In a stunning reversal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on the use of electric shock devices that has inflicted painful abuse on residents of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts for decades. JRC is an institution for children and adults with […]

The 2021 Annual Membership Meeting was held Saturday morning, June 19th, at the Hamden Town Pavilion.  You couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather that day and the setting looked so inviting with picnic tables adorned with Unity Blooms from our Studio 190 program.   Attendees were delighted to gather for this in-person meeting after […]

By Micki, Grassroots Advocate   My husband and I consider ourselves to be informed parents. When our twin sons Zach and KC were diagnosed with intellectual disability in infancy, we tried to learn all we could to be a good mom and dad. We attended educational programs, joined local organizations that focused on families like […]

The system that provides supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families has fallen far short of their needs for decades, and the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and worsened this reality. The Better Care Better Jobs Act (BCBJA) introduced today will make a huge investment necessary to change disability services […]

By: Nicole Jorwic, Senior Director of Public Policy and Bethany Lilly, Senior Director of Income Policy While legislators in Washington, DC debate what IS and IS NOT infrastructure, people with disabilities and their families are grappling with day to day life, and a system that did not have the infrastructure and staff to support them […]

After more than a decade of unjust prosecution and abuse in the criminal justice system, Neli Latson, a Black man with multiple disabilities, is finally a free man. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam granted Mr. Latson, 29, a full pardon late Monday. Mr. Latson, who has autism and intellectual disability, now has the chance to live […]

Jose Velasco is thankful for the incredible journey of fatherhood. The father of two did not foresee the life he and his wife, Deya, and their son and daughter created, together. This Father’s Day, Jose reflects on nearly three decades of being a dad and how disability has rewarded his life in ways he had […]

“The Arc is relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court has once again upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and today dismissed the latest attack on the law. The ACA is critical to the lives of people with disabilities and low-income Americans. Without it, millions of adults and children would lose their health coverage, or it […]

We Were Afraid of Change, But The Arc Was There When Amy was born in 1967, her family was told that she needed to live in an institution to get the medical care and services she needed due to her inability to speak and move independently. Her family followed doctor’s orders and placed in her […]