ACL has awarded a one-year (September 30, 2024-September 29, 2025) grant of $116,296 to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Aging and Disability Services Division, which operates as the state unit on aging (SUA), for assisting with the recovery efforts from major disasters declared by the president of the United States.

Today, ACL and our partners in the aging services network join communities across the country in observing Ageism Awareness Day. We honor and celebrate many important observances here at ACL, but this one is especially important to me as assistant secretary for aging. Raising awareness of ageism and stopping its spread is vital to our advocacy efforts, the success of the programs and services we fund, and the health and well-being of all of us. 

ACL is pleased to announce new awards for multiple initiatives that support the implementation of the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. The strategy was developed by the advisory councils established by the RAISE Family Caregiving Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act and 15 federal agencies, with extensive input from family caregivers, the people they support, and other stakeholders.

This program's purpose is to build research capacity by providing support to highly qualified individuals, including those with disabilities, to research the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities.

ACL’s Commit to Connect initiative, in collaboration with engAGED: The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, recently added 27 new program examples to the Social Engagement Innovations Hub. With these additions, organizations now have access to more than 100 model social connection programs, services, and interventions from across the country.

Today, the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCIPD) delivered its latest report to President Biden. The report focuses on the opportunities, promising practices, innovative strategies, and policy reforms necessary to strengthen and increase the availability of the HCBS that help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) live and fully participate in their communities.

Every October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) offers 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.

Today we kick off National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), 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.

FEMA and federal, state, community and voluntary partners continue providing resources to aid response efforts across the Southeast as survivors begin recovering from Hurricane Helene.

As I start my last week at the Administration for Community Living, I am filled with so many emotions. I am so proud of everything we have accomplished together, and I’m optimistic for ACL’s future. But most of all, I am deeply grateful. As I shared in my first blog post, ACL’s mission is my life’s mission.