"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1994, the nation has celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service. This is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service — a "day on, not a day off."

The Administration for Community Living joins President Obama in recognizing American Heart Month.

For many years, state courts have routinely assigned guardians to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as they became adults. Older adults with dementia-related disorders also frequently have been assigned guardians.

The New Year Brings New HCBS Settings Rules … but NOT immediate changes in services! As states and stakeholders across the country assess their Medicaid-funded home and community-based settings for compliance with the 2014 regulations, many people with disabilities and their families have asked whether their current services will change immediately, due to the regulation. In other words, they want to know: If a state determines that a current HCB setting is not compliant with the new regulation, does it have to stop providing services in that setting immediately?

Implementation of the Department of Labor’s "Home Care Rule" requires careful thought and planning to ensure the rights of people with disabilities as provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act and clarified in the Olmstead decision.

December 1 is the 26th annual World AIDS Day. While raising awareness of the prevalence of AIDS and HIV, we also need to raise awareness about who is at risk. Unsafe sex is the most common way people contract HIV worldwide. Unfortunately, many people mistakenly assume that older Americans and individuals with a disability are not sexually active and therefore not at risk for HIV infection.

Each May, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) celebrates Older Americans Month to recognize older Americans for their contributions to the nation. In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA), we are focused on how older adults are taking charge of their health, getting engaged in their communities, and making a positive impact in the lives of others. The theme for Older Americans Month 2015 is "Get into the Act."

By Vicki Gottlich, Director of the Center for Policy and Evaluation, Administration for Community Living

Protecting the Voting Rights of People with Disabilities In this blog, we feature a conversation about voting rights for people with disabilities between Commissioner Aaron Bishop, of the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD), and Melvenia Wright, a program specialist with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) who manages grants related to the Help American Vote Act (HAVA).