
Family Voices News

Continuing Resolution
As December 20 approaches, Congress is faced with a deadline to agree on a budget or pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running. With a change in presidential leadership, it is more than likely Congress will decide on a CR. This would temporarily fund the government into early 2025.

Office for Civil Rights – Letter on Civil Rights Language Access Requirements
On December 5, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a “Dear Colleague” letter to help providers and other better understand their responsibilities under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”). According to recent census data, nearly 68 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home. Having access to language assistance is critical to achieving equity in health care.
2024 Data Profile on Health Care Transition
2024 Profile on Health Care Transition for Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Family Voices Launches Free Online Language Access Course
My Language, My Care helps families learn more about language access. By the end of the course, participants will understand their rights under the law, know more about interpreter confidentiality, and have the tools to advocate for high quality language access services in the health care setting.
What is a lame duck session?
The lame duck session is any meeting of the House of Representatives or Senate that takes place after a November election and before the new Congress starts their new session. This also applies to presidents and other lawmakers who are retiring or did not win their...

NIH Strategic Plan for Disability Research
The National Institutes of Health is in the first stage of developing an agency-wide NIH Strategic Plan for Disability Research. The strategic plan will identify scientific themes and develop operational goals and objectives to advance research activities that promote...

Administration for Community Living (ACL) “Community Collaborations for Employment”
ACL awarded a Project of National Significance on Community Collaborations for Employment to increase and enhance collaborations across existing local systems to maximize a seamless experience and outcomes of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities...

Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap
Check out the newly released 2024 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap. The Roadmap provides a summary of state progress on the following 12 recommended policies and strategies. In addition, the Roadmap provides details on the impact of each recommendation, how to...

Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) State Health Official (SHO) Guidance
What is EPSDT? EPSDT is a benefit for children that sets a higher standard for care than adults. What does EPSDT cover? Under the benefit, states must cover all “medically necessary” services needed to address the health and well-being of the child. This includes...
New Learning Collaborative Cohort on Financing Services for CYSHCN
Learning Collaborative Cohort 2 This Learning Collaborative (LC) will improve Family Engagement and Leadership in Systems of Care (FELSC). Family Voices leads this MCHB-funded cooperative agreement, and the Learning Collaborative is led by Family Voices and the...