ANCOR is proud to support the Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act reintroduced by @kaine.senate.gov. This bill will improve disability services by making much-needed investments to support the direct care workforce and family caregivers. Learn more ⬇️

On the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, we must reaffirm our commitment to community inclusion. Read ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill's response to DOJ's harmful memo that would undermine individuals’ access to community-based services.

Today in @thehill.com , ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill, @easterseals.bsky.social President & CEO Kendra Davenport, and UCP Interim President & CEO Diane Wilush highlight the caregiver workforce crisis and why policymakers must invest in community-based services. Read our op-ed ⬇️

ANCOR is proud to support the HCBS Access Act reintroduced by @debbiedingell.house.gov & @schakowsky.house.gov. This bill will make much-needed investments into the Medicaid HCBS system and strengthen access to community-based services for people with disabilities. Learn more ⬇️

Thank you @debbiedingell.house.gov, @replsimon.bsky.social & @pettersen.house.gov for honoring the essential work of direct support professionals who empower people with disabilities by introducing a resolution designating April as #CareWorkersRecognitionMonth.

“They didn’t just denigrate family caregivers, they denigrated the work of the professionals in our fields by suggesting that all HCBS could just be done by family caregivers, and it should all be done for free," said ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill in @nbcnews.com @mikehixenbaugh.com article. Read more:

ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill issued a statement in response to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s remarks in front of the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday. Read the full statement below.

ANCOR is proud to support the SSI Savings and Efficiency Act introduced by @davids.house.gov and @scanlon.house.gov . This bill will provide a common-sense fix to enable people with disabilities and older adults to access the support they need to remain in their homes and communities. Learn more⬇️

“Cutting more funding from Medicaid—after decades of underinvestment and on top of significant cuts included in H.R. 1—creates great uncertainty for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), their families, and the community providers who support them."

DSPs are the backbone of community-based services for people with I/DD. As #CareWorkersRecognitionMonth begins, support the direct support workforce & ensure better data collection.

ICYMI: ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill testified at a House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing yesterday to shine a light on the critical role of community-based services in the lives of people with I/DD, their families & communities. Watch her testimony: www.youtube.com/live/SgsYVQf...

ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill shared the per person cost of HCBS vs large state institutions during today's House hearing on health care affordability. Thank you @repbarragan.bsky.social for highlighting that HCBS is the most impactful AND cost-effective solution for people with disabilities.

"Home and Community Based Services make it possible for people with I/DD to carry out daily activities of living, build skills, find and keep jobs. They also allow loved ones to remain in the workforce." -Barbara Merrill, ANCOR CEO at @housecommerce.bsky.social Health Subcommittee hearing

On March 18, ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill will testify in front of the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee during a hearing on health care affordability. The event starts at 10:15am ET, and can be livestreamed here -> energycommerce.house.gov/events/healt... #disability

ANCOR is proud to support the bipartisan SSI Restoration Act. Introduced by @warren.senate.gov, Reps. Grijalva, Schakowsky & Moylan, this bill will strengthen critical SSI benefits that support people with disabilities and update the program to meet current needs. Learn more:

This week Congress passed a law to remove age limits on Medicaid Buy-In programs. This is a big win for people with disabilities age 65+ who can keep their jobs without losing Medicaid.

'Called the Case for Inclusion Data Snapshot, the report is an annual assessment of the effectiveness of state programs, with the aim of providing targeted insights about the challenges facing community-based IDD services.' www.mcknightshomecare.com/news/report-... #disability #IDD #medicaid

*NEW* Analysis from ANCOR & UCP uncovers modest but meaningful improvements in the workforce that supports people with IDD, & proposes policy solutions to ensure that progress is sustainable while facing looming federal funding cuts. Learn more: caseforinclusion.org #disability #medicaid #data

New data from ANCOR’s sixth annual survey of community providers highlights key challenges providers and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) face as a result of Medicaid eligibility and renewal policies. Take a look in our new fact sheet: www.ancor.org/wp-content/u...

"Add to [the ongoing workforce crisis] the nearly $1 trillion in funding cuts passed earlier this year in the budget bill, and it’s not hard to understand why people with disabilities are gravely concerned about the future of their services.” www.mcknightshomecare.com/news/survey-...

This fall, ANCOR fielded our sixth annual survey of community providers of I/DD services, continuing our effort to better understand how providers navigate long-term shortages of direct support professionals (DSPs). Here’s what we learned: www.ancor.org/resources/th...

Autism is not a crisis. It does not destroy families. Help us tell federal policymakers to invest in community-based services and ensure people with Autism have access to critical supports to participate in our communities: www.ancor.org/actions/advo...

@GovMurphy has declared this week to be #DirectSupportProfessionalsWeek! @NJDHS thanks all DSPs who make a difference in the lives of so many by providing necessary supports that enable them to live, work & enjoy life as independently as possible in their community. #DSPRW2025

It's day one of #DSPRW2025! We start the week by recognizing our Central Region DSP of the Year, Kait Mearkle! Her superiors put it best: Kait is invested in #SupportingPeople. She engages in research to help them, and informs them of the consequences of their choices. Thank you for everything!

It’s Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition Week! #ILA is proud to recognize this critical part of our workforce who deliver loving support, encouragement, and guidance to the Individuals in our care. #ThankYou for the compassion and dedication that you exhibit every day! #DSPRW2025

To us, September is a month of marveling at the incredible work done by our Direct Support Professionals. Starting tomorrow, we’re celebrating our 7 Valley DSPs of the year during #DSPRW2025! Join us and our partners at @therealancor.bsky.social, PAR and TPA as we celebrate the passion of our DSPs

Today, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ADA, its promise is in jeopardy following the passage of President Trump’s tax bill, which will cut approximately $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next several years. Read more from ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill and the Honorable Tony Coelho in TIME.

