Advocacy Update

The Arc of NC’s advocacy team is working hard for you, and we want to provide regular updates, so you know about our work in the IDD space in North Carolina. 

State Update:  When the new session started in January, there were a lot of new legislators. Many of the committee meetings are focused on learning about state government agencies and their budgets. Our lobbyists expect several new bills to be filed before the end of March. We will keep you updated on any bills that affect people with IDD.  

Federal Update: There is a lot of activity in Washington, DC with a new administration at the helm. Right now, we are keeping an eye on the budget process and Medicaid. We are working with NC representatives and senators in Congress to help them understand the importance of Medicaid for people with IDD.  In an attempt to keep people informed, we’ve amended our Medicaid webpage and will keep it current.  Please check it out here:  https://www.arcnc.org/resources/medicaid-updates-in-2025 

Advocacy Update:  

  • We hosted a legislative breakfast on February 25th at the NC General Assembly.  A group of staff members, board members, self-advocates, and our lobbying team met very early in the morning at the NC legislative cafeteria where we were able to do several things during our short time together.  We thanked legislators for their ongoing support of hurricane-related needs in Western NC and asked them to continue that support, as the impacts continue for the long term.  We thanked them for the expansion of Medicaid recently and shared stories with them about the impact that Medicaid has on the life of people with IDD.  Lastly, we talked about Tailored Care Management and how crucial a service it is, and how finding a way to support and sustain it should be a legislative priority in this session. 
  • Holly Watkins, Public Policy and Communications Director, attended a Medicaid roundtable hosted by Representative Deborah Ross in February. 
  • Interim Executive Director Lisa Poteat submitted an op-ed piece that was published in the Carolina Journal in February. 
  • Our staff is preparing to attend the Disability Policy Seminar in April. This is an annual opportunity to come to Washington, DC with a large group of other like-minded people who have both professional and lived experience with IDD.   

Attendees will learn about the hot topics facing us as a nation and how those issues might affect people with IDD.  You will have the chance to attend some visits on Capitol Hill with other people from North Carolina and introduce yourself to your legislator or their staff and simply share your personal message with them (or observe someone else do that). The hope is that a rapport is built with your legislator so that when he/she is back at home, you can build on that in your own community.   

Please let us know if you are coming so that we can include you in our Hill visit schedule, which is already being created. 

Stay tuned for more updates!