HPOD Events
Disability Advocacy Intersections
Medicaid, special education, and self-advocacy
From home and community-based services, to special education, to self-advocacy, the U.S. disability community has been actively working to maintain access to critical pathways for social inclusion.
States face unprecedented challenges to sustain Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver programs, while states and schools continue to respond to restructuring of federal special education programs and oversight. Meanwhile, the self-advocacy movement is seeking to empower individuals to adapt to drastic changes affecting their services. Medicaid advocacy, special education advocacy, and self-advocacy intersect to transform both individual lives and systems across the lifespan of people with disabilities, particularly people with intellectual disabilities. Thanks to the concerted efforts of advocates operating across these spheres, federal lawmakers recently delivered the disability community a key win by adopting a spending package that effectively blunts the attempts to eliminate or diminish long-standing disability laws, policies, and programs.
As the landscape of disability rights continues to evolve, understanding these critical intersections is essential for attorneys, policymakers, self-advocates, and families seeking justice. As part of the National Federation for the Blind's annual Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium from March 26–27, 2026, in Baltimore, Maryland, HPOD is organizing a workshop that will weave together these various strands of disability advocacy to provide attendees with both national context and concrete action steps based on their experiences. In keeping with the symposium's theme, "Collaboration and Creativity: Addressing Challenges and Advancing Opportunities Now and in the Future," each speaker will bring their advocacy experiences to bear to identify practical strategies that the disability community should consider amid drastic changes in federal disability law, policy, and programs, while emphasizing collective action and empowerment of directly impacted voices.
Moderator
- Hezzy Smith, Director of Advocacy Initiatives, HPOD
Presenters
- Nicole Jorwic, Chief of Advocacy and Campaigns, Caring Across Generations
- Selene Almazan, Legal Director, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
- Tia Nelis, Coordinator for Self-Advocate Engagement, TASH
- Mike Brogioli, Executive Director, TASH
