Latest
Policy · Daily digest
The Nov. 9, 2026 DSN digest: New Jersey DDD denies Goods and Services payments to some community class vendors. Also: a Lucas County, Ohio, DD levy ask, Oklahoma's DSP gap, Texas Medicaid expansion limits, the Dec. 11 funding deadline and Iowa's new senator.
November 9, 2026 · Families fear state Medicaid billing change means loss of programs for disabled adults · 2 min
Policy · New Jersey
November 9, 2026 · Families fear state Medicaid billing change means loss of programs for disabled adults
Policy · Daily digest
November 8, 2026 · Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, Oregon v. Oz, No. 6:26-cv-2435
Policy · Federal courts
November 5, 2026 · Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, Oregon v. Oz, No. 6:26-cv-2435
Workforce · Research
A Boston College study released Oct. 20, 2026 finds 12 of 234 Medicaid waiver policy tests changed aides' or nurses' pay, hours or unemployment. Most effects were negative and tied to self-direction and paid family care.
October 20, 2026 · How Do Medicaid LTC Policies Impact Jobs and Wages of Nurses and Aides? · 2 min
Maine leaves about 30,000 hours of home care undelivered each week and needs at least 2,300 more direct support workers, MECEP estimates cited as the Portland Press Herald revisited the shortage Oct. 15, 2026.
October 15, 2026 · Maine has a shortage of home health workers. Is there any way to fix it? · 1 min
Workforce · Technology
AI is still rare in direct care but growing, and can ease paperwork without replacing hands-on work, the Bipartisan Policy Center said Oct. 14, 2026. It flags privacy, errors and bias as the main risks.
October 14, 2026 · AI's Impact on the Direct Care Workforce · 1 min
Workforce · Labor
A New York CDPAP caregiver filed NLRB charges against 1199SEIU and PPL on Oct. 13, 2026, challenging the union drive for 190,000 personal assistants. She also asked to join the election case, arguing Public Partnerships LLC is not their employer.
October 14, 2026 · Public Partnership, LLC, Case 03-RC-395461 · 1 min
Workforce · New York
New York lawmakers on Oct. 8 pushed S10320/A11424, which would give human services workers one background clearance that carries between jobs. OPWDD providers and the Justice Center would have to accept it in place of a repeat check, with exceptions for federal rules and safety.
October 8, 2026 · Fahy, McDonald Introduce Legislation to Cut the Red Tape and Streamline the Human Service Provider Background Check Process · 2 min
Series
A 22-part history of how people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States moved from large institutions to lives in the community.
7 of 22 published
Part 1
September 26, 2026
Part 2
October 3, 2026
Part 3
October 10, 2026
Part 4
October 17, 2026
Part 5
October 24, 2026
Part 6
October 31, 2026
Part 7
November 7, 2026
Agencies · Arizona oversight
AHCCCS cut nine Legend DDD group homes after a DDD quality probe that began in November 2025. A Phoenix family says Mark Johnson died weeks after an August air-conditioning outage at one home.
November 6, 2026 · Family wants answers after disabled man dies following days without AC in group home amid state investigation · 3 min
Agencies · Deep dive
Claratel Behavioral Health has canceled two state-funded DeKalb County, Georgia, homes for adults with IDD after neighborhood opposition. The plan included 24/7 staffing, a $20-an-hour starting wage and about $3.5 million a year in operating money.
October 29, 2026 · Official Public Statement on the Wesley Chapel IDD residential development · 4 min
Agencies · Deep dive
Ohio's freeze on new Medicaid home care and waiver providers, including DD agencies and independent providers, is set to end Nov. 14. ODM says it ends then unless CMS authorizes an extension; none had been announced as of Nov. 2.
November 2, 2026 · Statewide New Provider Moratorium (provider bulletin) · 4 min
Agencies · Deep dive
A CDC study finds 20.5% of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 had a developmental disability diagnosis in 2023-2024, up from 16.7% in 2019-2020. Autism rose 42%, with the fastest growth among children ages 3 to 5.
October 23, 2026 · Trends in Parent-Reported Developmental Disabilities: 2019-2024 · 4 min
Agencies · Oversight
A $9 million suit filed Oct. 20, 2026 says a worker at Oregon's state crisis unit sexually abused a woman with an intellectual disability in 2024. The complaint says a rule requiring two staff with her at all times was not followed.
