Short Naps, Long Hours: How Autism Clinics Squeeze Medicaid Dollars Out of Preschoolers (The New York Times)
Parental mental health — not medication — drives autism correlation, new study finds (Los Angeles Times/paywall)
Congress slashed Medicaid funding to providers. The Trump administration wants to cut even further (Stat News/paywall
Democratic attorneys general snub Vance’s anti-fraud roundtable at White House after late invite (CNBC)
Under White House pressure, Missouri speeds up effort to find Medicaid fraud (The Beacon News)
NJ defends record on uncovering Medicaid fraud in response to White House criticism (New Jersey Monitor)
Map: SNAP Enrollment Has Dropped in Every State (Governing.com)
What’s in the 2026 NYS Budget? Here’s What To Know (NY Focus)
New York Medicaid beneficiaries confront barriers in accessing home care, study finds (McKnights Home Care)
California’s $2.4 billion special ed boost addresses critical needs, but challenges remain (EdSource)
Colorado bill aims to protect students with disabilities, but awaits governor’s signature (9news.com)
Nearly 8,000 Await Medicaid Waiver as Georgia Cuts Budget for 400 Spots, Council Says (Press release)
Louisiana invests $5.1 million to help students with disabilities (KTAL News)
Maryland budget cuts, looming deadlines put family caregivers in a ‘complete tailspin’ (News from the States)
New law will enhance emergency response for people with disabilities (Virginia Mercury)
Ed Dept wants to end some IDEA data collections; special ed and disability groups pushed back (K-12 Dive)
Autistic students who make it through college face a bigger challenge: getting jobs (The Hechinger Report)
Federal judge refuses to block Trump executive order on mail voting — for now (Votebeat)
Adults with developmental disabilities or cerebral palsy face earlier fall injury risks (News-Medical.net)
Ranking the U.S. Airlines Most Likely to Damage Your Wheelchair (2026) (Wheelchair Travel)
Short Naps, Long Hours: How Autism Clinics Squeeze Medicaid Dollars Out of Preschoolers A NYT investigation found that the rapid expansion if A.B.A.-focused clinics has played out with little regulatory oversight and brought allegations of children being harmed by profit-motivated practices. (The New York Times)
Parental mental health — not medication — drives autism correlation, new study finds An analysis of 37 studies totaling more than half-a-million pregnancies with antidepressant use found no significant link between common antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism/ADHD in children after adjusting for the mother’s mental health and other factors. If you can’t read the Times story due to the paywall, here’s a press release. (Los Angeles Times/paywall)
Congress slashed Medicaid funding to providers. The Trump administration wants to cut even further Behavioral health providers, dentists, and doctors could face steep cuts. (Stat News/paywall
Senators call for more Medicaid HCBS funding as part of a larger plan to increase funding for long-term care services. (McKnights Home Care)
Democratic attorneys general snub Vance’s anti-fraud roundtable at White House after late invite (CNBC)
DeWine, Dr. Oz address alleged Medicaid fraud in Ohio (NBC4)
Under White House pressure, Missouri speeds up effort to find Medicaid fraud (The Beacon News)
NJ defends record on uncovering Medicaid fraud in response to White House criticism (New Jersey Monitor)
Map: SNAP Enrollment Has Dropped in Every State (Governing.com)
Note: This starts with New York, where a majority of The Boost’s readership currently is based, and continues alphabetically by state.
