Public Policy
Policy Priorities to Support Children with Special Health Care Needs and Disabilities and Their Families
Our Strategic Policy Priorities
Children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities, and their families, face systemic barriers and biases that impede their ability to experience their best possible lives. Systems of care do not respond to their needs holistically or facilitate access to supports that enhance their quality of life.
To make the most impact, we focus our policy actions across all levels of government – federal, state, and local. We work with our family and organizational partners to lean on the various levers of policy change through education and advocacy.
Our current policy agenda includes:
- Expand access to peer-to-peer support for families of children and youth with special health care needs
- Support and expand Medicaid coverage for children and youth with special health care needs and their families and caregivers
- Improve the transition to adult health care for youth and young adults with disabilities and their caregivers and families
- Eliminate language access barriers
Family Voices collaborates with national child health and disability organizations, such as the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, The Arc, Autism Speaks, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other groups.
Recent Policy Briefs
Recent Policy-Related News
Your Input Sought/Of Possible Interest (Washington Update, December 19, 2018)
NEW: HHS Seeks Public Feedback on Modifying HIPAA Privacy Rules – Due Feb. 12 The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a Request for Information (RFI) asking the public for comments on how regulations...
Webinars from the Field (Washington Update, December 13, 2018)
The Impact of Medicaid Work Requirements on Family Caregivers and Older Adults Thursday, December 13, 1:00-2:00 pm ET Justice In Aging SERIES Implementation of the Federal Settings Criteria for Home and Community-based Services (HCBS) – last in series Thursday,...
The Courts (Washington Update, December 13, 2018)
A Court Ruling May Allow Migrant Families to Be Held Indefinitely. These Families Know What That Could Be Like. Migrant children are not supposed to be detained for more than 20 days in unlicensed facilities. Texas may be able to license two family detention centers,...
Congress (Washington Update, December 13, 2018)
A December 7 funding deadline was extended to December 21 but it is not clear whether Congress and the president will reach a deal by then to fund seven departments and a number of agencies for which final appropriations have not yet been made for the current fiscal...
Medicaid/CHIP News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, December 13, 2018)
New Report Highlights Why Medicaid is Critical to America's Military Readiness (press release of the Children’s Hospital Association, 11/15/18). TRICARE for Kids, a coalition of military family and health advocacy groups, recently released a report, America's Military...
Legislation
The legislation tracked below is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be an endorsement for or against the legislation. Action updates may occur daily, if actions are taken by Congress. Newly introduced legislation will be added weekly.
The legislative tracker is sorted by latest action. To navigate this page, you can scroll through just as you would a normal webpage. You can also click Ctrl+F on your keyboard and type in the search box.
For additional information and to read the full text (if available), click the highlighted bill number. You can also navigate to Congress.gov and search using key terms or phrases, or the bill numbers listed below.
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