Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies

A snowy residential street with cars buried in snow is shown. Overlaid text reads “Accessing FEMA Disaster Relief.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal appears on the left. Text at the bottom reads “Katherine Scala, CRDJ Intern,” and the Center for Racial & Disability Justice logo appears in the lower left corner.

Accessing disaster aid can be overwhelming, especially for disabled people, elders, people of color, & low-income communities. FEMA is often the main system people are directed to after a disaster, but navigating it is not always transparent or easy. This guide breaks down the real steps. [1/7]

Disability & Health Scholarship Program now accepting applications. American Association on Health and Disability.

We’re now accepting applications for our 2026 Scholarship on Health & Disability! This award is made each year to undergraduate/ graduate students pursuing studies in the broad field of #DisabilityHealth. Due: March 6, 2026
Share this opportunity: aahd.us/initiatives/...
#Disability #DisabilitySky

Supreme Court To Hear Case On Intellectual Disability The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case that advocates say could have major implications for how intellectual disability is defined.

The U.S. #SupremeCourt is set to hear arguments in a case that advocates say could have major implications for how #IntellectualDisability is defined. #disabilities #SCOTUS

Disability Covid Chronicles Documenting the experiences of disabled and chronically ill people during the current COVID-19 pandemic, organized by the NYU Center for Disability Studies

This project from the @center4ds.bsky.social documented the experiences of disabled and chronically ill people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

disabilitycovidchronicles.nyu.edu

#Covid19 #LongCovid #disability

The @bazeloncenter.bsky.social has released a short guide for states to support people with disabilities in light of impending changes to Medicaid.

Read more at:

Guide:
www.bazelon.org/wp-content/u...

Bazelon's site:
www.bazelon.org

HDI grant to advance employer engagement strategies in vocational rehabilitation | UK Research The UK Human Development Institute received $3.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education to support a nationwide effort to engage employers and improve job opportunities for people wi...

UK’s Human Development Institute (HDI) received $3.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education to support a nationwide effort to engage employers and improve job opportunities for people with disabilities.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3MAklNd

Hi Steven - one of our staff used to be a CWIC person a LONG time ago and it might be helpful for people to know what state you're looking for support in.

Part of CWIC training is recognizing that while federal benefits are one thing, differing state Medicaid rules etc. are 50% of the battle.

The future of Medicaid is “really scary” for people with Long COVID - The Sick Times The deep cuts to Medicaid funding in the Trump administration’s spending bill of almost $1 trillion — as well as new requirements making Medicaid more difficult to obtain and maintain — will hit disad...

Medicaid is the bare minimum for people with Long COVID and other complex conditions. But instead of improving it, amid skyrocketing disability claims, the Trump administration is making it worse. The impact could be catastrophic.
My feature for @thesicktimes.org: thesicktimes.org/2025/12/02/t...

Long COVID patients face more than double the healthcare costs after diagnosis People with Long COVID use the health service significantly more than they did before their diagnosis. These patients need to use GP, outpatient, inpatient and emergency department services more than ...

'Long COVID patients face more than double the healthcare costs after diagnosis'

'"Long COVID is a debilitating disease for patients, presenting in a myriad of ways, with far-reaching implications for those affected."

www.news-medical.net/news/2025120...

Not long after passage of the ADA came the regional centers today comprising the ADA National Network. They were created to help communities understand the ADA and its provisions. Learn more about the different types of services offered by your regional center!

adata.org/factsheet/AD...

Unlocking Opportunities: Engaging with Your State’s Center for Independent Living How people with disabilities can become active service recipients, staff members, leaders and advocates within their local centers for independent living.

Guide from NCHPAD shows ways to engage as a person with a disability with a local CIL in many different roles - including consumer, advocate, peer, staff and more!

www.nchpad.org/resources/un...

#Disability #PeerSupport

Five people wearing black caps and gowns smile at a graduation ceremony

🎉 KU Transition to Postsecondary Education has received a grant to increase access to college in Kansas for students with intellectual disabilities!

To learn more, visit loom.ly/3lpS24U

The Housing Crisis in the Disability Community - Disability Belongs™ Nearly half of unhoused individuals live with a disability, yet their unique needs are often left out of housing policy and service design.

Housing is a basic human need that is out of reach for hundreds of thousands of disabled people. Read the thread for some key facts, and then check out our blog post at the link below to learn more.

Image Description: An unhoused person sleeping on a sidewalk.

#Disabilities #Disability

Reasons for cannabis use among adults with disabilities: Findings from the 2023-2024 National Survey on Health and Disabilities People with disabilities disproportionately use cannabis compared to those without a disability; however, little is known about reasons for use among …

Researchers use data from the National Survey on Health and Disability to look at cannabis use by people with disabilities

Read more at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Explainer: What the Government Shutdown Means for SNAP, WIC, and Disability Programs - AAPD Update as of October 27, 2025: The federal government shutdown is now in its fourth week, with no immediate end in sight. As you can read about in our previous explainer, Congress has failed to pass a...

What does the government shutdown mean for people with disabilities?

This explainer from American Association of People with Disabilities has information on what to expect, as well as some resources (feedingamerica, Food Security Network) that people can use.

www.aapd.com/explainer-wh...

Text: Does who responds matter?: exploring potential proxy response bias in the Washington Group Short Set disability estimates Aaron Beuoy & Kelsey Goddard Published in Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics DOI: 10.3389/frma.2025.1654769 Images: A black man using a wheelchair talks to a woman in a suit who holds a clipboard with information between them, KU The University of Kansas Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies logo

New journal article from IHDPS explores whether having a proxy leads to people with disabilities being incorrectly represented in survey data.