For weeks, we hoped the Senate’s reconciliation bill would retreat from the devastating Medicaid cuts passed by the House in H.R. 1. What we got instead was a bill that increased harmful reductions that will devastate services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

Senators hold the opportunity to continue protecting our most vulnerable populations by rejecting any cuts to Medicaid and not putting further stress on a system already in crisis, says Barbara Merrill of @therealancor.bsky.social‬: www.commondreams.org/opinion/medi...

CEO @barbaramerrill.bsky.social writes in @commondreams.org about why #Congress must #SaveMedicaid: "If lawmakers truly care about boosting economies, they would invest in, not divest from Medicaid, because these services actually play a critical yet often invisible role in state economies."

Thank you, Precious Myers-Brown, for sharing the story of Nirvana and the things #Medicaid empowered her to learn, do and dream at the age of 85! "She has a place on earth, just like every one of us!" #ProtectMedicaid

So grateful for leaders like @CarolineMeehan9, Executive Dir for ANCOR member @CPAssociationLA, who tells the story of Wayne, a man from Shreveport who passed away in 2020, and whose life was permanently altered for the better thanks to #Medicaid. Wayne's story reveals why we must #ProtectMedicaid!

Thank you, @duckworth.senate.gov, for your leadership in helping us to #ProtectMedicaid! #SaveMedicaid #CareCantWait

"I knew that if I ever needed more support, more care, I knew I could rely on Medicaid [...]. We will win again!" -- @mariatown.bsky.social from @aapd-disability.bsky.social #ProtectMedicaid #SaveMedicaid #CareCantWait

LIVESTREAM NOW! Medicaid is critical to the well-being of older adults, disabled people, family caregivers, care workers, and families in EVERY community and district. That’s why we’re joining @caringacrossgen in DC for a 24-hour #ProtectMedicaid vigil. Tune in: youtube.com/live/tBo00pL...

It's a beautiful day to #ProtectMedicaid! Thrilled to join so many amazing partners for a #Medicaid Vigil at the Capitol. Kicking things off with @aijenpoo, @ElenaHung202 and so many other fantastic speakers! #SaveMedicaid

Medicaid is not just a line item in a budget – it's a lifeline for millions of people with I/DD and their families. That’s why we’re joining a 24-hour #ProtectMedicaid vigil at the U.S. Capitol this week to share our stories and make our voices heard. Join us: go.caringacross.org/a/dc-medicai...

ANCOR members across the country champion community, accessibility, and opportunities for people with developmental disabilities every day—not just in March. This year, #DDAwareness Month kicked off a year-round disabilities awareness campaign that reminds everyone that “We’re Here All Year.”

Thank you, @congressmanraja.bsky.social, for advocating against cuts to #Medicaid and for recognizing the life-saving services delivered by Medicaid-funded community providers: youtu.be/0W8-F3HKSE0?...

Had a wonderful visit yesterday from Congressman David Min at our Autism Therapy and Disability Services Center in Irvine! He learned firsthand how vital Medicaid and Medi-Cal-funded services are for members of the disability community and Easterseals.

It's #DDAwareness Month, and ANCOR members understood the assignment: educate *everyone* about the value of #Disability services. For example, #Colorado member Tara Kiene's column in the @durangoherald.bsky.social shows the harmful effect of cuts to #Medicaid.

📢 LEND YOUR VOICE! 📢 As #DDAwareness Month rolls on, we're as committed as ever to creating a world where people w/ developmental disabilities have the options + resources they need to thrive. Please take two minutes or less today to lend your voice to our collective effort to #SaveMedicaid!

"Medicaid can’t be seen merely as a line item in the federal budget — it’s a lifeline for our most vulnerable neighbors and their families." Grateful for leaders like Shawn White and his colleagues at PathPoint for sounding the alarm that we must #SaveMedicaid!

“When I think about my life before I became a DSP, I see myself as an entirely different person. I was painfully shy, had no confidence, and no idea where to go next in life.” #Idaho advocate Thea Fuhs' inspiring words remind us why we must #SaveMedicaid. Thank you, Thea, for sharing your story!

📢 ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 Today marks the official kickoff to our National Week of Action to #SaveMedicaid! Each day this week we're sharing one easy action you can take to support critical #disability services. Today, take 2 minutes to tell your member of Congress to REJECT any cuts to #Medicaid funding.

72 Million Americans are on Medicaid 2/3 of Nursing Homes are funded by Medicaid Cuts to Medicaid will affect 15,000 Nursing Homes Cuts will also affect seniors, the disabled and children’s health care Rural Hospitals would close and Healthcare Workers would be unemployed #SaveMedicaid

Heartened to see advocates from ANCOR member Sevita rallying at city hall in Hesperia, CA, urging Rep. Jay Obernolte to protect Medicaid-funded services in Republicans' budget negotiations. #Medicaid is a critical lifeline for people with #disabilities so we must #SaveMedicaid!

Every day of #blackhistorymonth is a good day to honor Ms. Curtis and the legacy she leaves behind, as is every day of all the other months as well.

Owls are superb, but so is accessibility. :)

Capitalization affects how people read hashtags or how people hear them on screen readers. Use #camelCase or #PascalCase in hashtags instead of lowercase. You could have #SuperBowl ("Super Bowl") or #superbowl ("superb owl.") And while owls are indeed superb, confusing hashtags are not.