What’s in the 2026 NYS Budget? Here’s What To Know Human services providers (e.g., DSPs), contracted by the state will see a 2.7% increase in payments. The budget does not specify how much of that will go toward worker salaries. (NY Focus)
New York Medicaid beneficiaries confront barriers in accessing home care, study finds (McKnights Home Care)
California’s $2.4 billion special ed boost addresses critical needs, but challenges remain As TK-12 enrollment has declined by 8% over the past decade, the number of special ed students has grown by nearly 20%. (EdSource)
San Francisco County Office of Ed to Open New Special Ed Program for Students With Extensive Needs It’s for students with autism and intellectual disabilities, and the aim is to reduce costly non-public school placements and long transportation times for families. (KQED.org)
Colorado bill aims to protect students with disabilities, but awaits governor’s signature A bill sitting on Gov. Jared Polis’s desk could soon change the way Colorado schools serve students with disabilities by requiring them to adapt activities so every child can participate. (9news.com)
Nearly 8,000 Await Medicaid Waiver as Georgia Cuts Budget for 400 Spots, Council Says (Press release from the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities via The Georgia Virtue)
Louisiana invests $5.1 million to help students with disabilities FYI, a 2024 review by the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office of Special Ed Programs found that the state did not meet federal standards in certain areas, especially regarding complaints and dispute resolution. (KTAL News)
Maryland budget cuts, looming deadlines put family caregivers in a ‘complete tailspin’ (News from the States)
PA homecare workers urge lawmakers for improved Medicaid reimbursement rate Under the current rate, homecare workers are paid 25-75% less than their peers in neighboring states. (Fox43.com)
New law will enhance emergency response for people with disabilities Regulations will require that certain healthcare providers conduct regular simulations to prepare employees to identify and respond to emergencies experienced by people with disabilities under their care. (Virginia Mercury)
Ed Dept wants to end some IDEA data collections; special ed and disability groups pushed back The proposal would remove certain data collections for racial disparities in special ed. (K-12 Dive)
Autistic students who make it through college face a bigger challenge: getting jobs Some colleges are offering career-readiness classes and one-on-one career coaching; some are also working with employers to make their hiring and employment practices more inclusive. (The Hechinger Report)
Federal judge refuses to block Trump executive order on mail voting — for now Trump’s executive order would give the U.S. Postal Service unprecedented control over mail ballots, but a judge said the agency hasn’t yet acted (Votebeat)
Adults with developmental disabilities or cerebral palsy face earlier fall injury risks Researchers analyzed more than 35.8 million emergency department visits across 21 states. (news-medical.net)
Do “special needs momfluencers” have their kids’ consent? This broadly discusses a certain type of mommy blogger — those who center themselves in the discussion — and raises interesting questions. (Rewire News Group)
Ranking the U.S. Airlines Most Likely to Damage Your Wheelchair (2026) (Wheelchair Travel)
Parents push back after Chapel Hill yearbook omits 12 students with disabilities “Honestly, it feels like [I’m] an extinct animal … because my presence is there, I made a difference, but there’s no historical record of me.” (News Observer)
How Chefs on the Spectrum Empowers Adults With Autism (Today.com)
US supreme court dismisses Alabama’s bid to execute intellectually disabled man (The Guardian)
NYC promises new scorecards and more efficient routes for dysfunctional school bus system (Chalkbeat)
Arizonans with disabilities depend on at-home services. Medicaid cuts could erode the program (KJZZ.com)
‘Makeshift Fight Club’: Arkansas Private School Founder Punished for Abuse of Disabled Student (Disabled Journalists Assn.)
New bill requires autism awareness training for Florida law enforcement (WESH.com)
The Philadelphia school district will phase out a special ed program (Chalkbeat)
Families caring for disabled relatives face unthinkable choices as Medicaid cuts loom (NBC News)
Trump administration proposes crackdown on Medicaid state-directed payments (Healthcare Dive)
RFK Jr. announces ‘the largest autism fraud bust in American history’ (Politico)
Vance takes his fight against fraud to red state Ohio (AP)
Calif. Condemns Federal Deferral of IHSS Funds (Calif. Dept. of Health Care Services)
More states are offering caregiver tax credits for families — but they only offset a fraction of expenses (Marketwatch)
Risks and Priorities in Federal Disability Measurement (Urban Institute)
2024-25 Data at a Glance: I/DD Family Surveys (NCI IDD)
Mom’s Facebook plea may help son with disabilities walk at graduation (USA Today)
Fashion Celebrates Girls With Disabilities (Today.com)
The Supreme Court threw out a challenge by the state of Alabama to a judicial finding that a death row inmate convicted of a 1997 murder is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty.
The Guardian explains that “because of a major 2002 supreme court precedent that executing an intellectually disabled person violates the constitution’s eighth amendment ban on ‘cruel and unusual punishment’, Alabama could not execute Smith. But that landmark ruling left it to the states to set standards for eligibility.”
