Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. While these concepts, commonly known as DEI, are currently under attack, they are at the center of the service delivery system for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across the country, and particularly in the District of Columbia.
By definition, people who are eligible for services from the District’s Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) are people with no or extremely limited incomes and people with significant disabilities that require life-long accommodations and supportive services. But in the District, they are also overwhelmingly people of color.
As the federal government looks to eliminate its programmatic and financial support for “DEI,” there is reason to worry that funding for services and supports for people with IDD will face significant cuts and those savings will be found on the backs of those who can least afford it. Any funding cuts or programmatic restructuring to Medicaid will mean fewer services, fewer providers, and fewer staff to provide job training and job coaches, as well as in-home care like help bathing, dressing, cooking, and cleaning; medical care like feeding protocols, wound management, and respiratory care; or behavior support to manage depression, anxiety, and aggression. Funding and programmatic cuts will roll back decades of advocacy for people with disabilities to receive the basic care they need to live safely and as independently as possible in the community, the reason Quality Trust was created more than twenty years ago.
The recent threat of freezing, and potentially cutting, federal grant funds to determine whether the programs comply with the President’s orders related to DEI may also impact people with IDD in DC. For example, Quality Trust relies on federal funding to support its work with local partners to create a better system of supports and services for people with IDD in DC who are survivors of sexual violence. We, and many other nonprofits in DC and elsewhere, cannot imagine, create, research, pilot, or test new ideas for solving tough challenges without this kind of funding support.
This month, Black History Month, is the perfect time to challenge the impacts that threats to DEI have for people of color with IDD in DC. For starters, please share your stories and testify at the upcoming DC Council Performance Oversight hearings about how critical services for people with IDD must be protected, no matter the current political or financial environment. You can also join The Arc’s Action Center or Caring Across Generations Email List to stay up-to-date on what’s affecting people with disabilities and their families at the federal level.
Don’t let people talk about DEI without literally spelling it out so that everyone knows what they’re fighting for or against. Diversity. The idea that all people should be respected no matter their background or identity. Equity. The idea that all people should be treated fairly no matter what their individual circumstances are. Inclusion. The idea that all people should have access to the same opportunities no matter their physical or mental abilities
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Make your voice heard…now and always!