Every October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) offers us an opportunity to celebrate the many contributions of people with disabilities to America’s workplaces and economy. Led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), NDEAM also showcases supportive and inclusive policies and practices benefiting workers and employers.

ACL has awarded three grants totaling over $1.3 million to assist with recovery efforts in Hawaii, Guam, and Mississippi due to disasters that included wildfires, a typhoon, and tornadoes. This funding is provided under the Older Americans Act (OAA), which authorizes limited funding to state units on aging (SUAs) and OAA Title VI grantees.

ACL's National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) has awarded 19 five-year research grants through two programs. The planned project period for the grants is September 1, 2023-August 31, 2028.

When most people think about disability rights, the law that probably comes to mind is the Americans with Disabilities Act. And with good reason — the passage of the ADA was an important milestone in our nation’s civil rights history, and it opened many doors for people with disabilities.

In 1978, what is now the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) was created by an amendment to the Rehab Act. While our name has changed a few times in the years since, our basic purpose and reason for being has remained the same.

New website offers 24/7 search-by-zip code option to find local services and resources ACL’s Disability Information and Access Line has launched a new tool to help people with disabilities to find local services and resources to support community living. Through DIAL’s new website and its searchable database, users can now find the information they need, at any time of day, every day of the year.

ACL has awarded three grants that further its mission to support people with disabilities to live in their communities. The grants continue and enhance the collection and analysis of national longitudinal trends pertaining to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) around the issues of state spending for I/DD services, residential services, and employment services.

Malnutrition Awareness WeekTM (September 18-22 this year) is designed to educate

September 18-22 is Falls Prevention Awareness Week. ACL’s National Falls Prevention Resource Center created this public health observance to raise awareness of the impact of falls and help people take action to prevent them.

Through these four-year awards, grantees will develop, test, and disseminate new approaches for supporting family caregivers, using the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers as a roadmap.