It also reports that Justice Sotomayor, in her concurring opinion, said that “’the court is not equipped to provide any meaningful guidance on how courts should assess multiple IQ scores. That is because the differences between methods used to assess multiple IQ scores raise complicated questions on which even experts may disagree.”
Or, as Disability Scoop‘s headline put it, the court Punts On Deciding How Intellectual Disability Is Defined (paywall).
NYC promises new scorecards and more efficient routes for dysfunctional school bus system Of the 145,000 students reliant on yellow bus service, roughly 43% are children with disabilities. (Chalkbeat)
Arizonans with disabilities depend on at-home services. Medicaid cuts could erode the program Another look at what can happen to people with disabilities when essential services are cut. (KJZZ.com)
‘Makeshift Fight Club’: Arkansas Private School Founder Punished for Abuse of Disabled Student (Disabled Journalists Association)
New bill requires autism awareness training for Florida law enforcement A mom got the whole ball rolling. (WESH.com)
Michigan’s use of AI to process SNAP applications draws concerns about past automation failures (Michigan Advance)
Minn. counties welcome state funds to overhaul old technology to administer SNAP, Medicaid (MPR News)
NC families with disabled children press lawmakers to maintain funding as federal Medicaid cuts loom (North Carolina Health News)
The Philadelphia school district will phase out a special ed program Intensive Learning Support is meant to boost students significantly academically behind their peers. The move is “an effort to educate more special education students alongside their peers.” (Chalkbeat)
Families caring for disabled relatives face unthinkable choices as Medicaid cuts loom (NBC News)
Trump administration proposes crackdown on Medicaid state-directed payments (Healthcare Dive)
AHA STATMENT: CMS issues proposed rule on Medicaid supplemental payments Medicaid “is a lifeline for tens of millions of Americans — children, seniors, people with disabilities and hardworking individuals. [The] proposed rule raises important questions about how the statutory requirements will be implemented and the potential impact on providers’ ability to rely on critical Medicaid payments.” (American Hospital Assn.)
RFK Jr. announces ‘the largest autism fraud bust in American history’ The Dept. of Justice has arrested and indicted 15 people in Minnesota for alleged fraud schemes involving $90 million in Medicaid funds. James Clark, inspector general at Minnesota’s Department of Human Services, said his department stopped payments to some of the businesses connected to the charges more than a year ago and has already opened investigations and withheld payment to 11 of the 15 people charged. (Politico)
Vance takes his fight against fraud to red state Ohio (AP)
Ohio Gov. DeWine pushes back as GOP leaders blame administration for Medicaid fraud (Columbus Dispatch)
Calif. Condemns Federal Deferral of IHSS Funds CMS deferred $1.1 billion in federal funding tied to the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program, which serves some 905,000 seniors, children and people with disabilities with basic needs, citing fraud concerns. (Calif. Dept. of Health Care Services)
California Legislators Reject Cuts to In-Home Supportive Services in Proposed State Budget Some 31 Assemblymembers and Senators signed a letter rejecting proposed cuts to IHSS. (Sierra Sun Times)
More states are offering caregiver tax credits for families — but they only offset a fraction of expenses Connecticut is poised to become the third state (after Oklahoma and Nebraska) offering the tax credit. (Marketwatch)
OPINION: The caregivers you’ve never heard of are in crisis (The Hill)
Leucovorin Scripts Surged Even Before White House Autism Push Well, not too much before. It apparently followed a February 2025 CBS News segment featuring a family who reported dramatic language improvements in a child after treatment. (MedPage Today)
Risks and Priorities in Federal Disability Measurement Recent shifts in the approach to collecting and using data have raised concerns about how we measure and understand disabled people, their experiences and their protections. (Urban Institute)
2024-25 Data at a Glance: I/DD Family Surveys The data demonstrate how state Developmental Disability systems are impacting families. (NCI IDD)
Mom’s Facebook plea may help son with disabilities walk at graduation A Texas mother’s now-viral Facebook post said school officials told her that her son would “take too long” to walk across the stage.(USA Today)
Fashion Celebrates Girls With Disabilities Fashion brand Alivia partners with a N.C. camp where participants work on every stage of the process, from initial design to marketing to walking in a fashion show. (Today.com)
JD Vance threatens health funding to states that don’t comply with White House anti-fraud effort
Trump Administration Will Withhold $1.3 Billion in Medicaid Payments to California (The New York Times)
Ohio introduces new Medicaid fraud prevention initiatives (Spectrum News 1)
OPINION: Republicans Push “Waste and Fraud” Narrative Again to Gut the Social Safety Net (Truthout.org)
Ed Department to release $144M for special education, early intervention (K-12 Dive)
Wealthy Students More Likely to Get Disability Accommodations, Study Finds (The 74)
Why emotional disturbance, a special ed category, is a double-edged sword for students (NPR)
