The Arc of King County

02/20/2026

Upcoming town halls 👉 https://bit.ly/2026_townhalls
Tip: Establish a relationship with your legislators. 🙂(smiley face emoji)
A great way to do that? At their town halls.
Attending town halls is also a great way to inform other advocates about disability issues. Showing up sends a clear message: the disability community is paying attention. You can find a list of upcoming town halls here: https://bit.ly/2026_townhalls
Our graphic, below, highlights ones in King County.

02/18/2026

The Arc of King County and PROVAIL present SAY IT YOUR WAY, a social group for AAC-using wheelchair users, ages 18+.

Join us for an introductory information session to learn more about this new opportunity to connect and have some fun!

Wednesday, March 4th. 2026
3-4 pm at PROVAIL, 12550 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133

RSVP is required. Contact JKim@arcofkingcounty.org to reserve your spot!

02/18/2026

Governor: tax millionaires, but put most proceeds back into tax relief for small businesses and middle class. (So offset the strangeness of our B&O tax).

Original bill: Tax and put most proceeds into paying for human services, K12, and higher education. (So offset the huge federal cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and more)

The governor has detailed his conditions for signing the income tax proposal, including two yearly sales tax holidays.

02/18/2026

Tucked into Governor Ferguson's budget proposal is a plan to save money by dropping 5,000 people with disabilities from care and community support services. Not scaling back their care - cutting them, entirely.
(See link to news story in comments)

The cuts would happen in fiscal year 2028 (that is, July 2027).

2,500 of folks cut would be people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) getting waiver services through DSHS' Developmental Disabilities Community Services.

Supports lost would include community residential support, employment support, respite, life skills training, skilled nursing, assistive technology, and more. The cut would affect children, older adults, young adults.

It would drop 10% of the people in WA using IDD waivers. And it would make it much harder for people to get community services going forward. They would not be "disabled enough."

These are people and families stable now (living independently and holding down jobs) BECAUSE they get support. These are also people and families maybe not so stable, but able to hold it together BECAUSE they get some support.

About 2% of the population meets the federal definition for IDD. But less than 0.5% of people in WA get IDD services. We have 23,000 (!!) on our paid services list.

WA is not exactly over-serving, generously serving, or even close to adequately serving the IDD population now. WA is under-serving folks with IDD and their families. (The last national comparison had WA 39th in spending for IDD community services.)

We don't know if state legislators will pick up this proposal. So far, they have not reassured us that they would not, so we assume it is on the table. The new House and Senate budget proposals should be out in a few days.

You can send a note to your legislators about the operating budgets through these links. They take you to the comment pages for the bills.
https://bit.ly/ProtectIDD_House (to the House proposal)
https://bit.ly/ProtectIDD_Senate (to the Senate proposal)

Or, call (1-800-562-6000)

The Arc - Washington State The Arc of Spokane The Arc of Tri-Cities The Arc of Cowlitz County The Arc of Grays Harbor The Arc of Snohomish County

02/17/2026

❗Tucked into Governor Ferguson's budget proposal is a plan to save money by dropping 5,000 people with disabilities from care. Not scaling back their care - cutting them, entirely.

2,500 of folks cut would be people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) getting waiver services through DSHS' Developmental Disabilities Community Services. Supports lost would include community residential support, employment support, respite, life skills training, skilled nursing, assistive technology, and more. The cut would affect children, older adults, young adults.

It would drop 10% of the people in WA using IDD waivers. And it would make it much harder for people going forward to access care. They would not be "disabled enough."

These are people and families stable now BECAUSE they get support. These are people and families maybe not so stable, but able to hold it together BECAUSE they get support.

About 2% of the population meet the federal definition for IDD. But less than 0.5% of people in WA get IDD services. WA is not exactly over-serving, generously serving, or even closely adequately serving the IDD population now. WA is under-serving folks with IDD and their families.

We don't know if state legislators will pick up this proposal. So far, they have not reassured us that they would not, so we assume it is on the table.

Local advocates, residents and service providers are sounding the alarm over changes to eligibility criteria for Medicaid-funded disability services included in Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposed 2026 suppl

02/17/2026

Sign in here 👉https://bit.ly/SignIn_EndIsolation
SHB 1795 passed the House (yay!) but now we need to get it through the Senate. Deadline to sign in is 9:30 am Thursday 2/19.
The Arc of King County supports this bill.

