At the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), we are always driven by our overarching values, and specifically by our public policy agenda. As we gear up to head into another legislative session in 2024, I want to take time to reflect on the wins in 2023 before we call on our advocates and community to continue the work in 2024.  In 2023, we were excited to have a big win with waivers. This is important for the ultimate goal of getting to the root of the problem which is to end the waiver waiting list. We also had a big win for Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE)...

Headshot of D'Arcy Robb, GCDD's Executive Director As I sit down to write this, I’m feeling raw. We just wrapped up Georgia’s General Assembly session, and it was a real mix of wins and losses. Win – the developmental disability (DD) rate study. All summer, fall, and winter long, we at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) worked in tandem with multiple other organizations to press the case for why a rate increase was so critically needed. Thank all that is good – it worked. “You all did a good job making the case,” a person deep inside the state budget process told me....

D'Arcy Robb, GCDD Executive Director  What were you doing in 1999? I graduated from high school. Interestingly, Georgia self-advocates Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson were making history.  You may or may not know their stories. Lois and Elaine both had disabilities. They spent years cycling in and out of Georgia’s state hospitals and institutions. Clinical care teams working for the state of Georgia agreed that Lois and Elaine should be served in the community rather than in institutions. However, supports were unavailable in the community then, and Lois and Elaine remained in sta...