Antidepressants in Pregnancy: What a New Study Found (MedPage Today)
Azithromycin use in late pregnancy may pose less risk of neurologic issues in babies than other antibiotics (Univ. of Minnesota/CIDRAP)
This high Schooler Developed an A.I. Tool to Diagnose Autism and ADHD Using the Retina (Smithsonian)
AMA announces educational video series on caring for people with disabilities (HME News)
Native kids with disabilities held in wooden boxes in upstate NY school district. Reforms are coming (NPR)
The Grand Tradition of Suing for School Tuition (New York Magazine)
Nebraska demands proof, but shared living provider says 400 pages weren’t enough to keep patient’s funding tier (1011now.com)
In Texas, Houston Independent School District is under federal investigation over plans to restructure special ed services (Houston Public Radio)
Deal to cut taxes, boost special ed funds, dies in Wisconsin Senate (WPR.org)
This app lets kids with disabilities use devices with their minds. Now anyone can download it (CBC Radio)
Autism and health (Autism Speaks)
The hunt for fraud is heating up. Below, some of this week’s major headlines, with summaries focusing on Medicaid.
JD Vance threatens health funding to states that don’t comply with White House anti-fraud effort
Attorneys general in all 50 states reportedly received a letter from the inspector general at the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) warning states to investigate alleged Medicaid fraud or risk losing funding. This comes on the heels of HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. accusuing some home health aides, including family members who take care of disabled people under Medicaid-funded Home- and Community-Based (HCBS) programs, of fraud.
Andy Schneider at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families told The Guardian that “there’s no statutory or regulatory basis for withholding all of a state’s federal Medicaid matching funds due to non-performance by a MFCU [Medicaid Fraud Control Units]. … Republican anti-fraud programs are [about] stripping away capacity in order to punish political rivals.” (The Guardian)
“In at least one case, the administration has erred in its accusations against states,” PBS reports. “In April, CMS acknowledged to The Associated Press that it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe in New York.” This raised a common criticism that the second Trump administration “tends to attack first and confirm the facts later.” (PBS.org)
Trump Administration Will Withhold $1.3 Billion in Medicaid Payments to California (The New York Times)
Ohio introduces new Medicaid fraud prevention initiatives (Spectrum News 1)
OPINION: Republicans Push “Waste and Fraud” Narrative Again to Gut the Social Safety Net (Truthout.org)
The National Disability Navigator Resource Collaborator recently posted Toward Holistic Health Services under Medicaid, which explained why, as an optional benefit under Medicaid, HCBS are at risk of deep cuts as federal Medicaid funding is reduced.
In hopeful news, it notes that in April federal legislative proposals — the HCBS Access Act and Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act — were reintroduced to ensure comprehensive HCBS coverage under Medicaid, along with the adequate workforce funding needed to sustain it. (NDNRC)
FY 27 Appropriations The Autism Society has a good summary of what might be in the upcoming budget, noting that “together, these changes could weaken critical supports.” (Autism Society)
Ed Department to release $144M for special education, early intervention The announcement also included guidance to states on using IDEA funds to help expectant parents of children with disabilities. (K-12 Dive)
Takeaways from McMahon hearing on Ed Dept priorities Lawmakers pressed the Ed secretary about progress in addressing a backlog of civil rights complaints. A recent report found OCR had reached agreements in only 1% of pending cases in 2025. (K-12 Dive)
Wealthy Students More Likely to Get Disability Accommodations, Study Finds Study finds that wealthy families were twice as likely as poorer ones to be granted accommodations under the federal law Section 504 — but that IEP recipients much more likely to come from low-income families than well-off ones. (The 74)
Why emotional disturbance, a special ed category, is a double-edged sword for students (NPR)
Antidepressants in Pregnancy: What a New Study Found No clear link was found between prenatal antidepressant exposure and autism or ADHD in kids. (MedPage Today)
Azithromycin use in late pregnancy may pose less risk of neurologic issues in babies than other antibiotics (Univ. of Minnesota/CIDRAP)
This high Schooler Developed an A.I. Tool to Diagnose Autism and ADHD Using the Retina (Smithsonian)
New Findings on Conflicts of Interest in Autism Research A new study examined autism intervention research published in eight Applied Behavior Analysis journals. One data point: 78% of authors were paid ABA providers, paid ABA consultants, or both. (Psychology Today)
AMA announces educational video series on caring for people with disabilities (HME News)
Feds to Reconsider Rule Barring Disability Discrimination in Healthcare HHS published an interim final rule putting off the deadline for healthcare providers to ensure that their websites and mobile apps meet certain accessibility standards. (Disability Scoop/paywall)
Note: This starts with New York, where a majority of The Boost’s readership currently is based, and continues alphabetically by state.
