Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities

12/20/2025

Below is the link from today's Federal Funding Webinar. We will be back after the new year to continue the Federal Funding Webinar series on January 9th from 9-10am. You can find the registration link below!

12/19 recording: https://youtu.be/5-vntkMlcCM?si=yIgWbyrwHN4rBHXT

1/9 registration: https://bit.ly/FedFunds1926

1/9 registro: https://bit.ly/FedFundsSpa1926

12/19/2025

New Horizons Un-Limited interviewed BPDD's Executive Director Beth Swedeen about current threats to disability programs and the power of Wisconsin's disabliity community.

"I have never been more impressed or proud of the disability community than I have been in the last few months. People are stepping up and speaking out and I think it is exciting to see that.

There is definitely that change in people understanding that their lived experience has value. It doesn’t just have value for other people with disabilities; it has value in communities, to make communities better."

A Conversation on the future of Disability Advocacy with the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities. “Overall what we are hearing from across the…

12/19/2025

States have cut taxes. Now they are more Vulnerable to SNAP and Medicaid Crisis. States that cut state income or other taxes have made themselves more reliant on federal funding, and stand to be hurt more by cuts to SNAP and to Medicaid contained in HR1, budget experts and state legislators said.

https://www.propublica.org/article/food-stamps-crisis-snap-big-beautiful-bill-state-tax-cuts

Register for our Friday Federal Funding webinar series for 12/19 to learn more about federal funding changes and what to expect for 2026.

English registration: https://bit.ly/FedFunds1219

registro español: https://bit.ly/FedFundSpa1219

President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will shift billions in costs for SNAP and Medicaid to states. But with 26 having cut or eliminated state income taxes just since 2021, they may not have the money to continue the programs.

12/18/2025

Make a New Year’s resolution to check your voter registration status. Check your voter registration status at MyVote Wisconsin: www.myvote.wi.gov.

If you are not registered to vote and have a driver’s license or state ID, you can register at MyVote. Questions about how to register? Give us a call at the DRW Voter Hotline: 844-347-8683.

Image description: Graphic reads, “Make a New Year’s resolution. Check your voter registration status.

12/18/2025

Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) are expected to be a target as they are optional under federal law and are a significant portion of states’ Medicaid budgets. This report shows what states are doing to limit access to HCBS now, before $1 Trillion in federal Medicaid spending is cut and other changes required by HR 1 are completed. Almost 600,000 people are waiting in 41 states to get supports that help them live in the community. Most people on waiting lists or interest lists have intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD); People with I/DD wait 37 months on average.

https://www.kff.org/medicaid/a-look-at-waiting-lists-for-medicaid-home-and-community-based-services-from-2016-to-2025

Stay up to date on federal funding changes by coming to our Friday webinar series. Our last session for the year will be on 12/19 and you can register using the links below.

English registration: https://bit.ly/FedFunds1219

registro español: https://bit.ly/FedFundSpa1219

This data note provides new information about waiting lists in Medicaid home care before many of the provisions in the 2025 reconciliation law go into effect. The data come from KFF's 23rd survey of officials administering Medicaid home care programs in all 50 states and DC.

12/17/2025

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can’t be used to pay insurance premiums under current law. That means HSAs won’t help people who can’t afford the big increases in ACA premiums that will occur when the subsides expire. The article below has more details about HSAs and insurance premiums.

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/health-savings-accounts-hsa-insurance-premiums-republicans-obamacare

Join us this Friday (12/19) for our final Federal Funding Webinar until we return in the new year on 1/9.

English registration: https://bit.ly/FedFunds1219

Registro Español: https://bit.ly/FedFundSpa1219

Health savings accounts can be used to cover medical expenses, tax-free. But while wealthier Americans are using them to pay for gym equipment, cedar ice baths, and hemlock saunas, poorer Americans can’t use them to pay their skyrocketing health insurance premiums.

12/15/2025

Sharing your story with policy makers and the media matters. Partner in Policymaker Casey Garner and his wife Leah shared their famiky story with the New York Times about what federal cuts to special education programs have meant to them and their daughter Annie.

A program for deafblind children helped 3-year-old Annie Garner, born with poor vision and no ears, learn to communicate. The Trump administration cut the program’s funding over diversity goals.

12/15/2025

Register for our final Federal Funding webinar of the year on 12/19. We will continue having the series after the new year. In the meantime you can find the 12/12 slides, recording, and resources on our website using this link: https://wi-bpdd.org/index.php/federal-funding-updates/

English registration: https://bit.ly/FedFunds1219

Spanish registration: https://bit.ly/FedFundSpa1219

12/13/2025

Below are the links from today's Federal Funding webinar. Don't forget to register for our last webinar until the new year which will be next week (12/19). Registration links are below.

12/19 registration: https://bit.ly/FedFunds1219

12/19 registro: https://bit.ly/FedFundSpa1219

12/12 English recording: https://youtu.be/jVR32r4Eu5M?si=SqHvokibTXDxVT7i

12/12 Grabación en español: https://youtu.be/dNvlgv25g3M?si=gnuHpJk9cSCMauY4

12/12/2025

One of our Families Supporting Families grantees, Family Voices of Wisconsin, is hosting a virtual Holiday Mom Connections event tomorrow (12/12) from 1-2pm! As part of their Nurture Network group, this is a great way for Mom's to connect, share resources, and support one another.

Register for free here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tqqzBk12S1aqHm1MEaU-gA #/registration

12/11/2025

More on the national caregiver crisis from the New York Times. if this is important to you, you could send this link to this gifted article to your state and federal legislators (it doesnt have a paywall) with your story.

This story focuses on caregivers for aging adults, but the statistics aobut family caregivers and the impacts align with all caregiving.

Caregivers are at the brink of despair.

12/11/2025

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has released an FAQ on the new waitlist for services on their website. If you want to know more about the order of selection for employment services, use the link below to find out more.

The DVR's Order of Selection (OOS) / Waitlist FAQs page provides the list of questions and responses that consumers and the public may have about the DVR waitlist implemented in December 2025.