WSPC 2026 Legislative Priorities

 

Washington State Parent and Family 2026 Legislative Priorities

 Washington Statewide Parent Coalitions collectively agree to prioritize and support families and individuals with IDD to share their needs for access and inclusion in the following legislative areas of concern:

 

• No cuts to Medicaid: Cuts cause crisis! Crisis is expensive. Protect funding for Medicaid and IDD waiver programs and services and rural health networks. Cost savings need to be reallocated in DDCS community supports. Increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to maintain provider networks. 

• Increase access to Behavioral Health for individuals with IDD: Individuals with co-occurring developmental/intellectual and behavioral health diagnoses deserve access to professional medical and behavioral health services and supports across the lifespan. 

• Address Provider Shortage: Individuals with IDD and their families need dependable, well-trained, well-paid, and culturally-competent providers in all areas of service. 

• Support Community Choice: Individuals with IDD have a right to fully access their community each day with appropriate support. Individuals with high support needs should not be excluded from participating in activities, work, or play because of unmet personal care or behavioral support needs. All people with IDD, both children and adults, deserve to have meaningful, engaging, and flexible opportunities to spend time with disabled and non-disabled peers of their choosing. 

• Increase Housing Options: Individuals with IDD and their families, and those living in DDCS residential habilitation centers need affordable and accessible housing with appropriate support. Adults with IDD who still reside with aging parent caregivers should be prioritized for DDA community residential services. 

• End Isolation and Reduce Restraints in Special Education: Individuals with IDD have a right to physical and emotional safety in schools. More work must be done to eliminate restraint and isolation in public education.

2025 Legislative Session Wrap-Up

Recap from the Arc of King County 

www.arcofkingcounty.org

 

Legislative Advocacy 2025

 

This year's Legislative Session begins January 13, 2025. To keep up to date on the the bills and hearings, check out the following sites, know who your legislators are https://leg.wa.gov/legislators/, and sign up for the Action Alerts with the Arc of WA at https://arcwa.org/advocacy/

Advocacy Days, part of The Arc’s Advocacy Partnership Project, are held during each legislative session to involve individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD), their families and their service providers in the legislative process, giving them opportunities to make their voices heard by their legislators and to have an impact on policy and budget legislation that affects the services and supports available to them.

For the schedule and to register, go to https://arcwa.org/advocacy/advocacy-days/

The Bill Tracker lists all the current bills effecting people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and where they are in the legislative process. https://arcwa.org/advocacy/bill-tracker/

The Legislative Notebook is your resource for advocacy. It includes public policy ideas that community members are working on and information to help you understand how health, education and social services affect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) https://arcwa.org/advocacy/2025-legislative-notebook/

Kittitas County Parent Coalition http://kc-parentcoalition.blogspot.com/

2025 Advocacy Days

https://arcwa.org/advocacy/advocacy-days/

Advocacy Days, part of The Arc’s Advocacy Partnership Project, are held during each legislative session to involve individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD), their families and their service providers in the legislative process, giving them opportunities to make their voices heard by their legislators and to have an impact on policy and budget legislation that affects the services and supports available to them.

Download the flyer with registration links here.

In 2025 we will offer a mixture of opportunities for people to participate.  All Advocacy Days begin at 10:00 am.- 11:30 am. 

On January 15th, there will be a live Advocacy Day, the program begins at 10:00 am at United Churches in Olympia. The morning program will be live streamed. All other Advocacy Days will be virtual to make the meetings more accessible to people all around the state.

 

WSPC Legislative Priorities 2025

 

Washington State Parent and Family Legislative Priorities

 

Washington Statewide Parent Coalitions collectively agree to prioritize and support families and individuals with IDD to share their needs for access and inclusion in the

   following legislative areas of concern:

 

• Individuals with IDD and their families need dependable, well-trained, well-paid, and culturally-competent providers in all areas of service: personal care, nursing, childcare, medical, mental and behavioral health care, and DDA Home and Community Based Waiver Services. Providers are especially needed in rural or lower-population areas where services are difficult to access or non-existent. Due to the provider workforce crisis and the shortage of nursing care, parents of medically and/or behaviorally complex minor children are often forced out of employment to assume full-time caregiving duties. These parents should be compensated for their caregiving labor.

 

• Individuals with IDD have a right to fully access their community each day with appropriate support. Individuals with high support needs should not be excluded from participating in activities, work, or play because of unmet personal care or behavioral support needs. All people with IDD, both children and adults, deserve to have meaningful, engaging, and flexible opportunities to spend time with disabled and non-disabled peers of their choosing. DDA must invest in developing a greater variety of supportive Day Services.

 

• Individuals with IDD and their families need affordable and accessible housing with appropriate, adequate, and culturally-competent support. Adults with IDD who still reside with aging parent caregivers should be prioritized for DDA residential services of their choosing, such as Supported Living and SOLAs.

 

• Individuals with IDD have a right to physical and emotional safety in schools. More work must be done to eliminate restraint and isolation in public education. Efforts must continue to promote inclusive education and to remove the funding cap on special education so all students with IDD have access to appropriate support and resources. School transition services for individuals over 18 should be further developed to offer additional skills training, earlier job support, and pathways to continued learning post-transition.

 

• Individuals with IDD and their families need a simpler way to apply for, access, and keep track of waiver services. Information and assessments should be provided in the individual’s and family’s chosen language with culturally-competent evaluation tools and resources. DDA information should be explained in plain language and offered in multiple accessible formats.  

 

• Individuals with IDD who need DDA waiver services should be entitled to DDA waiver services.