NYS Assembly passes bill requiring immediate parent notice of school abuse claims (CBS 6 Albany)
Native kids with disabilities held in wooden boxes in upstate NY school district. Reforms are coming (NPR)
The Grand Tradition of Suing for School Tuition This is an interesting article with no easy takeaway. It starts with the premise that the city spends over a billion a year on special-ed lawsuits brought, mostly, by white parents and notes that the rate of claims per student in New York State is 10 times higher than the national average. (New York Magazine)
Nebraska demands proof, but shared living provider says 400 pages weren’t enough to keep patient’s funding tier (1011now.com)
In Texas, Houston Independent School District is under federal investigation over plans to restructure special ed services (Houston Public Radio)
Deal to cut taxes, boost special ed funds, dies in Wisconsin Senate (WPR.org)
This app lets kids with disabilities use devices with their minds. Now anyone can download it (CBC Radio)
Rural residents less likely to receive HCBS than urban counterparts (McKnights)
Autism and health (Autism Speaks)
Who gets to speak for mothers of autistic children? (The 19th News)
Aluminum in vaccines not linked to autism, other health problems (Univ. of Minnesota CIDRAP)
OPINION: Profound Autism Is Difficult Enough Without This Debunked Method (The New York Times)
Many Minnesotans rely on programs under scrutiny for fraud (Star Tribune)
Minnesota Legislature passes office of inspector general bill aimed at preventing fraud (News from the States)
Republicans Claim Widespread Food Stamp Fraud. What’s Missing: Hard Evidence. (Mother Jones)
U.S. Rep Rob Menendez seeks hotline for caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities (Hudson County View)
Support Cracks for Bill Banning 24-Hour Home Care Shifts (The City)
Private schools, public dollars: A staggering racial gap in NYC special ed tuition payments (Chalkbeat)
Best Buddies Launches Its First Inclusive Living Community in NYC in Collaboration With Future Centered Care (Best Buddies/Future Centered Care)
CT lawmakers approve caregiver tax credit (NHPR)
Colorado overhauls school oversight for students with disabilities (Fox21news.com)
Colorado Medicaid cuts pose concerns for locals with disabilities (The Daily Sentinel)
Family caregiving inflicts emotional, financial toll, new US News survey finds (McKnights Home Care)
For Texans with disabilities, voting can take weeks — or be out of reach (Texas Public Radio)
Who gets to speak for mothers of autistic children? Controversial changes to the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) include public members dedicated to “causes unsupported by mainstream scientific research.” Think MAHA moms. “When I look at the committee, I just see a sea of Whiteness,’ said a former member. (The 19th News)
Aluminum in vaccines not linked to autism, other health problems (Univ. of Minnesota CIDRAP)
OPINION: Profound Autism Is Difficult Enough Without This Debunked Method An historian of medicine writes that the science doesn’t back up the alleged success of Facilitated Communication. (The New York Times)
Many Minnesotans rely on programs under scrutiny for fraud (Star Tribune)
Minnesota Legislature passes office of inspector general bill aimed at preventing fraud (News from the States)
Republicans Claim Widespread Food Stamp Fraud. What’s Missing: Hard Evidence. Much of the Foundation for Government Accountability’s rhetoric hearkens back to the Reagan-era myth of the “welfare queen.” (Mother Jones)
U.S. Rep Rob Menendez seeks hotline for caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities I first saw this news in Disability Scoop, which has a paywall, but you can find its story here. (Hudson County View)
Note: This starts with New York, where a majority of The Boost’s readership currently is based, and continues alphabetically by state.
