Full Agenda of Disability-related Events this Month and Next

This year's Developmental Disability Awareness Month events have been rich and exciting - I enjoyed the Lifeline/Project ACTION! gathering on March 14, learned a great deal from the panelists at the "Her Story" event on March 18, and was so happy to attend the DD council meeting in person the following day. (Check out the DD council website here.)

There's more to come!  This Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. will be the capstone DDAM event at DDS headquarters, with the mayor and other dignitaries in attendance.  And on Friday, March 27, we'll have the regular DDS forum, on Zoom, where there will be a presentation on ranked-choice voting and updates on various benefits programs. Charlisa Payne (charlisa.payne2@dc.gov) can answer any questions you might have about either of these.

But hard on the heels of DDAM is budget season, and the mayor will be issuing her top-line budget on April 1, with the DDS briefing before the council coming on April 8.  There will also be a DDS budget briefing sometime before the 8th, so keep your eyes open for that.

I've also been asked by Yetta Myrick of DC Autism Parents to share this flyer about conversations starting this Wednesday, with respect to the need for greater accessibility of DPR locations and programming to all people with disabilities.  Please try to participate in at least one of these!

DDS performance review: Remote Supports and Waitlist Delay

The DDS performance review took place as announced last Thursday.  There were many witnesses for both ODR and DDS, and the DDS portion of the hearing didn't begin until early afternoon, lasting beyond 5 p.m.!  There clearly is growing interest and attention to all sorts of issues affecting DC's disability community.

The testimony of DDS Director Andy Reese is here, and my own is here, but there were many other witnesses and you can hear the entire hearing at this link.  The Facilities Committee video is about the tenth on the list (2/26/26) and testimony concerning DDS starts about 3 hours and 20 minutes into the video.  I don't have copies of others' testimony to share, but there were other important speakers, including ODR  interim director Peter Stephan.  It's always worth listening to the question-and-answer portion, which in many ways is the most interesting part of the hearing.  

But to provide the most important DDS headlines, Andy Reese announced another delay in implementation of a waitlist for services, seemingly until the fall, and he promised more details in his budget testimony later this spring.  He and others also spoke encouragingly about the remote-supports pilot program, now getting under way, as a promising route to greater independence among people receiving supports as well as a potential source of cost savings.  I, too, am looking forward to the remote-supports rollout, but I'm aware that some of the cautionary notes about implementation sounded by Jimi Lethbridge of the Quality Trust (who sadly is about to retire!) near the end of the hearing do need to be heeded.  There also was an interesting give-and-take between council member Lewis George and Shannon Austin during the Q and A for DDS, which I though was helpful in laying out the background and perspectives of the new RSA head.

Now things will move forward toward the mayor's issuance of her proposed budget early next month.  A lot is riding on the uncertainty around our tax season and how much revenue will actually be available.  I hope you'll stay on top of further developments and make sure to let your views be known when the DDS budget hearing is scheduled.

DDS Performance Review is This Week - Not too Late to Testify!

I wrote last month about the upcoming DDS and ODR performance review council hearing, and that will be happening on Thursday of this week.  You can register here to testify.  I know many have concerns about plans for a waitlist, as well as abrupt withdrawals of nutrition, fitness and other services that can be very important for those relying on them.  Any such changes need to happen after discussion with the person's team, and the person supported also needs the opportunity to appeal - so if you or someone you know is affected, I hope you'll plan to testify, whether in person or by Zoom.  There's also a new director for RSA who needs to hear about people's experiences with their transition and employment services, and that's also a topic at this hearing.

Last Friday's memorial service for Mat McCollough was very touching and a great reminder of how many people the former head of the Office of Disability Rights had reached, from the mayor, who spoke at the start of the service, to members of his family, and friends far and wide.  It's hard to imagine ODR testifying this Thursday without him at the table.

On Friday, the monthly DDS forum will take place at noon. (Contact Charlisa Payne at Charlisa.Payne2@dc.gov to get the Zoom link)  Following last month's detailed presentations on remote supports (find them here, toward the bottom), this month there will be further discussion of how remote supports are starting to be implemented under the pilot program, as well as programming in recognition of Black History Month (February) and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (March).

I want to take a moment to acknowledge that starting last year, DC has found itself in far more difficult budgetary circumstances than we've customarily been used to, in light of Congressional actions affecting Medicaid, and, more specifically, DC's ability to raise and spend our own local tax monies.  I won't get into more detail here, but if you'd like to read more you can look at some of the posts in my weekly newsletter called DClives.

