Letter from Leadership: Moving Forward Together

Welcome to August in Georgia. That time of year when it feels like sticky soup outside and yet the kids are back in the classrooms. It’s always felt to me like a time of transition. Which is extra fitting this year, because we are living through a time of major transitions.

In less than three months, we Georgians will be heading to the polls to elect our next Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and many more. For most of the top jobs, the person who holds the office now is not running again. So, no matter who wins, we will have many new state leaders.

You’ve heard me say it before and I’m going to say it again - this is a critical opportunity for disability advocates to engage. All the candidates are auditioning to be your next leaders. Get to know what they stand for. And remember, you can reach out to ask them questions and tell them what’s important to you. Mark your calendar for September 17, 2026. On that day you can hear from the candidates as they speak directly to the disability community at GCDD’s virtual candidate forum.

We’ve been getting a lot of questions this summer about the June 18, 2026 memorandum, or slip opinion, from the Office of Legal Counsel at the federal Department of Justice. The memorandum is titled, “Application of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to State Institutionalization of Patients with Severe Mental Illness or Disabilities.”

The lawyer who wrote the memo says that two federal laws — the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — do not require states to follow an "integration mandate." This is a big change from the way these laws have been understood for many years.

This memo does not change the law. But it does signal change in the way federal agencies will interpret and enforce the law. Based on LOTS of conversations with partners, we believe this means more choices will be left up to each state about how and where to provide services to people with disabilities. To learn more, join us at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26th, for a webinar with GCDD and our partners in Georgia’s Developmental Disabilities Network. Register for the webinar here.

This summer, we at GCDD put the finishing touches on our strategic plan for the next five years. At the broadest level, our goals are about three things: inclusion, advocacy, and information sharing. I am incredibly grateful to the hundreds of Georgians who provided input into the plan. My hope is that everyone reading this message will find a way to be a part of this work. Read more about our new strategic plan here: Moving Georgia Forward with GCDD’s 2027-2031 Strategic Five-Year Plan.

I hope you stay cool and find some joy as we wrap up the dog days of summer. Enjoy this issue of Making a Difference magazine.

D'Arcy Robb 
GCDD Executive Director