Disabled New Yorkers Oppose Bill to End 24-Hour Shifts for Home Aides The “No More 24” bill has turned allies into opponents, pitting workers’ rights activists against disability advocates and those who need round-the-clock care. (The City)
Support Cracks for Bill Banning 24-Hour Home Care Shifts (The City)
Private schools, public dollars: A staggering racial gap in NYC special ed tuition payments (Chalkbeat)
Best Buddies Launches Its First Inclusive Living Community in NYC in Collaboration With Future Centered Care I don’t usually run press releases, but this seems exciting given that the Manhattan location hopes to serve as a scalable model for inclusive housing across the five boroughs for neurodiverse adults. (Best Buddies/Future Centered Care)
CT lawmakers approve caregiver tax credit (NHPR)
Colorado overhauls school oversight for students with disabilities (Fox21news.com)
Colorado Medicaid cuts pose concerns for locals with disabilities Another example of the unfolding crisis. (The Daily Sentinel)
Family caregiving inflicts emotional, financial toll, new US News survey finds (McKnights Home Care)
For Texans with disabilities, voting can take weeks — or be out of reach (Texas Public Radio)
Want to Help Disabled People? Be More Like George H.W. Bush. As Vice President George H.W. Bush met with advocates, he came to believe that protections did not constrain Americans but rather were instrumental in empowering disabled people to live full and happy lives. (The New York Times)
New York City Ballet dancers teaching choreography to group with disabilities (abc7ny.com)
What RFK Jr. said to Congress shows he doesn’t understand disability policy (ASAN)
The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families (ProPublica)
OPINION: My son is a disabled adult. The Trump White House has him in its sights (MS Now)
CMS Unveils Proposed 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set: What It Means For Home Care Providers (Home Health Care News)
Potential national implications loom as judge sends New Hampshire Medicaid HCBS case to trial (McKnights Senior Living)
Education Secretary Says Department Still Working To Offload Special Ed Disability Scoop/paywall)
As deadline looms, $289 million in federal education research funding may go unspent (Hechinger Report)
Education Department finalizes rule tightening federal student lending (Higher Ed Dive)
Kennedy’s US advisory board puts focus on ‘profound autism’, improved medical care (Reuters)
New focus on autism fuels debate over splitting the spectrum (PBS)
Here’s what the autism spectrum really looks like (Scientific American)
FDA May Finally Make It Illegal to Shock Autistic Kids as Punishment (Mother Jones)
The Autism Mom Who Turned Miami-Dade Into a Neuroinclusion Model (Miami’s Community Newspaper)
Federal agents, Minnesota investigators raid 5 Twin Cities autism centers as part of fraud probe (CBS News)
Troubled N.J. school district says it may lay off 162 teachers’ aides (NJ.com)
NC moves to rein in soaring autism therapy costs amid fraud concerns (NC Health News)
For Texans with disabilities, voting can take weeks — or be out of reach (Texas Public Radio)
The Trump administration, determined to devalue people with disabilities and their caregivers under the guise of Medicaid “fraud,” struck again.
On April 16, while testifying in front of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. targeted Medicaid-funded Home and Community-Based Services that pay family members to serve as caregivers. These services are designed to keep people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those with complex medical needs, at home, in their communities, and out of institutions.
“These are family members who are getting paid to do things that they used to do as family members for free,” Kennedy testified. “This is rife with fraud because we have no way at CMS to determine whether they actually perform that duty or not. We don’t know whether you drove your grandmother to a doctor’s office.”
Kennedy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. For one, he’s willfully ignoring the national caregiver crisis, and how many family members must leave jobs — and the income they provide — to take care of their loved ones. For families who take care of children with complex medical needs, their new jobs are harder than anything Kennedy can imagine. (Check out Photos Show 24/7 Role Parents Play Caring for Medically Fragile Children at Home, published by The Boost last year, and this Mother Jones report, which looks at the 744 hours of nursing and attendant care one 11-year-old boy in Oregon needs each month.)
