News

Beginning July 16, 2022, dialing “988” will route calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In 2020, Congress designated 988 as a new three-digit dialing, texting, and chat code for direct connection to support for anyone experiencing substance use issues, a suicidal crisis, or mental health-related distress. When people call, text, or chat 988, they […]

Last month, Governor DeSantis signed Florida’s Freedom First Budget to continue his commitment to helping individuals with developmental disabilities. For the first time ever, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) will have a record high budget totaling over $2 billion for Fiscal Year 2022-23, providing record provider rate increases to give Direct Support Professionals (DSPs)

There are plenty of color-coded alerts in Florida — Amber, Silver, Blue and now Purple. The newest color-coded alert, which went into effect July 1, 2022, will assist in the location of missing adults with mental, cognitive, intellectual or developmental disabilities. You must SIGN UP to receive email or text alerts when a Purple Alert

Attention self-advocates and family members! There is a savings program for Floridians with disabilities to leverage called ABLE United. Managed by Florida Prepaid, ABLE United offers a savings program specifically for individuals with disabilities and has helped thousands of Floridians save, while maintaining benefits from programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. Learn more about ABLE

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month in Florida. This is when our state and the nation focus on job opportunities for people with disabilities. In today’s business world, talent is in demand. Many businesses are opening their doors to people with disabilities and have discovered a wealth of dependable job talent. The Agency for Persons

With the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) offering Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid waiver enrollment to individuals on the waiver waiting list, advocates are applauding Governor Ron DeSantis’ commitment to serving people with disabilities in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis and the Legislature allocated $95 million for APD to enroll approximately 1,900 people on the

On Monday, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) submitted a $1.1 billion spending plan for home and community-based services (HCBS) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The funding would come from increased Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) outlined under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The 10-point percentage increase will last for

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking the federal government for an additional $1.1 billion in federal Medicaid dollars over the next two years to bolster access to home- and community-based programs and steer hundreds of millions of dollars to poor, elderly and disabled Floridians to purchase technology and make home improvements that enable them to