“We are in the fight of our lives” is how Peter Burns, Executive Director of The Arc of the U.S. characterized the proposed federal government changes to Medicaid that would strip $800 billion from the program that largely funds all states’ home and community-based supports for people with developmental disabilities.
As disastrous as those potential changes at the federal level are, TARC, an affiliated chapter of The Arc, has been deeply concerned about the devastating effects of recent and proposed budget cuts by the State of Oklahoma on services and safeguards for people with developmental disabilities.
As a result, TARC is ramping up its public policy advocacy efforts to more effectively work with Oklahoma legislators and other influential decision makers to support legislation and funding that will assist individuals with developmental disabilities to have a better quality of life.
To assist with these efforts, TARC received a $15,000 challenge grant from The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation to help further the agency’s efforts to advocate for people with developmental disabilities.
The grant is helping fund a Public Policy Coordinator leading TARC’s public policy agenda by assisting in identifying emerging issues and helping craft agency’s public policy agenda, interacting with interested and committed individuals and coalitions to develop and implement action steps to address these issues, cultivating and mobilizing grassroots advocates in support of the agenda, and communicating TARC’s issues and priorities as a public speaker in the community.
Join the fight! Additional help is needed. You can assist our advocacy efforts by becoming a TARC member. All membership fees will be used to support public policy advocacy by TARC staff as they reach out to decision makers at the State Capitol. Members, in turn, will be assisted by the agency in their own outreach efforts to communicate their desires to their elected representatives to provide the necessary funding for the critical needs of Oklahomans with developmental disabilities.