Take Action
Take action today!
For over 75 years, The Arc Minnesota has worked across state to provide advocacy and information for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and their trusted supporters. Grassroots and self-advocacy are pillars of The Arc Minnesota’s public policy work, and our goal is to help people with disabilities, their family members, and allies feel informed and empowered to lead policy, social, and systems change.
This page will help you get a quick overview of ways to take action by learning about public policy, contacting your legislators and learning about The Arc Minnesota’s 2023 Legislative Agenda.
Get Involved
We promote and protect the human rights of people who have IDD through systems and social change.
Through individualized advocacy and informed choice, we support a lifetime of full inclusion in community for people with IDD, their families, and trusted supporters. Public policy is essential to that.
Learn about our Legislative Agenda
Our policy goals for the 2023 session focus on promoting human and civil rights of Minnesotans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, advancing equity, and supporting true belonging in the community.
Our legislative priorities address various Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). SDOH are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age. Inequities across SDOH have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life.[i]
Our 2023 policy goals cover four main areas.
- Social and Community Context
- Education Access and Quality
- Economic Stability
- Neighborhood and Built Environment
Overview of our Legislative Agenda
Review our full legislative agenda online or download it (English PDF)
You can also find one page summaries of all of these items here.
- Create More Inclusive Playgrounds for Minnesota Children
- End Suspension and Expulsion for Young Learners
- Expand Access to Inclusive Higher Education Statewide
- Reform Medical Assistance to Incentivize Employment
- Increase Affordable, Accessible Housing Options
- Help More Minnesotans with Disabilities Live in Homes of their Own
- Improve Rates for Critical In-Home Services
Connect with your Legislators
Connecting with elected officials is a powerful way to make change in Minnesota and across the country.
Finding your elected officials
Finding out who represents you is an important first step to reaching out.
Meeting and talking to your elected officials
Meeting with legislators and sharing your story is important. Here are some quick resources on that!
- Guide to meeting with elected officials (English PDF)
- Writing a letter or email to elected officials (English PDF)
- Sharing your Story
Advocacy Toolkit
We have even more incredible resources about becoming an advocate in our Advocacy Toolkit!
Connect with your Community
Working together, we can take action to create change, and build power in Minnesota’s disability community.
Capitol Connectors Teams
Capitol Connectors Teams build awareness about issues that impact Minnesotans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). These teams create a statewide, grassroots advocacy network. This network and the Capitol Connectors Teams focus on public policy, systems reform, and disability justice.
Regional Quality Councils
The council is a group of people working together to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. The Regional Quality Councils (RQCs) were developed to examine and improve services for people with disabilities in specific regions and encourage community involvement.
Capitol Connector Newsletter
Capitol Connector combines new surrounding Minnesota’s public policy issues that impact the disability community with local and national news and events. It comes out alternating Fridays.
Donate
Not everyone has the capacity to connect with legislators or engage in their communities directly, and that’s okay! By donating to The Arc Minnesota, you can still support our public policy advocacy.
Contact us
With questions or for more information about ways to engage in legislative advocacy with The Arc Minnesota, contact Public Policy Director Julia Page at info@arcminnesota.org.