RFK’s comments “didn’t just denigrate family caregivers, they denigrated the work of the professionals in our fields by suggesting that all home- and community-based services could just be done by family caregivers, and it should all be done for free,” Barbara Merrill, CEO of ANCOR, told NBC News. “It’s just shocking.” It also left community-based caregivers “gravely concerned” about the future of home care, she added.
More pertinent links:
What RFK Jr. said to Congress shows he doesn’t understand disability policy (ASAN)
STUDY: The New Face of Family Caregiving (American Society on Aging)
STUDY: Caregiving in the US 2025 (AARP)
Watch RFK Jr.’s testimony on YouTube.
The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families In more terrible news, the rule change would deduct the value of a disabled adult’s bedroom from their SSI allotment, even if the family members they live with qualify for food stamps. “This would mean slashing the benefits of some of the most low-income SSI recipients by up to a third or ending their support altogether.” (ProPublica)
OPINION: My son is a disabled adult. The Trump White House has him in its sights (MS Now)
CMS Unveils Proposed 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set: What It Means For Home Care Providers The measures’ effects may be felt downstream and would vary from state to state. (Home Health Care News)
Potential national implications loom as judge sends New Hampshire Medicaid HCBS case to trial The lawsuit claims the state’s underinvestment in its Medicaid waiver program leaves recipients “at serious risk of unjustified institutionalization” by failing to ensure services are provided. (McKnights Senior Living)
Education Secretary Says Department Still Working To Offload Special Ed Sec. Linda McMahon signaled that her agency still intends to offload programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act. (Disability Scoop/paywall)
As deadline looms, $289 million in federal education research funding may go unspent An advocacy group analysis highlighted that roughly 85% of the $77 million designated for special ed research remains unspent and there are no federal notices or documents, “as there usually would be,” detailing plans to launch grant competitions and spend it. (Hechinger Report)
Education Department finalizes rule tightening federal student lending The agency kept a contested definition of “professional” student that excludes fields like education and physical therapy from higher loan caps. (Higher Ed Dive)
RFK Jr.’s Unsupported Claims About Tylenol-Autism Study He Called ‘Garbage’ Following his April 16 testimony, RFK Jr., on the 17th, let loose this one. (FactCheck.org)
Kennedy’s US advisory board puts focus on ‘profound autism’, improved medical care Most of the substantive discussion during the meeting revolved around how to define profound autism. (Reuters)
New focus on autism fuels debate over splitting the spectrum (PBS)
Here’s what the autism spectrum really looks like (Scientific American)
FDA May Finally Make It Illegal to Shock Autistic Kids as Punishment The new rule, if finalized by the Trump administration, doesn’t prohibit all types of shock therapy. (Mother Jones)
Autism Misinformation Widespread On Social Media, Study Finds (Disability Scoop/paywall; find the study here)
TOOLKIT: Autism, HHS, and Public Health: Unpacking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Year in Misinformation (ASAN)
Note: This starts with New York, where a majority of The Boost’s readership currently is based, and continues alphabetically by state.
The Autism Mom Who Turned Miami-Dade Into a Neuroinclusion Model The Florida Neuroinclusion Toolkit is for counties, cities, and public agencies looking to build neuroinclusive communities. (Miami’s Community Newspaper)
Federal agents, Minnesota investigators raid 5 Twin Cities autism centers as part of fraud probe (CBS News)
Troubled N.J. school district says it may lay off 162 teachers’ aides (NJ.com)
NC moves to rein in soaring autism therapy costs amid fraud concerns Families say ABA has been life-changing. But a surge in Medicaid spending — and questions about who’s collecting it — has been putting the therapy under scrutiny. (NC Health News)
For Texans with disabilities, voting can take weeks — or be out of reach For many voters with disabilities, the biggest barriers are not the ballot itself, but the systems people rely on to navigate the process on time, including gaps in home care, transportation and access to assistance. (Texas Public Radio)
Caregivers with Disabilities: An Overlooked & Under-supported Caregiving Population (Brandeis)
Most fashion mannequins are about a size 2. The Met Gala exhibit is making room for diverse bodies (AP)