October 20, 2026 · Woman with disability sexually abused by caregiver at Oregon state facility, $9 million lawsuit alleges · 2 min
Series
Ten plain-language briefs on how services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities work: the history and law behind community living, how services are funded and rationed, and the rules that shape daily support.
10 parts
Part 1
September 8, 2026
Part 2
September 24, 2026
Part 3
September 11, 2026
Part 4
September 27, 2026
Part 5
September 14, 2026
Part 6
September 27, 2026
Part 7
September 25, 2026
Part 8
September 19, 2026
Part 9
September 27, 2026
Part 10
September 27, 2026
Practice · Deep dive
A 33-year-old autistic man died Oct. 23 after police found him unresponsive as staff restrained him at a QSAC group home in East Harlem. The medical examiner will determine the cause; NYPD is investigating.
October 24, 2026 · Man dies after being found unresponsive, restrained during Harlem shelter assault call · 4 min
Practice · Safety
Pennsylvania State Police launched a statewide Blue Envelope Program Oct. 16, 2026 to help people with autism, ID or dementia communicate at stops. Envelopes are available at local PSP stations.
October 16, 2026 · Pennsylvania State Police Launch Blue Envelope Program to Support Individuals with Disabilities During Law Enforcement Encounters · 1 min
NC Medicaid revised its Legally Responsible Individual paid-caregiver toolkit for CAP/C Consumer Directed services effective Sept. 22, 2026, and posted the update Oct. 12, adding a treating-practitioner letter option.
October 12, 2026 · Legally Responsible Individual Toolkit Updated · 1 min
HOPE NC opened three supportive housing pilots for adults with I/DD in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, with a Chapel Hill ribbon cutting Oct. 13, 2026, North Carolina Health News reported.
October 16, 2026 · Three Triangle-area housing pilots offer NC blueprints for adults with disabilities · 2 min
Practice · Abuse and neglect oversight
A New Hampshire oversight council wants one 24/7 abuse and neglect hotline, shared case tracking and public provider data for DD services. DHHS has 30 business days to answer the 17-page plan, which also tells DSPs no one may talk them out of a required report.
September 29, 2026 · Quality Council Systems Review Process and Recommendations · 2 min
Policy · The Long Road Home
Pennhurst held more than 10,500 Pennsylvanians before closing in 1987, and a federal study found people who moved to small homes did better. A 1977 court ruling documented restraint, seclusion and lost skills on understaffed wards; the 1985 Pennhurst Longitudinal Study then followed 1,154 residents into three-person community homes.
November 7, 2026 · The Pennhurst Longitudinal Study: Combined Report of Five Years of Research and Analysis · 7 min
Policy · Daily digest
The November 7, 2026 digest leads with Arizona Legend DDD terminations after an AC outage report and KFF on home-care pay transparency. Also covered: Maine day-hab rates, Oklahoma DDS hiring, new governors, MCO enrollment drop, Colorado caregiver exceptions and Addus census.
November 7, 2026 · Family wants answers after disabled man dies following days without AC in group home amid state investigation · 2 min
Policy · Payment transparency
KFF says Access rule FFS pay transparency effective July 1, 2026 includes home-care hourly rates. The 68-code Medicare comparison covers only about 2% of noninstitutional FFS spending, the Nov. 6 brief finds.
November 6, 2026 · Medicaid Payment Transparency Rules: State Reporting Requirements and Limitations · 3 min
Policy · Daily digest
The Nov. 6, 2026 DSN digest: CMS's CARE rule for ICFs/IID, KFF on 1115 budget neutrality, and SSA's paper-check phaseout. Also: HCBS sector squeeze, Alabama CWP comments due today, and home-care groups on the midterm flip.
November 6, 2026 · Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Cutting Administrative Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care (CARE) (CMS-3484-P) · 2 min
Policy · Deep dive
KFF's Nov. 5, 2026 brief warns CMS's 1115 budget-neutrality rules, effective Jan. 1, 2027, may block some HCBS demonstration renewals. Chief Actuary certification, tighter MAPS rules and limited savings rollover are the main levers.
November 5, 2026 · 1115 Waiver Watch: A Look at Budget Neutrality Policy Changes · 3 min