Disability Advocacy

Oregon State Level Advocacy 2023 Update

Note this page is a working document and will be updated as needed.

What is Legislative Advocacy?

Legislative advocacy is just that – contacting a legislator, sharing your views on an issue, and asking him or her to vote a specific way on a bill. This can be done with something as easy as a phone call or letter, or by a formal meeting with the legislator or staff person.

Steps for Advocacy

1. Call your legislator and make an appointment to talk with them while they are in your area- Here is the Legislator Lookup

2. Here is a good place to start to learn about what happened last session in 2022- OCDD Legislative Report , and the OCDD Priority Bill Summary

   1. Plan to attend Grassroots Oregon GO Project Legislative Advocacy Days (the GO Project is one of the main legislative advocacy arms of disability services in Oregon), and meet with members of the committees of interest below (just click the link on the table below and then click on the committee members name you would like to speak with). Dates for the GO Project 2023 Session

   2. Addtionally, there is O4AD which has a wonderful training that is more about the nuts and bolts of Oregon public policy creation and processes.

3. Plan to testify/comment if comment is allowed on the relevant issues you are interested in. Testimony can be delivered via email, in person, and some committees will even allow pre-recorded video testimony. For the most impact legislators need to see you to tie the issue to a person in my opinion.

4. Prepare your documents for advocacy:

   2. • Here is a pre-made advocacy form from the GO Project GO Project Fact Sheets

      • I like to bring a revamped one page profile of Gloria- 2016 Version , 2017 Version You can find lots of templates at SheffKids

      • I also send letters like this one in response to Senator Sara Gelser's request for Good News- Gloria's Good News Letter

      • I send Go Project Thanksgiving Cards, and other cards throughout the year to my adopted legislator(s) communicate with the community who you have adopted and check the lookup to ensure you are a consituent and let them know if you work and/or live in their district in your communication.

• 1. Check out information on how to Testify before the Oregon legislature and a video about the testifying process. There is also a helpful Citizen Engagement website.

  2. Sign up for the committees that interest you on the Oregon Citizen Engagement e-subscribe

NOTE: Ways and Means Committees Deal with funding and implementation of laws and policies. Committees of interest for our community are usually Human Services, Human Services Ways and Means, Education etc.

Issues I Typically Address When Speaking with Legislators

1. Since the Public Health Emergency 1135 waiver parents have been allowed to be paid caregivers of their minor children in Oregon. This has stabilized many families and been a way to shore up the crisis situation in the Home and Community-Based Services workforce. It has frankly saved single parents from becoming homeless and those high-needs children entering a foster care system stretched thin.

2. Eligibility Changes are another thing to look out for that will lead to families currently on the K Plan being denied services. For several years the state considered counting parental income for services, which would kick about 1/3 of children off services and is a ridiculous position in that without the presumptive medical of the K plan for the child experiencing disabilities many families would quickly be bankrupted and on Medicaid and other services. I have seen medical bankruptcy destroy families in other states and lead to the single parent situation and the child entering the foster care system.

3. I will be focusing on the Oregon Administrative Rules this session that deal with durable medical equipment and Enteral Feeding, and specifically how these rules keep children from getting the equipment they need in a timely manner which further delays them reaching their developmental milestones. Oregon Administrative Rules 410-122...

4. A lot of the funding issues in Oregon are due to the Kicker and its artificial limits placed on revenue and therefore spending. The Kicker does not consider the changes in the level of need and is based on a guess by a few economists in the state as to how much revenue we will receive. This has had a snowball effect with funding not recovering after previous recessions quick enough and the perpetual cycle of cuts.

5. We need to remind legislators how much more efficient our system is since we don't have IDD institutions the huge costs of those institutions are replaced by being able to serve everyone under our much less expensive per case waivers in the community.

6. We Need Revenue Solutions to the Long term Funding Issues in Oregon (Kicker, Non-progressive tax brackets, Healthcare Costs)

7. Universal 0-5 Pre-K that also serves children experiencing disabilities, or expansion of Educational Service District funding to provide Early Childhood Special Education pre-schools full day since that is often the only option for childcare for children experiencing disabilities.

Oregon Council on Developmental Disability Services GO Project Engagement Website

Oregon Committees of Importance for the 2021 Legislative Long Session

Please share your story about the K Plan, but start with what is working. Things can always be improved, but remember what you say matters and if all you do is bash the K Plan they decide it isn't worth funding (this happened a few years back with some legislators, and many of us had to do damage control) and we will be back to having basically ZERO supports as we did in the early 2010s for children's services etc.

Note: I like to start with contacting legislators in this order:

1. Your legislators- The magic word here is you are their constituent and you would like to discuss disability services

2. Freshmen Legislators- They are new and may not be familiar with all the programs they are about to vote on. Yes, legislators may not know what the K plan is fully when making decisions and it is up to us to ensure they are well informed. There are a limited number of weeks after committee assignments for legislators to get up to speed. We can help with that.

3. Legislators on key committees that are relevant to what you are focused on this session... I have done the leg work for you below.

2021 Freshmen Legislators

Senators: Democrats: Kate Lieber, Chris Gorsek (former Representative), Republicans: Art Robinson, Dick Anderson Representatives: Democrats: Winsvey Campos, Dacia Grayber, Lisa Reynolds, Khanh Pham, Zach Hudson, Ricki Ruiz Republicans: Lily Morgan, Boomer Wright, Jami Cate, Suzanne Weber, Bobby Levy

Key Resources for Advocacy In Oregon