AUCD’s Community Inclusion Team supports the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Network in partnership with the Administration for Community Living.
AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.
AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.
AUCD Emerging Leaders are a part of a community that includes trainees, early career professionals, self-advocates, and family members from AUCD member Centers and Programs.
AUCD's Disability Policy News (DPN) is a weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. DPN features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every Friday.
In this edition:
The Administration’s FY 2026 budget proposal recommends
eliminating discretionary funding for the University Centers for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) and consolidating UCEDD activities under
the Independent Living program, alongside four other distinct national
disability programs. This would dismantle a trusted, longstanding network that
provides critical research, training, and services to individuals with
developmental disabilities and their families in every U.S. state and territory.
Action Item - AUCD has launched an easy-to-use
grassroots action tool that enables individuals, families, professionals, and
allies to contact their Members of Congress and urge them to reject this
harmful proposal and fully fund UCEDDs in FY 2026.
➡️ Take 2 minutes to act
here: https://aucd.quorum.us/campaign/133226/
We encourage you to take these three steps:
1. Personalize your message to reflect the
impact your UCEDD has had on your life or community
2. Share this action widely with your
networks, including families, students, staff, alumni, and partners
3. Share the tool on social media, tag AUCD, and
use the hashtags #SaveUCEDDs and #DisabilityAdvocacy.
Please note - the language in this campaign constitutes
lobbying as the messages directly ask to fund the UCEDDs. Please consider this
when choosing the email you use to send the messages.
UCEDDs are essential to ensuring that people with
developmental disabilities can live, learn, work, and thrive in their
communities. With your help, we can protect this vital infrastructure from
elimination and ensure continued investment in disability innovation and
equity.
The Senate and House Appropriations Committees' Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) subcommittees have jurisdiction over funding for AUCD Network programs. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Chairman of the LHHS subcommittee, says he expects the subcommittee funding bill to be marked up during the first week of September. The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up their Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations legislation ahead of the August recess. Neither House nor Senate funding bill text has been released yet.
The Administration wants to take away the UCEDDs. The
Administration wants to combine the work of the UCEDDs with the work of a few
other disability programs to make the Independent Living Program do that work.
This breaks up a network of programs that help people with disabilities and
their families in every state and U.S. territory. The UCEDDs do important work
like research, training, and offering services that improve everyday life for
people with disabilities.
Action Item – Right now, people should tell
their Members of Congress how important the UCEDDs are. Ask them to say no to
the harmful plan to take away UCEDD funding. You can contact your Members of
Congress using AUCD’s easy online tool. Make your message personal by
telling your Member of Congress how your UCEDD has helped you or your
community. We encourage you to share this tool with other people you know and
on social media.
UCEDDs are important because they help people with
disabilities live, learn, work, and be a part of their communities. With your
help, we want to protect UCEDDs from losing their funding.
Congress needs to pass a government spending bill to make
sure the government is funded in 2026. Before Congress can vote on that bill,
committees in the House and Senate need to first review it. This is a process
called a markup and the committees are called Appropriations committees.
Right now, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees
are working on their plans for next year’s funding. Those plans will decide how
much money the UCEDDs will get. Representative Robert Aderholt from Alabama
says that the markup for this spending plan will take place during the first
week of September. In the Senate, the markup is supposed to happen at the
beginning of August.
During markup, lawmakers can look over a bill and share
suggested changes. The committee then votes on these suggested changes. If the
committee agrees on the suggested changes in a vote, the bill with the changes
is sent to either the House or Senate for more discussion and voting.
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
