ABLE Act Update - Cindy Smith (02 Jun 2015 13:48 EDT)

New ACL Organization Structure Announced - Donna Meltzer (02 Jun 2015 17:59 EDT)

ABLE Act Update by Cindy Smith (02 Jun 2015 13:48 EDT)
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Dear Council ED,

NACDD continues to work on implementation of the ABLE Act, in partnership with the National Disability Institute (NDI). We wanted to provide an update of where we are in terms of implementation, and activities that can be undertaken in both states that have passed legislation, and states that are still working towards passing legislation. Attached to this email, you will find a checklist of possible activities that can be undertaken at the state level to work on implementation of ABLE.

Annual Conference Information: Need Proposals on ABLE Act Implementation

For those that will be attending NACDD’s annual conference, NACDD will be having a plenary session titled “Implementing Federal Policies At Home,” and that session will be followed by concurrent session specifically focused on ABLE Act implementation. Chris Rodriguez, Senior Policy Advisor at the National Disability Institute will be speaking at these sessions. I am still looking to identify 1-2 Councils and/or self-advocates who are undertaking work to implement ABLE that could be helpful to other Councils. Please fill out the conference proposal form at http://www.nacdd.org/uploads/2015_NACDD_Conference_Call_for_Papers.pdf, and send to both me and Sonia by June 11th.

Current Status

To our knowledge:
The following states have passed ABLE- related legislation: AR, CO, DE, FL, HI, KS, LA, MD, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, ND, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV

The following states are still considering ABLE- related legislation: AL, AK, CA, CT, IL, IA, ME, MI, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, VT, WI

Federal Regulations

We are hopeful that Treasury may release regulations by the end of the year, and possibly as soon as this summer.

As always, feel free to be in touch with any questions or concerns.

Regards,

Cindy Smith, MS, CAS, JD
Director of Public Policy

National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities

1825 K Street, NW Suite 600

Washington, DC 20006

202-506-5813 ext 104

xxxxxx@nacdd.org

www.nacdd.org

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ABLE Implementation Check List.docx

New ACL Organization Structure Announced by Donna Meltzer (02 Jun 2015 17:59 EDT)
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Dear NACDD Members – you may have received word from ACL about their re-organization. The message they sent out yesterday is below. To understand better what the re-organization will mean I have attached a great fact sheet put together by Dan Shannon at the Massachusetts DD Council. Your primary contacts with AIDD will all remain the same and a new addition will hopefully soon be on board at AIDD to help manage day-to-day work in oversight of the DD Act programs as Commissioner Aaron Bishop will now have a larger portfolio that includes not only the DD Act programs but broader disability as well. It will take us all awhile to get used to this new organization but I know you find DD Councils as well supported if not more so by AOD/AIDD as you currently do.

Thanks,

Donna

June 1, 2015

ACL Announces New Organization Structure WIOA changes implemented

Since the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed last year, ACL has been working through the process of moving the National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and the independent living, and assistive technology programs from the Department of Education to ACL.

Today, we celebrate a key milestone -- the announcement of an updated organization structure that reflects and supports our combined mission. This morning, our new Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority was published in the Federal Register, which means we now can share the details with our networks.

Our new structure formally incorporates the WIOA programs and better aligns similar functions. We also have changed the names of some offices and centers to better fit what those groups do.