Dear NACDD Executive Directors and Public Policy Committee members:
Thank you to everyone who took action the last week by making calls and sharing NACDD's first alert of the 115th Congress related to the Affordable Care Act! We have heard that
numerous Hill offices are being inundated with calls from many folks across the country. If you are calling and getting busy signals, please keep calling!!!
As you know, this is only the beginning of a busy 115th Congress that will involve much information sharing between NACDD and the DD Councils. With a lot of information coming out to you from
NACDD, and potentially other sources, I wanted to share a few reminders with everyone.
1.
The public policy listserv is only open to DD Council Executive Directors and Council staff, and is the primary way we will share alerts and other information on policy related activities.
At times, the information can be shared outside the Council and that will be indicated in the email message,
otherwise please assume the information shared on the public policy listserv is confidential and should not be shared outside of the staff of the Council.
2.
If you are sharing information, such as an alert or webinar opportunity from the public policy listserv that can be shared, please be sure to delete any introductory information that
Cindy or I include along with any email addresses or signature information to send a clean forward from you to those you want to share it with. We want to be able to provide as much context as possible for why we are asking for help, especially as certain
states become targets for education, but need assurance that background information that we provide is not shared outside of the Council.
3.
We are in the process of also creating a new e-newsletter that will be shareable outside of the Councils. All Executive Directors and staff on the public policy listserv have been added
to the list. This e-newsletter will sometimes contain a roundup of lots of policy-related news and information and may sometimes be a brief but important Action Alert. Look for it in the next week!
4.
Given that we have a number of new Executive Directors and staff on the public policy listserv, I also wanted share a few reminders regarding resources related to the differences between
lobbying and informing policymakers as required under the DD Act.
NACDD always attempts to tweak alerts and template letters that coalitions put together to focus on “educating and informing” policymakers on the implications of
their decisions instead of lobbying. That said, we recognize that each DD Council has its own preferences for language they are comfortable with and so we always welcome to make additional changes to the information and alert before sharing it.
NACDD does not have to capacity to review each
Council’s communications and provide its opinion on whether specific phrasing is considered lobbying versus informing policymakers, but we attempt to ensure
that an “ask” is not included.
In 2001, AIDD issued the following memo on the differences between educating and informing policymakers. While this document has been around a long time, it is still
considered current information for the DD Act programs
https://acl.gov/Programs/AIDD/Program_Instructions/ADDPI-01-1.aspx (it is also available on the ITACC website). Every DD Council should review the memo, and
determine how to engage in activities. Also, if you are Council staff, you should consult your Executive Director regarding how your DD Council is implementing the requirement to educate and inform policymakers contained in the DD
Act. Finally, please remember that we can all engage as private citizens when federal funds are not being used, so share those alerts with self-advocates, Partners in Policymaking graduates and Council members!
As always please reach out to us with your questions or concerns. We are always happy to help.
Many thanks,
Donna
Donna A. Meltzer, CEO
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
1825 K Street, NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
202-506-5813 extension 103
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