On October 11, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 341, legislation authored by state Assembly Member Dr. Joaquin Arambula, that advances vital improvements in oral health for people with developmental disabilities.

AB 341 will establish the Oral Health for People with Disabilities Technical Assistance Center Program, requiring the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to contract with a public California dental school to administer trainings, education, and technical assistance to expand the capacity of dental providers to serve people with disabilities. Additionally, it will help reduce the overreliance on general anesthesia and sedation and shorten waitlists by giving providers the tools to use alternative and preventive approaches to care.

This legislation is intended to address waitlists for dental assessments of 6 months to a year and treatment with waitlists as long as three years.

The North Los Angeles County Regional Center (NLACRC) has recently launched a podcast series that delves into engaging topics and important community issues. This podcast creates an opportunity to learn, share, and connect. Each episode explores significant matters affecting the community, provides helpful resources, and highlights initiatives that are making a difference. Join NLACRC for insightful conversations that will keep you informed and inspired.

Recent guests on the podcast include State Senator Caroline Menjivar and State Assemblymembers Pilar Schiavo and Tom Lackey. New episode are released every month and can be accessed on the NLACRC website by clicking here.

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) have reintroduced the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Relief Act (S.2076/H.R. 4029), a bill that would provide much-needed support to state programs that fund home and community-based care services. Currently, staffing shortages of direct care providers have led to a reduction in HCBS availability.

The HCBS Relief Act would provide dedicated Medicaid funds to states for two years to stabilize their HCBS service delivery networks, recruit and retain HCBS direct care workers, and meet the long-term service and support needs of people eligible for Medicaid home and community-based services. 

“Medicaid is the single largest payer of long-term care in our country,” said Dingell. “At a time when Medicaid is facing unprecedented, historic cuts, it’s more important than ever that we prioritize home and community-based services. This legislation will provide much-needed investment in our care workforce, making it easier for those who need care to get it, and supporting the caregivers doing this crucial work.”

The HCBS Relief Act would provide dedicated Medicaid funds to states for two years to stabilize their HCBS service delivery networks, recruit and retain HCBS direct care workers, and meet the long-term service and support needs of people eligible for Medicaid home and community-based services. States would receive a 10-point increase in the federal Medicaid match (FMAP) for two fiscal years to enhance HCBS.

These funds can be used to improve states’ HCBS infrastructure and workforce in several ways, including:

• Increasing direct care worker pay,
• Providing benefits such as paid family leave or sick leave to workers,
• Covering transportation expenses to and from the homes of care recipients,
• Facilitating the recruitment and training of additional direct care workers,
• Implementing assistive technologies to support person-centered care.

Momentum urges all advocates to use the online advocacy portal to contact elected officials to urge them to enact this important legislation. You can take action by clicking here.

As lawmakers face growing pressure to find common ground on a framework to reopen the federal government, work continues on other important bills and initiatives. Disability advocates are urged to contact their legislator now to ensure that the needs and interests of people with disabilities are not ignored at this chaotic time in our nation’s Capital.

All stakeholders are urged to visit Momentum’s VoterVoice advocacy site to support the following three disability-related issues.

Call for Increased Funding for Head Start

The recently released FY2026 federal budget proposal does not include an increase in Head Start funding for the third straight year. This aligns with the U.S. Congress FY 2025 continuing resolution, which holds Federal funding at FY2024 levels for most Federal programs, including Head Start.

The modest request of a 3.2% COLA is an essential first step in stabilizing the Head Start workforce and maintaining access to this critical support for children in the United States. 

Please take two minutes to add your voice in urging Congress to support a COLA for Head Start in FY2026 by clicking here to visit Momentum’s online advocacy center.

Protect Medicaid Access for Disaster Survivors

The Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (DRMA), is bicameral legislation that would protect access to Medicaid services for individuals forced to relocate due to federally declared disasters or public health emergencies.

DRMA would ensure that seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid waivers do not lose the critical, life-sustaining services they need if they are forced to evacuate their homes during a disaster. The bill would designate such individuals as “Relief-Eligible Survivors” and allow them to continue receiving Medicaid-supported services in their temporary residence.

Click here to add your voice.

Reinstate Provider Taxes for Medicaid-Funded Services

On July 15, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo) introduced the Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act, legislation that would repeal a portion of H.R. 1, the recently passed reconciliation bill referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including repeal of the provider tax moratorium and the future reduction of provider tax authority in the reconciliation bill. This legislation would restore a key Medicaid funding source that states rely on to finance their programs.

