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Next Quarterly Council Meeting: January 16-17, 2025

GCDD Advocacy Days

Every winter the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) hosts multiple Advocacy Days at the Georgia State Capitol. Advocacy Days are a great opportunity for members of Georgia's develomental disabilities (DD) community to connect directly with our state leaders. GCDD staff and volunteers support attendees to advocate on issues important to the DD community. Advocacy Days are a great opportunity for both new advocates and seasoned ones to have a real impact on our state's policies for people with DD.

Each Advocacy Day is about a topic of critical importance to the DD community. Before the Advocacy Day, all participants are invited to a short virtual training to prepare. Then, on the actual Advocacy Day, participants meet with GCDD staff and volunteers in person at the Georgia state capitol to speak directly with their legislators.

Advocacy Days at the Capitol support GCDD’s overall mission to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for persons with DD and their families to live, learn, work, play and worship in Georgia communities.

Check back here for upcoming information about GCDD Advocacy Days being held in 2025.

In 2024, GCDD hosted its annual Advocacy Days in January and February. These three advocacy days took place over a two-day period: one day of virtual preparation, the next day in person at the Georgia State Capitol. Issues we focused on in 2024 are described below.

Georgia has been leading the way in advocating for Inclusive Post Secondary Education programs. Currently, Georgia has nine schools supporting people with intellectual disabilities (ID) to go to school in Georgia. These programs serve as a pipeline for future skilled and talented candidates with disabilities in Georgia to learn skills and get education that can help them to enter the workforce and/or live independently after college.

Last year our community advocated to the General Assembly that there needed to be a state-supported IPSE scholarship to help make these opportunities more affordable. The General Assembly heard us and listened to what we advocated about, and they created a grant opportunity that has greatly helped our community.

Our ask:

  • To fully fund the IPSE grants and make sure that all Georgians with ID have this opportunity.

View our one-pager on the IPSE Advocacy Day.

Georgia’s disability community is in a state of emergency regarding the Medicaid waitlist and wages for direct support professionals (DSPs). Currently Georgia has a waiting list of over 7,000 people waiting for HCBS services. These services are critical for the disability community who are supported by DSPs.

Last year the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) funded a rate study around DSP pay. The study found that Georgia’s DSP community desperately needs a rate increase to help support people who work in this field. The Governor has included $79 million in his budget to ensure that the study is funded in full. GCDD has been advocating to ensure that this provision stays in the budget and DSP rates are increased this year.

Georgia’s system of support for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) is outdated. A Senate study committee met in 2022 to determine the need for Medicaid services that keep people with disabilities in their home and communities. This committee recommended that the legislature funds 2,400 new NOW/COMP waivers and that it creates an I/DD commission. GCDD has continued to advocate for 2,400 waivers, but currently the legislature has only budgeted for 100 new NOW/COMP waiver slots.

Fortunately, this year, there has been a bipartisan proposal to create a new commission focused on Georgians with I/DD. SB 198, sponsored by Senator Sally Harrell, would create the Georgians with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Innovation Commission. The goal of the commission is to develop new solutions for ending the NOW/COMP waitlist, employment, housing, and other important issues for the disability community so that adults with I/DD can live, work, and thrive in our communities.

Our asks:

  • To fully fund the DSP rate study which would come out to 107 million and also support 2,400 waivers which is about 65 million waivers.
  • To develop a Georgians with IDD Innovation Commission.

View our one-pager on Waivers and Wages Advocacy Day.

Last year the disability community in Georgia identified an underlying issue around paying people with disabilities below minimum wage (subminimum wages). Currently, in Georgia employers can legally pay people with disabilities below minimum wage compared to their able-bodied counterparts. During our legislative advocacy days this past year, GCDD’s public policy team met with legislators to talk about the issue.

This past summer, we kept the conversation going and identified one legislator who is willing to help end this unfair practice. We are in the final steps of getting the bill ready to present and this year we are advocating to fully end 14c Certificates in Georgia to make sure Georgians with disabilities are being paid a fair and livable wage.

This legislative session we have two asks that will support real employment for Georgians with Developmental Disabilities.

Our asks:

  • To support Georgia as a Model Employer (Senate Bill 384), that would require Georgia's state agencies to set goals for the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.
  • To support ending 14c (House Bill 1125), the outdated practice that allows employers at community rehabilitation programs to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage.

View our one-pager on Advancing Employment First and Ending Subminimum Wages.