National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities

04/21/2026

Another edition of NACDD's Insight newsletter is available!

Featured articles:
- Celebrating Our Impact - DD Awareness Month Launched!
- On the Hill: DD Councils Go To Washington
- Community Webinar Series Launches, Shares Insight & Expertise
- Advocating for Accessibility in DC
- A Word from ED Jill Jacobs: Excerpts from "Where the Ramp Ends" podcast interview

Read it here: https://mailchi.mp/nacdd.org/insightdecember2025-9317855?e=c4b5fc9386

Stay engaged! Join NACDD’s advocacy network for new advocacy actions and alerts.

If you have ideas and stories you want to share about your DD Council and community, send them to media@nacdd.org.

04/17/2026

Webinar Announcement:

Topic: Cross-System Strategies to Support Children with Complex Behavioral Health Conditions
Date: May 20, 2026
Time: 4 - 5 pm
Location(s): Zoom
Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mmc5ek9nTn6KvPihem4ozQ #/registration

Speakers:
Nancy Thaler, Project Lead
Stacey Nanemaker, Director of Cross-System Strategies, NASDDS

Facilitator:
Beth Stalvey, Executive Director, Texas DD Council

Children with complex behavioral health needs — and their families — face real barriers to getting effective help. This presentation unpacks the science of brain development to explain why dysregulated behavior happens, how it affects healthy growth, and how the brain's natural plasticity opens doors to real, lasting change.

This presentation is the product of a two-year project funded by the Department of Health and Human Services through the NASDDDS Link Center. The Link Center partners include NASMHPD, NASHIA, NADD.

04/10/2026

04/10/2026

Event Alert:

Grassroots Project Webinar: An Overview of H.R. 1
April 13, 2026
2pm-3pm EST

NACDD's Policy Director Erin Prangley will be a guest on the Grassroots Project webinar, a one-hour walkthrough and overview of H.R. 1. The webinar will focus on how this legislation pertains to people with disabilities.

Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_w_BCZzNVQXiSpOYrJSOhoA

Learn more about the Grassroots Project from HSRI: https://www.hsri.org/projects/the-grassroots-project/

04/09/2026

"When talking to students, I saw first-hand how their disability affected them and how I could help them,” Dumas said. “Now I want to help create systems that make things clearer, more accessible, and more supportive for others so that another student won’t feel the same way I did.”

Allan Dumas is a graduate student at SUNY Brockport and interns at the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities. In his work, he is supporting national disability policy and advocacy initiatives.

Check out his experience here and what he plans to do in the disability field!

Graduate student interns at the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities supporting national disability policy and advocacy initiati...

03/30/2026

Relationship building is at the heart of effective advocacy!

We are resharing this great moment from Senator Andy Kim’s meeting with the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) and advocate Kevin Nunez. Seeing these connections in action reminds us why it is so vital for self-advocates to be "in the room."

You don’t have to be at the State House to make an impact. You can start building those connections right from your home. This March, in honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, we launched a Build Relationships Portal that will be available all year. This new tool was created to help you connect with legislators and policymakers.

Use the portal to easily introduce yourself to:
- Your Mayor & City Council
- State Representatives & Governor
- Federal Senators & Representatives

Start building your relationships here: https://nacdd.quorum.us/DDAM2026/

03/30/2026

Coming soon: A national portrait collection!

We’ll be inviting individuals and families to share their photo and answer one question about their future — their “Always.”

Because we’re here.

Then, Now, Always.

Stay tuned.

03/28/2026

Project Impact Highlight: Hawai`i

The Bridging Aging and Disabilities Network (BADN) project in Hawai`i is helping older people with disabilities live with dignity and strong help.

To date, the project has:

- Started a training program for students to learn how to help people with disabilities.
- Made a "Hawai`i Guide" for memory loss and turned it into the Ilocano language.
- Gave out 1,500 magnets to help people find where to call for help.
- Held "Resource Fairs" to bring different help groups together.

Learn more about Hawai`i’s work here: https://nacdd.org/state-profiles/hawaii/

Thank you to these Hawai`i partners for years of teamwork:

Hawai`i State Council on Developmental Disabilities
Executive Office on Aging
Self-Advocacy Advisory Council
Lanakila Pacific
Catholic Charities Hawai`i
Center on Disability Studies (University of Hawai`i at Manoa)
Hawai`i Disability Rights Center
Hawai`i Department of Health's Developmental Disabilities Division

Across the country, BADN now connects 17 states to make services for aging and disabilities work better together. Learn more: https://nacdd.org/bridging-and-aging-disability-network/

03/25/2026

Project Impact Highlight: Kansas

The Bridging Aging and Disabilities Network (BADN) project in Kansas is helping older people with disabilities live well with strong support.

The team in Kansas has:

- Worked with groups that care for the very sick to help them learn about disabilities
- Made easy guides for planning the future and health care
- Helped start a new law to make the group of people who help at home stronger
- Worked with women with disabilities to make a health guide for women

Learn more about Kansas’s work here: https://nacdd.org/state-profiles/kansas/

Thanks to the Kansas partners for years of working together:

Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS)
Advent Health Shawnee Mission
KU Alzheimer’s Clinic
Down Syndrome Innovations
University of Kansas School of Nursing
Johnson County Developmental Supports
Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care

Across the country, BADN now connects 17 states to make services for aging and disabilities work better together. Learn more: https://nacdd.org/bridging-and-aging-disability-network/

03/24/2026

Look who stopped by! This week, NACDD staff are holding office hours on Capitol Hill to support state DD Council members meeting with congressional offices. This is an important part of the work of YOUR State DD Councils who educate and inform lawmakers about the issues that matter to the DD community in their states.

Image 1: Today, the NACDD policy team Allan (A4) Dumas, Erin Prangley and Jack Neblo are ready to meet DD Council members as they visit their congressional offices!

Image 2: State Council Executive Directors Paul Jarvis (OH), Jon Meyers (AZ) and Johnathan Taylor (AR) are in Washington DC and ready to meet and share about what matters to the DD community in their states.

Image 3: State developmental disabilities advocates from Nevada and Arkansas join NACDD in Washington DC for a week of congressional meetings.

03/22/2026

This , we’re launching a relationship-building effort.

People with developmental disabilities, families, and community members can connect with key decision-makers locally, statewide, and federally.

Your voice matters. Your story matters.

Introduce yourself to your lawmakers here: https://nacdd.quorum.us/DDAM2026/