Advocacy

Easterseals assists members of Congress and their staff, White House and federal agency officials, and representatives of other national interests -- as well as citizens like you -- to understand and act in support of policies and programs that help people with disabilities to live with equality, dignity and independence.

Easterseals' legislative efforts focus on health care, early intervention, child care, education, employment, housing, supports for older Americans, recreation, assistive technology, transportation, and nonprofit organization operations.

You Can Help!

Join Easterseals today in educating and informing public officials about issues that affect individuals with disabilities. As part of the greater Easterseals network of affiliates, we are interconnected to help individuals live a full life and help them thrive, no matter what stage of life they’re in. We stand together as many of our network depend on federal funding for their operations.

View Easterseals action alert below and contact your legislators now!

1. Advocacy Effort: Medicaid Funding

Due to gaps in insurance, Medicaid, and Early Intervention reimbursements, we rely on private donations to make sure our services are accessible and available to as many children as possible. Our advocacy efforts include opposing actions and legislation on federal funding cuts and restrictions to Medicaid. Such actions are harmful to the individuals we serve and the organizations with which we partner. Medicaid is currently underfunded and does not adequately meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. 

We urge you to tell Congress that Medicaid is a lifeline for people with disabilities! Federal lawmakers need to understand how Medicaid supports you and your family and the significant impact that reduced funding or services would have. They need to be aware of issues such as waiting lists and the challenges of navigating insurance battles.

Here are resources to get started:

• Tell your story! You can use the worksheet (pictured below) to help lawmakers understand how Medicaid helps you live the life you want.

• Make three phone calls to your federal legislators. You have three Federal legislators who will make decisions about cuts to Federal Medicaid spending.

• Two U.S. Senators, Senator Richard J. Durbin (202) 224-2152 and Senator Tammy Duckworth (202) 224-2854
• One Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives (click on the Contact Your Representative Now link)

Resources:
llinois Council on Developmental Disabilities: Visit the ICDD Website
The Arc: Visit their Medicaid Advocacy Resources

2. Advocacy Effort: State of the State Budget Initiative-Township Consolidation

• Townships often provide localized services tailored to their communities, such as road maintenance, property assessments, and aid programs this includes funding from Mental Health Boards which have helped expand Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley's MHFS department and provide financial assistance to 1,627 families
• Consolidation could shift control to larger county governments which reduces accessibility, efficiency, quality of care and health equity 
• Merging townships or transferring responsibilities to counties may result in disruptions in essential services like road maintenance, senior assistance, emergency response, and aid to community programming (what we receive!)
• While reducing administrative overhead sounds beneficial, studies on government consolidation suggest that savings are not always as significant as projected; the cost of finding (replacement) aid, negotiating/terminating contracts, and re-purposing personnel ends up taking more resources in time and tax-payer money, which means less money awarded to programming that is tailored to each community. 

3. Advocacy Effort: HB3439, HA1 Common Sense Improvements to Child Care Licensing

• The bill streamlines and improves child care licensing in Illinois as licensing responsibilities shift to the new Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) starting July 2026. HB3439, HA1 aims to strengthen the state’s licensing child care infrastructure by aligning timelines and clarifying hiring processes, including:

  • Following federal guidance in requiring background check renewals for staff to take place every five years, instead of the current every three years
  • Codifying into law the existing Illinois Department of Children & Family Services guidance regarding provisional hiring (Illinois Action for Children, 2025)
  • Creates efficient processes within non-profit organizations (like ours) to remove barriers to care like extended timelines, red-tape, multiple touchpoints/contacts and THIS WILL HELP JILL!
  CALL TO ACTION:  Create a witness slip (public record that allows you as an individual or as a member of an organization to indicate your stance on a given piece of legislation ahead of a scheduled House or Senate committee hearing)

  Witness Slip Instructions:

  • Go to: https://bit.ly/4bXSbEC
  • Fill out Sections 1 and 2 as they apply to you.
  • Under Section 3 - POSITION - Click the “Description” drop down menu and select "HCA1", then check the “PROPONENT” box.
  • Check the ‘Record of Appearance’ box in Section 4 - TESTIMONY.
  • Check the ‘I Agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement’ on the bottom left of the form.
  • Click the “Create Slip” button on the bottom right of the form.