PADDC Statement on ACL Announcement (PDF)
March 28, 2025 – Harrisburg, PA
Yesterday’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will pose significant challenges for state governments and state budgets. The abrupt restructuring, which eliminates the Administration for Community Living (ACL), will disrupt critical services that maintain and improve the health of our most vulnerable citizens – including older Americans and people with disabilities. This decision undermines decades of bipartisan efforts to ensure a fair and inclusive society for people with disabilities.
Older adults in Pennsylvania will be among the hardest hit, as community-based services that deliver over 1 million meals per month to seniors in our state will now be in jeopardy. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, this restructuring risks undermining critical support systems, such as those provided by the Developmental Disability Councils, University Centers on Developmental Disabilities, Protection and Advocacy networks, and State Independent Living Councils nationwide. These programs help reduce the need for costly institutional care, while empowering individuals to lead more independent lives and contribute to their communities.
Here in Pennsylvania, our 13 Centers for Independent Living play a critical role in helping individuals with disabilities live independently. Similarly, our 52 Area Agencies on Aging provide essential services like meal programs, respite care, and support for older adults who want to stay in their homes. The proposed restructuring threatens to destabilize programs that have been shown to reduce costs and improve lives of people with disabilities and their families, ultimately saving taxpayers money.
In Pennsylvania, we’re committed to improving the efficiency of programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and SNAP. We stand ready to collaborate on a solution that balances fiscal responsibility with the need to provide high-quality, effective care for our most vulnerable citizens.
ACL was established to consolidate several existing programs to more effectively implement long-standing laws, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Older Americans Act. ACL has brought focus and alignment to disability and aging policy and has ensured services are delivered in a way that supports independence and avoids costly institutional care. ACL has been an effective solution to more efficiently run these vital programs and eliminating the Administration risks both efficiency and effectiveness.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, is an enduring example of bipartisan progress. This new restructuring, however, threatens to reverse that progress. The federal government should be strengthening its commitment to older Americans and people with disabilities, and collaborating with organizations that work directly with seniors and people with disabilities to improve the crucial infrastructure designed to ensure for their safety and health. We ask Congress, and every elected leader, to reconsider this plan in favor of a more thoughtful approach to restructuring the Department of Health and Human Services.