These budget woes make the work of disability advocates harder as we try to protect the services and supports on which people rely.  With limited resources across the board, it's even more important to stand up and be heard.  This Thursday, and from now on throughout the FY2027 budget season.

Get Your Spurs On – New Challenges on the Disability Front this Year!

So much upheaval as the year gets under way.

First, the untimely death of Mat McCollough, the longtime head of our Office of Disability Rights and, above all, a stalwart of our local community.  To say he will be missed is such an understatement.  I have no word as yet about a memorial event but I know that planning is under way.

Second, planning continues in DDS to initiate a waitlist, with the startup now expected at the beginning of February.  Advocates and the DC council all question the necessity for a waitlist to be instituted at this stage, but DDS director Reese continues to underscore the necessity of doing so.  In the meantime, advocates continue to report that people are having supports discontinued abruptly, without people being notified in advance or given notice of their appeal rights.

Third, the waitlist and the cancellation of certain supports will certainly we foremost in the minds, and testimony, of advocates at the ODR and DDS performance review hearing before the DC council’s Facilities Committee on February 26 starting at 9:30.  I don’t yet find a signup page but will share that when I have it, since many voices will be needed at the table this year!

Fourth, I strongly encourage you to tune in a week from today – for the January 23 monthly DDS forum, where these and other topics will be on the agenda.

The new year has begun, and you have a lot to do to keep our local disability community moving in the right direction!

And the New Year Begins!

There will be a lot of news to come in 2026, but for now I'm feeling celebratory and will just redirect you to my new DClives post, which leads with the photo of the 5k shared by DDS a few days ago:  State of the District.

I hope your 2026 is getting off to a satisfactory start, despite the challenges...and I look forward to seeing you at the DDS forum on January 23!

Big Developments on the DC Disability Front

I've been delinquent in my blogging lately, but the time has come to try to make up for that.  So much is happening nationally that has an impact on disability supports here and across the country, but there still are local developments and initiatives that deserve your attention.

Coming up next week is a hearing on an important bill: the Judith Heumann Memorial Workers with Disabilities Act, introduced by the council's health committee chair, Christina Henderson.  The purpose of this bill would be to allow, within certain parameters, people who do not qualify under Medicaid criteria to "buy into" Medicaid in order to receive disability supports.  The bill is not perfect, and a number of advocacy groups had hoped for a delay in the hearing to allow for further review.  But the hearing will be happening on December 11 at 9:30, and it is not too late to sign up, here (see upper right-hand corner).

The very next day, December 12, DDS will host its monthly community forum at noon - usually to be found at this link, but it's worthwhile to reach out to Charlisa Payne to make sure you get the announcement directly from the source.  The central item on the agenda will be a presentation by DHCF about expected changes to Medicaid in the coming year, so I'd suggest you carve out the hour and a half from 12-1:30 on the 12th to tune into this discussion.

Besides these two events on Thursday and Friday of next week, what continues in the background is a series of discussions among DDS and key advocacy groups on potential future measures to continue providing needed HCBS supports (see here for definitions) but in more cost-effective ways.  While these discussions are not likely to derail DDS planning for a waitlist, now scheduled to take effect in early 2026, we may begin learning more about the sorts of other changes under consideration when the FY2027 budget season gets under way, starting in February. Unfortunately, in the meantime DDS has reportedly been denying and delaying services at the margins and undertaking other cuts that are placing burdens on provider agencies while not making a significant contribution to budget savings.

So the next few months promise to be full of meaningful discussions and announcements that will surely warrant our close attention.  Don't turn away.

- Thanks for reading!  And note also that since last May I'm also writing a weekly newsletter, DClives, published each Monday and covering the real DC,  where people live and don't just pass through.  Here was my recent post about Project ACTION!

Upcoming October and November/December DDS Forums

Thomas' memorial service last Thursday was such a positive and healing experience - he contributed so much and it was an honor to his memory.  I was inspired by him to write a little more about Project ACTION! in my most recent DClives post here: DC's Disabled Advocates: Action!

A little additional information while I have your attention:  the October 24 DDS forum will be a budget discussion with DDS Director Andy Reese so you'll definitely want to be there - and there won't be a DDS monthly forum in November, just one combined Nov/Dec one, on December 12.  

