The Arc Oregon

05/05/2026

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) deserve support that respects their agency.

The Arc Oregon's Guardianship, Advocacy, and Planning Services (GAPS) Program supports adults with IDD in Oregon by serving as guardians of last resort and ISP team-appointed Health Care Advocates (HCAs).

Our GAPS Advocates use supported decision-making to help the people they support make their own choices about their lives.

The focus is always on the person's dignity, choice, and support.

Learn more about the GAPS program at: https://thearcoregon.org/gaps/

04/29/2026

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has put together a thoughtful and clear message about yesterday's Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) meeting. Please click the link in their post below to read the full response on their website. They have posted both a formal language and plain language version of their response.

04/29/2026

Take risks, live life! Join Lindsay Dutton and Nick Kaasa on May 19, 2026 to learn about Supporting Dignity of Risk.

This training will help you learn to balance safety and autonomy, and how to tell the difference between what is "important TO" someone you support and what is "important FOR" them.

May 19 is coming soon, so secure your spot in this training while you can. Learn more and sign up at: https://thearcoregon.org/training-details/?event-id=1827

04/23/2026

The Oregon Special Needs Trust (OSNT) is hosting another Find Out Friday info session tomorrow, April 24, at 1:00 PM. Learn more and sign up at: https://oregonsnt.org/webinars/

Find Out Friday is a monthly virtual info session for people with OSNT accounts, along with the key people on their accounts.

Tomorrow's session is all about using a Disbursement Request form when you want your trust to pay for something. We hope to see you there!

04/23/2026

The Arc of the United States is hosting their 2026 National Convention in Portland, OR! They are looking for presentation proposals for the National Convention.

The deadline to submit a proposal is April 27, 2026.

Anyone can submit a presentation idea, even if you have never presented at a conference before.

To learn more and submit your presentation proposal, visit: https://convention.thearc.org/call-for-proposals/

04/13/2026

We just added two new Mental Health First Aid trainings in July and September of 2026. If you haven't taken this course yet, now is a great time to get certified.

Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training that teaches people how to identify, understand, and respond to the signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge.

These courses fill up VERY quickly, so sign up now to make sure you get a spot. Learn more and register for an upcoming training at: https://thearcoregon.org/training/mhfa/

04/10/2026

The Arc National Convention is coming to Oregon November 18th - 20th. The window to propose a session is open now through Apr 27th. Go to https://convention.thearc.org to submit your session idea.

04/09/2026

Sign up now for our April 23 training! Join Lindsay Dutton on Zoom from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM to learn about Refueling Resilient Compassion.

This training will help you recognize the signs of compassion fatigue and secondary trauma in care work. You'll learn practical, trauma-informed strategies for sustaining compassion satisfaction and ethical care over the long term.

This is one of our most popular trainings, so sign up while you can. Learn more and register at: https://thearcoregon.org/training-details/?event-id=1829

04/01/2026

The ODHS Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) is hosting some important meetings this April and May. These meetings are a chance to meet Acacia McGuire Anderson, the new director of ODDS, and share your ideas about the services and supports you get through ODDS.

You can choose to join either a virtual or in-person meeting. One of the virtual meetings will be for Spanish speakers. There will also be separate meetings for self-advocates, caregivers and family members, and community partners.

Click on the link below to read Acacia's full message, which has the dates for each meeting and instructions for signing up.

We’re hosting public meetings in April and May across Oregon and online. Come meet the new members of the ODDS leadership team. We’ll host a discussion that will help us create guidelines based on our core values. These will be the guiding principles for our 2027‒2029 budget requests. You can sign up now for the online meetings or for the meetings in Salem on April 8 and 9. We’ll share more about other locations as we finalize the schedule. Read this message for more information and register for the Zoom meetings and Salem meetings:https://www.oregon.gov/odhs/news/directors-messages/odds-2026-03-30-director-budget-meetings-invitation-en.pdf

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Tendremos reuniones públicas en abril y mayo en todo Oregon y en línea. Venga a conocer a los nuevos miembros del equipo directivo de ODDS. Realizaremos una discusión que nos ayudará a crear guías basándonos en nuestros valores principales. Estos serán los principios guía para nuestras solicitudes de presupuesto para 2027-2029. Puede inscribirse ahora en las reuniones en línea o en las reuniones en Salem el 8 y 9 de abril. Compartiremos más sobre otros lugares mientras vayamos finalizando el horario. Lea este mensaje para obtener más información y registrarse en las reuniones por Zoom y en Salem:https://www.oregon.gov/odhs/news/directors-messages/odds-2026-03-30-director-budget-meetings-invitation-en.pdf

03/31/2026

Supported decision-making helps people with disabilities stay in control of their lives while getting help from people they trust.

Instead of someone else making decisions for them, a person chooses supporters. Those supporters can help the person learn about their options and talk through their choices with them.

The choice still belongs to the person, and their supporters respect the final decision.

Everyone asks for help making decisions sometimes. Supported decision-making is about dignity, trust, and honoring each person’s voice and choice. Learn more about supported decision-making here: https://thearcoregon.org/sdm/

03/26/2026

Care work is demanding, no matter what job you do. Join Lindsay Dutton on April 23, 2026 to learn about Refueling Resilient Compassion in your work.

This training will help you understand the difference between compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. You'll learn resilience-building techniques to use as part of your self-care, and how to keep using these techniques in the long term.

Sign up today to secure your spot at this training! Learn more and register here: https://thearcoregon.org/training-details/?event-id=1829

03/23/2026

If you have an Oregon Special Needs Trust (OSNT) account, this message is for you!

OSNT is starting a new series of info sessions called Find Out Fridays. These are for people with OSNT accounts, along with the key people on their accounts.

The OSNT program director, Cici Gaynor, will talk about different topics each session. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about your trust and how to use it.

The very first info session is this Friday, March 27, at 1:00 PM (Pacific Time). Sign up here: https://oregonsnt.org/event-13/