Resources/Position Papers
As the State’s leader in advancing public policy on behalf of people with developmental disabilities, GCDD offers the following information on various topics affecting the disability community that can help you stay informed.
Current Policy Issues
Inclusive Post Secondary Education (IPSE)
Read details on fully funding the IPSE grants and making sure that all Georgians with ID have this opportunity. View our one-pager on Inclusive Post Secondary Education.
HBCS Waivers and DSP Wages
Read details on fully funding the Direct Support Professional(DSP) rate study which would come out to 107 million and also supporting 2,400 Home and Community Based Services(HBCS) waivers which is about 65 million waivers, and developing a Georgians with IDD Innovation Commission. View our one-pager on Waivers and Wages.
NOW/COMP Waiver Waitlist: The Time is Now (PDF) (2024)
Georgia as A Model Employer and Ending Subminimum Wages
Read details on supporting Georgia as a Model Employer (Senate Bill 384), that would require Georgia's state agencies to set goals for the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. Also, learn more about ending 14c (House Bill 1125), the outdated practice that allows employers at community rehabilitation programs to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage.
View our one-pager on Georgia As a Model Employer and Ending Subminimum Wages.
Past Policy Issues
- Strategic Five Year Plan (2022-2026)
- Analysis of Recent Downturns in the Georgia’s Medicaid Waiver Planning Lists (PDF) - January 2020
- Block Grant Fact Sheet (PDF) - March 2020
- YOUR VOTE COUNTS 2020: A GUIDE FOR GEORGIANS WITH DISABILITIES HEADING TO THE POLLS
- The Direct Support Professional Workforce Crisis: Challenges, State Approaches, and Opportunities for Georgia (PDF) - A Whitepaper on the DSP Crisis - October 2019
- GCDD's 2020 Public Policy Agenda: Disability in ALL Policy (PDF)
- Final Report of the Senate Study Committee on the Educational Development of African American Children in the State of GA (PDF) - December 2019
- Final Report GA House of Representatives Study Committee on the Workforce Shortage and Crisis in Home and Community Based Settings (PDF) - 2018
- 2018 Participant Direct Handbook - Participant direction is a service delivery option available to individuals that receive the New Options Waiver (NOW) or the Comprehensive Supports Waiver (COMP) in Georgia. Learn more about your responsibilties and options in this comprehensive handbook.
- HCBS (Home & Community Based Services) Statewide Transition Plan - For information on the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) HCBS Settings Rule and Georgia's statewide transition plan (STP) on how it will come into compliance, visit these two sites - http://dch.georgia.gov/hcbs/hcbs-transition-plan and www.hcbsadvocacy.org
- GNETS (Georgia’s Network for Educational and Therapeutic Services) - Complaint filed by the US DOJ against the State of Georgia (PDF)
- GCDD Five Year Strategic Plan FFY 2017-22 (PDF) – guides the goals and objectives of the GCDD
- GCDD Five Year Strategic Plan FFY 2017-22 – Health Analysis (PDF)
- 2017 COMP (Comprehensive Supports) Waiver Program Renewal Program Overview and FAQs (PDF)
- 2016 COMP (Comprehensive Supports) Waiver Program Renewal application (PDF)
- 2016 ICWP (Independent Care) Waiver Program Renewal application (PDF)
- Extension of the Settlement Agreement in US v Georgia 2016 (PDF) - May 2016
- Pathways to Coverage: How to Access Health Insurance in Georgia (PDF) (Text Accessible)
Coalition to Assure Redesign Effectiveness in Medicaid CARE-M – advocacy coalition
- CARE-M Recommended Changes to Licensing Rules for Private Home Care Providers 2015 (PDF)
- CARE-M Recommendations to DCH regarding Medicaid MCO – 2012 (PDF)
Useful/Historical Policy Papers
- Settlement Agreement in US v Georgia 2010 (PDF) - October 2010
- Olmstead Plan One Pager 1999 (PDF) (Text Accessible)
- Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT)
- Challenges of Transitioning from Institutions to Community Living 2005 (PDF)
- Managed Care Policy Paper 2012 (PDF) (Text Accessible)
- The Affordable Care Act: Individuals with Disabilities, Individuals with Chronic Conditions and Individuals Who Are Aging
- GCDD’s 2010 Benchmark Study on Disabilities Research (PDF)
- Shut Out, Priced Out and Segregated: The Need for Fair Housing for People with Disabilities Sep 2011 (PDF) (Text Accessible)
- GCDD Five Year Strategic Plan FFY 2011-16 (PDF) – outgoing plan, effective through September 30, 2016