Policy favoring deinstitutionalization has had a major adverse effect on many individuals, with a shift in funding priorities from Medicaid Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs/IID) and other specialized facilities, to smaller service options, such as Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) settings.

On July 3, 2017, VOR's Issues and Oversight Committee submitted comments to David English, Chair of the Committee on Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act for the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) at the The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. VOR's submission included an introductory letter to the commissioner, comments on the draft of the Uniform Law, and VOR's position paper on guardianship and supported decision making.

Click here for the Letter to David English

Click here for the VOR Comments to the Draft Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act

Click here for VOR's Position Paper on Supported Decision Making

On March 14, 2017, Secretary Tom Price and CMS Administrator Seema Verma sent a letter to the Nations' Governors concerning their goals for making changes to Medicaid.

VOR President Caroline Lahrmann wrote back in response to Secretary Price and Administrator Verma. Administrator Verma replied on August 2nd.

Read the original Letter from Secretary Price and CMS Administrator Verma here

Read VOR's letter here.

Read the Response to VOR from Administrator Verma here.

The U.S. Department of Education recently issued a request for comments, in response to Executive Order 13777, which requires federal agencies to to evaluate and implement measures to lower regulatory burdens on the American people.

On September 20, VOR's Caroline Lahrmann and Jill Barker submitted their own personal comments to this request.

Click here for Caroline Lahrmann's comments

Click here for Jill Barker's comments

As part of our Fall Membership Drive, we have created a letter that we hope you will send out to the members of your family organization. The purpose of the letter is to show the other families in your group who advocate locally that VOR can help them advocate nationally and unite with families in other states with shared experiences.

Please ask your family group to print copies of this letter and include them in their mailings.   You may include this with your newsletters, advocacy campaigns, or post it to your group's website. You may also consider including this letter with the "Thank You" letters that go out to members to after receiving donations to your group.

Download the Membership Letter here

Opportunities and Choices

Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) issued press releases celebrating the 17^th Anniversary of the Olmstead decision. VOR shares their view that there is much to celebrate in opening doors to community living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who are able and wish to take advantage of such opportunities. Unfortunately, their ideological preoccupation with one key part of Olmstead, community integration, at the expense of the other key part, choice, has reduced options for all people with I/DD. This crimped and, VOR would submit, inaccurate application of the plain language of Olmstead has done significant harm to many of our most disabled citizens.