Read the full article at: www.frontiersin.org/journals/res...

#DisabilityResearch #DisabilityData

America's Essential Data Highlighting examples of how our essential public data serve the American people.

To follow up on Tuesday's post -

Please visit essentialdata.us

It shows how good data can be crucial for funding and services.

E.g. Today we heard in Langston University RRTC's employment listening session that poor data for special education through employment is leading to a lack of support

Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN) About DHERN The Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN) supports disability health equity research, connects researchers and trainees, and fosters the inclusion of disabled people in thes...

Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN)
asi.syr.edu/disability-h...

Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN) About DHERN The Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN) supports disability health equity research, connects researchers and trainees, and fosters the inclusion of disabled people in thes...

Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN)
asi.syr.edu/disability-h...

America's Essential Data Highlighting examples of how our essential public data serve the American people.

America's Essential Data website:
essentialdata.us

America's Essential Data Highlighting examples of how our essential public data serve the American people.

America's Essential Data website:
essentialdata.us

Federal data: Nat'l Disability Employment Awareness Month | Denice Ross Working age people with disabilities are employed at **half the rate** of the non-disabled population (thank you, Current Population Survey for those 2024 numbers 🙏 ). No surprise, federal data are on...

Denice Ross post on LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/posts/denice...

Federal data: Nat'l Disability Employment Awareness Month | Denice Ross Working age people with disabilities are employed at **half the rate** of the non-disabled population (thank you, Current Population Survey for those 2024 numbers 🙏 ). No surprise, federal data are on...

Denice Ross post on LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/posts/denice...

text: A nonprofit disability organization launches a small business accelerator when they learn from the Current Population Survey's disability labor force characteristics data that workers with disabilities are twice as likely to be self-employed than work for someone image: a woman sitting and drawing on an easel

text: The bad news is all of these datasets are at risk. The good news resources like EssentialData.us help make the case for how federal datasets benefit American lives and livelihoods.

text: learn more at EssentialData.us psst did you know? these graphics are made by a disabled designer heart kate

text & images: image credits - man with bus - metropolitan transportation authority via Flickr, woman on couch - resume genius via Unsplash, woman drawing - European disability forum via Flickr, man with pig - U.S. department of Agriculture via Flickr

Datasets from Transportation, Labor, and Commerce departments connect employers with talented Americans with disabilities.

#DisabilityData #ResearchMatters

(Links in comments) - Post 2 of 2

text: federal datasets for national disability employment awareness month that keep disabled Americans going images: man with wheelchair entering bus, man with wheelchair feeding pig, Disability Health Equity Research Network logo, FAS federation of American scientists logo, America's Essential Data logo

text: a wheelchair user has an easier commute to work thanks to expanded door-to-door transit services in response to the National Household Travel Survey showing the employment barriers faced by adults with travel-limiting disabilities image: man with wheelchair entering bus

text: A cancer patient continues working during treatment because they find info about workplace accommodations that match their symptoms and job duties in the Job Accommodation Network Situations and Solutions finder database, from the Office of Disability Employment policy image: woman sits on couch using her laptop

text: A farmworker paralyzed in a combine accident finds the right assistive tech to continue working with help from AgrAbility, a USDA-funded program that exists to serve the 2 in 10 farmers who are living with disabilities, a need made visible by American Survey Data image: a man with a wheelchair feeds a pig

U.S. Chief Data Scientist @denicewross.bsky.social worked with the Disability Health Equity Research Network (DHERN) to show the connection between disability data to real outcomes for people with disabilities.

#DisabilityData #ResearchMatters

(Links in comments) - Post 1 of 2

Its use of electronic and computer-aided tools where many people cannot receive usable text messages or do not have internet access is amazing, and they are looking to expand services to more areas in the future.

This website & resource is for mothers in Nigeria to call in to learn about maternal healthcare in many languages - familiasolutions.org .

This resource helps combat medical misinformation, as well as allowing scheduling and reminders for healthcare check-ups.

Website screenshot. Familia Supporting Maternal & Child Health Empowering women of reproductive age with digital health solutions for better maternal and child health outcomes

We are at the last day of Center on KTDRR 's 2025 Virtual Knowledge Translation (KT) Conference this year, and are learning about lots of great KT resources!

One is a pilot project in Nigeria presented by Charles Chibuisi Ehiemere - Familia Solutions. More info in comments.

Giancarlo Vicari - Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice Giancarlo was born on October 30th, 2008, in Summit New Jersey and is growing up in Union, New Jersey. He was first educated at Washington Elementary School in Union, New Jersey then from 2nd grade to...

We are learning about great resources at KTDRR's 2025 KT Conference!

One is "Thinking for Me" - a comic by advocate Giancarlo Vicari for youth about turning 18 and talking to parents about alternatives to guardianship.

It is available as video and pdf:
youth-voice.org/youth-ambass...

Explainer: What the Trump Administration’s Reduction-in-Force Means for People with Disabilities - AAPD What is a Reduction-in-Force (RIF)? A Reduction-in-Force (RIF) is a process in which an employer permanently eliminates some positions, resulting in layoffs. For any employer, RIFs can happen for reas...

From @aapd.com -

What the Trump Administration’s Reduction-in-Force Means for People with Disabilities

Civil protections, reasonable accommodations, and other services will likely be impacted

www.aapd.com/explainer-wh...