Advocate for positive change

Upholding and protecting human and civil rights must be central to all public policy advocacy efforts alongside and on behalf of people who have IDD. All people who have IDD are entitled to human and civil rights including dignity, self-determination, voting, and equal opportunity in where they live, learn, work, worship, and play.

Legislative advocacy efforts must reverse the history of overprotecting and involuntarily segregating people who have IDD. They must create opportunities for individuals to receive respectful support and gain/retain authority to make decisions, exert control in their lives, and advocate on their own behalf.

Public policies must maximize inclusion and true belonging in community for people who have IDD of all ages, in all areas of life. Informal supports should be robust, and formal services should be self-directed by the individual—with help from trusted people in their lives, when needed. We must work together to build a more equitable society for all people who have IDD.

Systems, social, and legislative change must be centered in the experience of people who have disabilities – especially those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. We must act in support of the disability and racial justice movements that people who have disabilities are leading. The Arc Minnesota works to make sure that our public policy efforts align with the principles of disability justice created by Black, Indigenous, and people of color who have disabilities.