Disability Rights News August 30, 2025
Editor's Note: The disability community is increasingly preferring to use identity-first language (disabled person) in place of person-first language (person with a disability). This is because many in the community view disability as being a core component of identity, much like race and gender. Some members of the community, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, still prefer person-first language. Both should be considered valid. Articles shared in this newsletter may contain one or the other (or both) depending on the author's preference, and if they themselves have a disability.
Action Alerts
NACCD - Protect Homecare Workers The U.S. Department of Labor is considering a dangerous rule change that would take away federal minimum wage and overtime protections from millions of homecare workers. These are the workers who support older adults and people with disabilities to live in their homes and communities. You can fill out the form on the website and ALSO submit comments through the official federal portal. Use your story—why this issue matters to you as a worker, caregiver, recipient of care, or ally. Deadline to Submit: 9/2/2025.
Save the Protection and Advocacy Network - There is a proposal circulating in Washington, DC to drastically cut funding for programs that protect the health, safety, and well-being of people with disabilities. On the chopping block? Critical funding for the nation's Protection and Advocacy agencies.
Articles
Crisis within CDC is spilling into real world, experts say - by Elizabeth Cooney on Aug. 28, 2025 at STAT News
"The crisis in the agency, which has been battered by personnel and policy changes ordered by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is spilling into real-world harms, the experts said. They are seeing uncertainty from the public about vaccine recommendations and availability, in light of new Covid-19 vaccine policies announced by Kennedy, as well as deeper concerns about emergency preparedness for the inevitable next challenge to the nation’s health."
Trump’s Mental Health Plan: Defund, Incarcerate, Disappear by Julianne McShane and Julia Métraux on August 29, 2025 at Mother Jones
"One of Trump’s most sweeping attacks on people with mental illness came in late July, when he signed an executive order pushing “long-term” involuntary institutionalization for people with mental illnesses experiencing homelessness, which the order argues the EO argues will “restore public order.” Trump was more blunt about his hopes for what the EO would actually do a few weeks later, when he announced the deployment of National Guard troops to DC: “Crime, Savagery, Filth, and Scum will DISAPPEAR,” he posted on Truth Social. The White House did not respond to a series of questions."
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