This legislation would restore $66-$128 billion in Medicaid revenue to California hospitals over 10 years. Without this legislation, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will likely be forced to cut other health care services, including disability support funding, to offset this revenue loss.

Advocates are encouraged to support this legislation to stabilize California’s Medicaid system and prevent funding and service cuts. To add your voice in support of the Protect Medicaid and Rural Hospitals Act, click here.

Momentum joins with the National Head Start Association (NHSA) and Head Start California in calling for a much-needed cost of living adjustment for Head Start funding.

The U.S. Congress recently passed a FY 2025 continuing resolution which held Federal funding at FY2024 levels for most Federal programs, including Head Start. This resolution is the first of many steps in the appropriations process and provides an ideal opportunity for constituents – including Head Start families, staff, alumni, and supporters – to let their members of Congress know what they need to prioritize when appropriating funds for Fiscal Year 2026, which begins on October 1, 2025. 

“Head Start is a critical program that supports marginalized families across our nation. An increase in funding is imperative to support its already underpaid workforce with necessary cost of living increases,” said Katie Kang, Regional Director of Pediatric Programs and Services for Momentum. “Without an increase, programs are also forced to make cuts to vital services that help our families lift themselves out of poverty and thrive.”

Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve more than 778,000 children and families nationwide and employ more than 263,000 staff throughout the country. A Head Start cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is a sound, cost-effective investment in our youth, allowing them to reach their full potential. According to the Office of Head Start, its program graduates score higher on school readiness measures such as verbal achievement, perceptual reasoning, and social competence than their peers who were not enrolled in these critical programs. For every dollar invested in Head Start, the country realizes almost nine dollars in benefits through increased earnings, decreased welfare dependence, and reduced reliance on other social programs.

The modest 3.2% COLA is an essential first step in stabilizing the Head Start workforce and maintaining access to this critical support for children in the United States. 

Please take two minutes to add your voice in urging Congress to support a COLA for Head Start in FY2026 by clicking here to visit Momentum’s online advocacy center.

During Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) reintroduced H.R. 2178, the Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act. The bipartisan legislation would create the first-ever cerebral palsy (CP) federal research program to investigate prevention, diagnosis, treatment and the societal costs of cerebral palsy, the most prevalent life-long physical disability.

H.R. 2178 would allocate $5,000,000 for CP research and would encourage the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to conduct an updated study of its 2003 report on the healthcare and societal costs of CP in the US. The appropriations bill also contains language urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a Cerebral Palsy Strategic Planning workshop focusing on early detection and intervention.

“Although cerebral palsy affects one out of every 345 children, it is the most prevalent disability that has no designated federal funding for research,” said Congressman Cohen. “No dedicated federal funding for cerebral palsy means there are fewer treatment options, less prevention, less education, and a lack of standards of care across lifespans. The Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act addresses these critical oversights.”

You can join Momentum in calling for the passage of the Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act by clicking here to visit Momentum’s Online Advocacy Campaign.

On March 27, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a significant reorganization and down-sizing plan that includes the dissolution of the Administration for Community Living (ACL).

The overall HHS restructuring is intended to cut its workforce by roughly 24%, from 82,000 to 62,000 employees. It will also consolidate twenty-eight divisions within HHS into fifteen new divisions.

The functions that currently fall within the responsibility of the ACL will be integrated into other HHS agencies, including the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). HHS leadership has stated that the reorganization efforts will not adversely impact Medicare and Medicaid services.

The ACL was created in 2012 to consolidate the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability, and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. To read the HHS press announcement click here.

In a related announcement, the White House announced the closure of the U.S. Department of Education “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” As part of that action, all functions supporting students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) would be transferred to the HHS.

On April 1, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), alongside Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act to reform the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which has not been updated in 40 years. Currently, the program unfairly punishes people with disabilities for saving responsibly for emergencies or their futures. A companion to this bill will be introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

Currently, individuals with a disability are only eligible for SSI if they have under $2,000 in assets. SSI’s marriage penalty restricts married couples to a total of $3,000 in financial resources to remain eligible. The Senators’ bipartisan, bicameral legislation would update SSI’s asset limits for the first time since the 1980s to allow millions of Americans with disabilities to marry, work, earn, and save money without putting the benefits they rely on to live at risk.

A study by JPMorganChase suggests that current asset and income limits on federal benefits for people with disabilities make it harder for them to work a part-time job or save money for an emergency. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act would raise the SSI asset limits to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples, and index them to inflation moving forward. The last update to SSI asset limits was passed by Congress in 1984 and went into effect in 1989.

To add you voice to those calling for a long overdue update to SSI asset limits, click here.