SHB 1795 is a streamlined bill that:
- Bans certain dangerous restraints.
- Keeps existing rules on when isolation and restraint can be used but adds clarity.
- Bans new construction of isolation rooms.
- Clarifies calming and co-regulation spaces are still allowed.
- Declares intent to phase out isolation by 2031 and to support staff with training

Washington’s students deserve safe, supportive learning environments. House Bill 1795 is a practical, evidence-based bill that will prevent harmful practices.

Learn More:
About SHB 1795 https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1795&Year=2025&Initiative=false
Resources from the Leading Change Summit on December 6, 2025: https://45568491.hs-sites.com/
Watch the welcome video: https://45568491.hs-sites.com/
Watch the keynote by Dr. Ross Greene, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3INQfAXcc
Watch the panel discussion, facilitated by Lee Collyer of ESD 114, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnyOl1pt26s

The Arc of Snohomish County The Arc of Grays Harbor The Arc of Tri-Cities The Arc of Spokane The Arc of Cowlitz County The Arc - Washington State

WSA Head Start and ECEAP Children's Alliance Disability Rights Washington League of Education Voters Roots of Inclusion

02/16/2026

HOUSING ALERT!
👉 https://bit.ly/40eRUIi
You can't house and shelter chronically homeless people if housing and shelters designed to support them keep getting blocked. (Alert goes to letter you can edit)

HB 2266/Peterson and SB 6069/Alvarado would stop discriminatory actions that are based on stigmas and stereotypes of people experiencing homelessness. Individuals with cognitive disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities, are over-represented among folks who are chronically homeless.

This alert comes from the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, one of the coalitions we participate in.

To learn more about the lack of housing market for people who rely on SSI, see https://bit.ly/PricedOutSSI.

You can read the bills here:
HB 2266: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=2266&Year=2025&Initiative=false
SB 6069:https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=6069&Year=2025&Initiative=false

02/15/2026

More budget advocacy - this one to protect Working Connections Childcare.
This alert comes from Moms Rising, a coalition partner of ours in the Early Learning Action Alliance.
Click here for alert:👉 https://actionnetwork.org/call_campaigns/protect-child-care-reject-budget-cuts/

Working Connections Child Care has been targeted for cuts. You can learn more about this important program here: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/earlylearning-childcare/getting-help/wccc

02/13/2026

Great news! SHB 1795 - addressing restraint and isolation in public schools - passed the House today! On to the Senate.
Huge thanks to champions Representative Lisa Callan and Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos for their work educating legislators and refining policy. It matters. :)

The Arc - Washington State The Arc of Cowlitz County The Arc of Snohomish County The Arc of Grays Harbor The Arc of Tri-Cities The Arc of Spokane

League of Education Voters Roots of Inclusion And Still We Rise, LLC Open Doors for Multicultural Families Disability Rights Washington True Measure Collaborative

Children's Alliance WSA Head Start and ECEAP

02/13/2026

Navigating IDD: Understanding Social Security
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
7:00–8:30 PM
Online via Zoom
This session will walk participants through the basics of Social Security programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Learn about available benefits, eligibility considerations, and how these programs can support long-term planning.
Click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/96093292277?pwd=SzM0bWR4OGlmMVFrZHdxNjEvMDRNdz09
Passcode: TheArc!
For questions, or to request accommodations/language interpretation: JKim@arcofkingcounty.org.

02/13/2026

Details of what is "work or community engagement" under new Medicaid rules will fall to each state.

"Medicaid exists to provide access to health care, not to penalize the unpaid labor that sustains families and communities. As states design their implementation plans, they must include meaningful protections for family caregivers: clear exemptions, simplified documentation, and recognition that caregiving itself is a form of community engagement."

Big, impending changes to Medicaid will quietly but profoundly decimate the unpaid workforce that already props up our long-term care system.

02/12/2026

[Update: New meetings added.] Town halls are an opportunity to speak directly with your state legislators and to make sure disability issues are part of the public conversation. When self-advocates and families attend, it sends a clear message: our community is paying attention. Here is a list of upcoming Town Halls near you. For more details and updates, click here: https://bit.ly/2026_townhalls

The Arc - Washington State
People First of Washington
Self Advocates In Leadership
Community Employment Alliance
Community Residential Services Association