2024 Virginia
General Assembly Session
Overview of 2024 Legislatives Priorities & How You Can Effectively Advocate With Us
We are dedicated to educating policy makers on current priorities that impact our local autism community. We are proud to represent a very diverse community of individuals across the entire autism spectrum and their families, and we strive to empower individuals with autism and their families to advocate for the best possible services and support structures for themselves and/or their loved ones.
We will partner with several fellow advocacy organizations across Virginia, including The Arc of Virginia, Virginia Autism Project (VAP), Commonwealth Autism Services, Autism Speaks, and many others.
Our goal is to improve services and strengthen protections for autistic individuals. We strive to unify the voice of the autism community and integrate legislation in a coordinated manner.
2024 Legislative Priorities:
-
Visit this site frequently to stay up-to-date on bills related to our legislative agenda. COMING SOON: Watch our series of 10 minutes videos to learn how you can effectively advocate and receive overviews on current legislation impacting our autism community.
-
Visit Virginia’s Legislative Information System (LIS) to search and track bills that are important to you. Familiarize yourself with the details and status of each, and be sure to check back in regularly to track.
-
Visit the Who’s My Legislator website and enter your address to find your Delegate and Senator. Reach out to your Delegate and Senator via phone or email to request their support of specific bills, including WHY issues are so important to you. Before you reach out, be sure to note if your legislator is already a Patron of the bill so you can either thank them or request their support.
Autism Advocacy Day – Tuesday, January 30, 2024
-
All are invited to join us for this invaluable opportunity to visit our legislators and advocate for enhanced services and supports for autistic individuals across Virginia!
-
With 35% turnover in Virginia’s Legislature this year, many new legislators are unfamiliar with our autism community and our needs. This underscores the importance of this day for YOU to meet with your Senators & Delegates as their constituents and to share how legislation directly impacts YOU and your family.
-
We will partner with attendees to make appointments to visit with your legislators in small groups with experienced leaders from 9-11 AM. At noon, we will be introduced in the Senate & House chambers to highlight our advocacy efforts. All are invited to join us for lunch as an opportunity to network with fellow community members.
Developmental Disability (DD) Medicaid Wainver Services:
-
Eliminate the Priority 1 Waiting List: Fund the 3,440 slots in the Governor’s introduced Budget
-
Increase provider capacity to meet the demand for services: Fund a series initiatives that will build the capacity of providers to serve existing and newly funded DD Waiver Slots.
-
Advocate for increased access to high-quality services for adults with autism, including caregivers, housing, day support, employment support, case management, and more.
-
Break down barriers to long term planning: Current monthly income cannot exceed $2,742/mo to remain on Medicaid & access the Waiver. This disincentives people from working, especially if they are receiving SSI &/or SSDI Benefits
-
Legally Responsible Individuals (LRIs): Protect families by ensuring the regulations regarding their ability to provide paid care for their children is reasonable and appropriate.
We support The Arc of Virginia’s 2024 Legislative Agenda. This strong agenda seeks to transform Virginia’s System into a more effective and efficient system by building provider capacity and workforce, funding more waivers, and building long-term sustainability into our system.
Additional Priorities:
-
Re-establish Virginia’s Autism Advisory Council in the legislative branch of state government to promote coordination of services and resources among agencies involved in the delivery of services to Virginians with autism and to increase public awareness of such services and resources.
-
Ensure law enforcement officers receive training on autism in order to enhance interactions and mitigate misunderstandings.
-
Protect Virginians with autism in the Criminal Justice System.
-
Ensure all Virginia children diagnosed with autism have access to a quality education in the appropriate setting with the support services they need.
How you can effectively advocate:
Helpful Links:
-
Virginia House of Delegates Listing – Search for members, filter by committee, build your own list, and more
-
Senate of Virginia Member Listing – View members & contact information
-
Legislative Committees – To reach out to members of specific committees
ASTV’s Approach to Advocacy:
The ASTV team is dedicated to sharing information with our families and educating policymakers on current priorities that impact our local Autism community. The ASTV is proud to represent a very diverse community of individuals across the entire Autism spectrum and their families. We strive to empower individuals with Autism and their families to advocate for the best possible services and support structures for themselves and/or their loved ones. Our team is committed to our ASTV Options Policy, and we believe that successful programs and services vary depending on individuals’ level of support needs.
We believe that effectively advocating at local, state, and national levels is imperative to improving services and strengthening protections. This requires unifying the voice of the Autism community and integrating legislation priorities across federal, state, and local levels in a coordinated manner. Thank you for joining our efforts!