The Passing of a Beloved Friend and Advocate

It seems to me that the most important topic at this time is the passing of Thomas Mangrum (https://www.washingtonblade.com/2025/09/29/obituary-thomas-mangrum/), who played such a central role in guiding Project ACTION! and in advancing disability rights here in DC until his passing in mid-September.  He and I served on a number of committees and boards together, and whenever I saw him in person, he never failed to ask after my son.  Thomas was a force to be reckoned with, and his shoes will be hard to fill – but filled they will be.  I hope to see some of you at the service on Thursday (which I understand he planned himself – very in character 😊).  In the meantime, take a moment, if you’re financially able to do so, to make a special contribution in his memory to Quality Trust at this link:  https://qualitytrustforindividualswithdisabilities.networkforgood.com/projects/260087-celebration-of-life-for-l-thomas-mangrum-jr. 

As you’ve noticed, we still have both the DC and other National Guard troops on our streets, as well as less-recognizable federal agents, often masked.  In QT’s September CEO note, there is useful information about staying safe in these unsettling times.  You can find that here:  https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/shawns-september-ceo-note-2/

Also, since I wrote last month about plans to institute a wait list for the first time, I want to update readers about that issue.  DDS Director Reese has clarified that a full audit of DC ARPA funds needs to take place before a wait list can go into effect, and that means the startup could be as late as January 1, 2026 – a welcome delay.  Also, at Project ACTION! this past Saturday, Deputy Director Winslow Woodland said there remains a slight possibility of a midyear funding request to the DC council – he provided no details but if it happens, this could change the fundamentals.  Also, the sustainability work group that I mentioned last month has met at least twice to consider possible DDS cost savings. 

And, in case you still aren’t sure, the federal government shutdown will not have a direct impact on DC services, although in a broader sense it isn’t going to make anything easier in the DMV.

Wait List Announced for DDS’s IDD Waiver

I confess  I’ve been very distracted by the unacceptable federal actions taking place recently in DC.  In case you’re interested, I’ve been writing about that here: DClives (click on it to open my Substack posts, and please share with your friends outside DC).  But there is also plenty happening with respect to local concerns for the disability community, so let me try to “dive in.”

Back in July I wrote (“We’re Getting Closer to a Budget”) about the disagreement between DDS and the Council’s facilities committee about the $1.6 million in waiver funding that the committee removed from the DDS budget.  In the DDS monthly forum on August 22, that disagreement was in full view, as you’ll note if you listen to the exchange between DDS Director Reese and Councilmember Lewis George’s staffer Sebastian Weinmann near the end of the video.  In brief, Reese indicated that there will, for the first time, be a wait list for the IDD waiver (see this page for explanation of relevant terms) beginning on October 1 (the start of the 2026 fiscal year) because of the cut in the mayor’s DDS funding request.  This seems to be happening even though there would be enough funding to get through most of the year, due to guidance from the administration’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer.  There already is a wait list policy, developed several years ago, that could be instituted fairly quickly.  Reese further announced that the IFS waiver will remain open to new candidates as long as there are open slots. 

Reese also linked this discussion to his announcement, in the DDS budget briefing May 30, that he would be forming a PCO “sustainability of services” work group that would meet monthly for six months, starting this month, in order to come up with suggestions for savings in the IDD waiver budget, since expenses are growing more quickly than can be explained by either increases in the cost of living or the addition of new people since FY2023's broadened eligibility.  DDS put out a call in mid-August for outside volunteers to join this work group.  Reese also indicated on August 22 that the IDD waiver, which is now being amended (also discussed in the August 22 forum, with comments due by September 15) could be amended again, probably in January 2027, as a result of any recommendations the work group may make. 

So, besides the generally challenging environment that all of us in DC are experiencing right now – or to some extent because of it – times are now going to become quite a bit tougher for people hoping to qualify for residential supports from DDS.

 

Let's All Stay Safe

 I want to focus first on events that our local disability community has coming up:

-    First, this Sunday night is Quality Trust's annual gala, and if you haven't got your ticket yet, do it now!

-    Second, this coming Friday, August 22, DDS will host its monthly noon forum, which this month will focus on proposed changes to the IDD waiver amendment and on future planning.  The $1.6 million that had been cut from the DDA waiver budget by the DC council may also come up in the discussion.

BUT I know people are mostly focused on what is going on around us now.  This article from the 51st talks about the rights people have when interacting with law-enforcement officials.  This is even more important now, since the president announced this week a more direct federal role in DC crimefighting efforts.  What seems to me especially important in this article is:

• You need to provide your full name and address if asked
• It's a good idea to carry your ID and to provide it if asked
• You can always ask if you're free to go

Even though the procedures used by the MPD may differ some from those of federal agencies, if for any reason you're taken into custody you should be able to make a phone call to someone who supports you.

Stay tuned, there will be more helpful information coming your way in the coming days.  The #1 priority is for all of us to stay safe!