Today, April 1, 2025, we are witnessing a devastating and destabilizing shift in federal support for disabled people and older adults. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) sudden reorganization and mass layoffs within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) undermine the integrity of long-standing disability and aging programs and gut the infrastructure that communities rely on before, during, and after disasters.
This morning, hundreds of dedicated public servants—many of whom are disabled themselves—were locked out of their workplaces, handed early morning termination notices, and denied dignity in the process. Entire teams, including ACL’s policy, evaluation, communications, and grants management staff—who ensure access, equity, and compliance with disability rights laws—were dismantled without warning.
We are outraged and heartbroken. The loss of ACL as a centralized, disability-focused federal agency is not merely a bureaucratic reallocation. It is an assault on the rights and safety of disabled people and older adults across this country. These abrupt terminations send a dangerous message: that disability equity, plain language communication, community-based supports, and civil rights enforcement are expendable.
There is no emergency that justifies this dismantling. There is only a crisis of conscience and a failure of leadership.
We know the value of ACL because we’ve worked hand-in-hand with its staff to protect the lives of people with disabilities during wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and pandemics. These are not abstract services. This is Meals on Wheels. This is nursing home transition. This is access to wheelchairs, medications, and in-home services.
The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies is in full solidarity with ACL’s displaced staff and with every community now left wondering who will protect their rights, fund their support networks, and help them prepare for and survive the next disaster.
We remain fiercely committed to defending and advancing disability justice. Together, we ask you to help us by calling on Congress, federal leaders, and every agency absorbing ACL programs to ensure that no disabled person or older adult is left behind in this transition. Our community deserves transparency, continuity, and meaningful engagement, not dismantling and disregard.
We will keep showing up. We will keep fighting. And we will not let this moment pass without accountability.
Dismantling ACL Is a Direct Threat to Disability and Aging Communities
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Updated: April 1, 2025 by admin
Today, April 1, 2025, we are witnessing a devastating and destabilizing shift in federal support for disabled people and older adults. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) sudden reorganization and mass layoffs within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) undermine the integrity of long-standing disability and aging programs and gut the infrastructure that communities rely on before, during, and after disasters.
This morning, hundreds of dedicated public servants—many of whom are disabled themselves—were locked out of their workplaces, handed early morning termination notices, and denied dignity in the process. Entire teams, including ACL’s policy, evaluation, communications, and grants management staff—who ensure access, equity, and compliance with disability rights laws—were dismantled without warning.
We are outraged and heartbroken. The loss of ACL as a centralized, disability-focused federal agency is not merely a bureaucratic reallocation. It is an assault on the rights and safety of disabled people and older adults across this country. These abrupt terminations send a dangerous message: that disability equity, plain language communication, community-based supports, and civil rights enforcement are expendable.
There is no emergency that justifies this dismantling. There is only a crisis of conscience and a failure of leadership.
We know the value of ACL because we’ve worked hand-in-hand with its staff to protect the lives of people with disabilities during wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and pandemics. These are not abstract services. This is Meals on Wheels. This is nursing home transition. This is access to wheelchairs, medications, and in-home services.
The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies is in full solidarity with ACL’s displaced staff and with every community now left wondering who will protect their rights, fund their support networks, and help them prepare for and survive the next disaster.
We remain fiercely committed to defending and advancing disability justice. Together, we ask you to help us by calling on Congress, federal leaders, and every agency absorbing ACL programs to ensure that no disabled person or older adult is left behind in this transition. Our community deserves transparency, continuity, and meaningful engagement, not dismantling and disregard.
We will keep showing up. We will keep fighting. And we will not let this moment pass without accountability.
Category: Announcement, Disability Advocacy, Disability Advocacy, Uncategorized Tags: disability, disability rights, disasters, news