Indiana Disability Rights

09/11/2025

Join us for this month's , which will be on Guardianship Rights, Responsibilities, and Limits, featuring Justin Schrock, attorney from Indiana Disability Rights!

If you've already registered for an Ask The Arc, you're all set! If not, head to arcind.org/our-programs/videos-webinars/ to get started!

ID: Promo for "Ask The Arc Webinar Series: Guardianship Rights, Responsibilities, and Limits" The background is blue with the logo for The Arc in the top-left corner. Centered is a laptop displaying a photo of a man; overlaid at the bottom is text that reads, "Featuring Justin Schrock, Indiana Disability Rights." Below the laptop, text reads: "Thursday, September 11th, 2025, 6 pm EDT | Register: arcind.org/our-programs/videos-webinars/"

09/05/2025

So grateful for this team! Thank you to everyone who connected with us at the 2025 Self Advocates of Indiana Picnic today! Self-Advocates of Indiana The Arc of Indiana

09/05/2025

Our staff are helping folks at the Self Advocates of Indiana Picnic register to vote and check their voter registration! If you are here, stop by and see us!

09/04/2025

• Do you have experience living with a mental health condition?
• Do you have a family member who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition?
• Are you a mental health service provider?
• Are you an advocate for individuals with mental health conditions?
If you said yes to any of the above questions, consider applying for membership on Indiana Disability Rights’ (IDR) Mental Health Advisory Council (MHAC). The MHAC elevates the voices of Hoosiers living with mental health conditions and advises IDR and the Indiana Protection & Advocacy Services Commission. The MHAC has several open volunteer positions and is accepting applications for membership. The MHAC meets 4 times per year, virtually. Learn more about the MHAC by visiting https://www.in.gov/idr/mental-health-advisory-council/ and fill out an application athttps://www.in.gov/idr/files/MHAC-Application.pdf

09/03/2025

Are you an advocate for the rights of Hoosiers with disabilities? IDR's overseeing entity, the Indiana Protection & Advocacy Services (IPAS) Commission is accepting applications for membership. Commissioners amplify the voices of individuals with disabilities and guide IDR’s work. The IPAS Commission is especially interested in applications from individuals who: identify as having a disability; have a passion for its Mission; and bring fresh ideas to the table. If you are interested in becoming a Commissioner, learn more at https://www.in.gov/idr/ipas-commission/ and fill out an application athttps://www.in.gov/idr/files/IPAS-Commission-Application.pdf Share this opportunity with others who may be a good fit for the IPAS Commission!

08/28/2025

👏 Two Hoosier children with complex medical conditions can continue receiving attendant care services provided by family members, a vital outcome that will allow the children to remain in the community rather than go to nursing facilities. This Seventh Circuit decision was achieved due to legal advocacy by IDR and ACLU-IN! Read the full press release https://www.in.gov/idr/reports-and-press/court-decision-regarding-attendant-care-press-release-august-2025/ . 💙

07/25/2025

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) recently responded to President Trump's Executive Order instructing federal agencies to explore the potential for institutionalizing unhoused individuals with mental illness. Read NDRN's statement here:

What unhoused people with disabilities need is not more policing or confinement, but permanent affordable housing, access to mental health services, and the support to live with dignity in their communities.

07/25/2025

IDR is proud to support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed by Congress 35 years ago. This groundbreaking civil rights law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. IDR relies on the ADA and other civil rights laws each day to protect and promote the rights of individuals with disabilities in . [Image by ADA National Network]

07/24/2025

Now is your chance to give the Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) feedback about proposed changes to multiple Medicaid waivers:

• Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (CIH)
• Health and Wellness Waiver (H&W)
• Family Supports Waiver (FSW)
• Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver (TBI)

Read FSSA’s announcement athttps://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/files/WaiverAmendmentAnnJuly2025.pdf and view fact sheets about what changes FSSA plans to implement for each waiver at https://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/ddrs-policies/ddrs-draft-policies-for-public-comment/ . The same link contains links each waiver's State Plan Amendment, which contains specific details and definitions about waiver programs. Additionally, FSSA is hosting webinars to assist stakeholders understand the waiver amendment process, make public comments, and provide an overview of key proposed changes. Webinar dates and times are available athttps://www.in.gov/fssa/ddrs/files/2025WaiverAmendmentWebinarsPC.pdf

August 8 is the deadline to comment. You can email yours to: DDRSwaivernoticecomment@fssa.in.gov or mail your comments to:
Waiver Amendment Public Comment
c/o Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services
402 W. Washington St.,
P.O. Box 7083, MS26
Indianapolis, IN 46207-7083

07/21/2025

Indiana Disability Rights (IDR) has a proven track record of investigating the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals with disabilities. Proposed federal budget cuts threaten this important work. The proposed drop in funding for just one critical program, the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) program, would cut funding from $644,339 to $230,610 and drastically reduce IDR's ability to investigate and advocate for people with mental illness, said Executive Director Melissa Keyes. The proposed 2026 budget will not be enough to investigate alleged instances of abuse or bring about systemic changes through class action lawsuits and other mechanisms, Keyes said.

Proposed cuts could leave a program meant to investigate instances of abuse against individuals with mental illness from harm at risk.

07/07/2025

Did you know? Indiana Disability Rights and other Protection & Advocacy (P&A) programs don’t just protect the rights of people with disabilities but also have an important role in identifying government waste, abuse, and inefficiency. IDR and other P&As:
*Cut red tape so students with disabilities receive needed special education services.
*Advocate for employees with disabilities to get reasonable accommodations in the workplace, reducing reliance on government benefits.
*Audit representative payees to ensure that Social Security benefits are being used to support the recipient’s individual needs.
*Investigate abuse and neglect in residential facilities and by service providers, enabling federal funding sources for those services to recoup payment for noncompliant services.
*Help people with disabilities leave institutions and establish themselves in the community with less restrictive – and less expensive – home and community-based services and supports.
We hold disability systems accountable and help ensure public dollars serve their purpose.

07/02/2025

IDR’s work promotes disability rights in ways that also promote the economy and the disability community's standard of living. P&As, including IDR, advocate individually and systemically for individuals with disabilities to obtain needed supports and services to explore careers, get hired, maintain employment, and advance professionally. Not only does employment improve the individual’s quality of life and purchasing power, but also bolsters the bottom line of their employer (as statistics show workers with disabilities have a lower turnover rate than workers without disabilities, as well as increase company morale) and state and federal governments (who generally spend less on benefits as individuals with disabilities gain economic independence).