Disability Community Not Included in COVID-19 Relief Package
An update from Congress regarding the latest COVID-19 Relief Package and the Money Follows the Person program.
After months of delay, Congress wrapped up the year passing a COVID-19 relief package, but it did not provide critical funding for people with disabilities.
“It’s unconscionable that Congress ignored the dire needs of people with disabilities, their support staff, and families as this pandemic rages across the country,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc, an advocacy group protecting the rights of people with intellectual and physical disabilities. “For months, our leaders have known the consequences of their inaction. People with disabilities are getting infected at higher rates. Support staff are putting their lives on the line day in and day out with the protection they need. And families are struggling with it all. Yet in the waning days of 2020, they have shut us out in the cold in COVID-19 relief legislation.”
On the bright side, they did include funding for the Money Follows the Person program, which seeks to move people with disabilities out of large congregate settings like institutions and nursing homes and back into their homes and communities. The funding received is set to last three years.
The Arc did release statements on both of these developments. To learn more, please visit the following sites: