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.

Each year, Medicare loses an estimated $60 billion due to fraud, errors, and abuse. Fraud happens every day — from charges for supplies that were never received to coercion to share financial information and Medicare numbers. Fraud can happen to anyone, and its impact on individuals and families can be devastating.

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark Olmstead vs L.C. Supreme Court decision, which ruled that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through its Administration for Community Living, released “Aging in the United States: A Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging.” The report lays the groundwork for a coordinated effort – across the private and public sectors and in partnership with older adults, family caregivers, the aging services network, and other stakeholders – to create a national set of recommendations for advancing healthy aging and age-friendly communities that value and truly include older adults.

The Profile of Older Americans is a summary of the available statistics related to the older population in the United States. Principal sources of data are the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At least one-third of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) also have a mental health disability. I am proud to be one of them and to be able to work on programs at the Administration for Community Living (ACL) that facilitate our meaningful engagement in the community. As is true for all people with mental health disabilities, treatment and supports that are personalized to our needs, values, and goals, and which respect and uphold our right to make decisions about our lives, are crucial to our community participation and to our health.