical idea.