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May 13, 2021 | Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging
COVID-19 has taken its toll on older adults and people with disabilities in many ways. In addition to increased risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19, many also faced the serious threat of being forced to move from their homes into institutions -- or were unable to return to the community…
May 11, 2021 |
By Alison Barkoff, Acting ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging
COVID-19 has been devastating for people living in congregate settings, with residents experiencing among the highest rates of infection and comprising nearly one-third of deaths. They have been isolated from friends…
April 30, 2021 |
Autism Acceptance Month offers an opportunity to recognize the diversity of experiences within the autistic community. To that end, ACL is sharing the perspective of Noor Pervez, a self-advocate who has channeled his own experiences into a career in advocacy for autistic people. Pervez currently…
April 19, 2021 | Vicki Gottlich, Director, Center for Policy and Evaluation
Money Follows the Person (MFP) was recently extended for three years by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The legislation also made two important changes that affect ACL’s networks and the people they serve.
Since it was first authorized in 2005, the Money Follows the Person (MFP)…
April 2, 2021 | Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging
Alison Barkoff, second from right, with three volunteers from the ENDependence vaccination clinic.
Photo by John Battiston, Loudoun Times Mirror
In a briefing by President Biden on Monday about the nation’s vaccination efforts, he announced a new initiative to support vaccine access for…
March 25, 2021 | Reyma McCoy McDeid, Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities
In President Biden’s Inaugural address to the nation, he said that we are living in “a time of testing” that requires boldness to address the cascading crises of our era. One of the leading national challenges before us is employment. This national challenge is real – and it has disproportionately…
March 22, 2021 | Louise Ryan, Regional Administrator for Region X and National Ombudsman Program Coordinator
Since March 2020, Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs have heard the voices of residents and their loved ones:
“I thought that you had forgotten about me!”
“I think about dying.”
“I look through the window at my husband and can see that he has lost weight; I’m not sure if he recognizes me.”
The…
March 15, 2021 | Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging
Each March, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month offers us a chance to lift up the many ways people with DD make our communities stronger and showcase the hard work of self-advocates and the DD network across the country to advance the civil rights of people with DD. DD Awareness Month also…
March 11, 2021 |
Across the country, people with disabilities and their family and friends have been speaking up about the importance of equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution. In this guest post for the ACL Blog we hear from two Arizona self-advocates who shared their stories at a recent press conference…
March 3, 2021 | Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging
In March, ACL and our many partners set aside time to celebrate the National Senior Nutrition Program. For 49 years, the National Senior Nutrition Program has been a mainstay of the Older Americans Act programs that work together to help older adults stay healthy, active and independent. Since…