Updated November 1, 2021
Contents
- NCIL Resources
- Legislation
- Resources from the Government
- Resources from Partners and Other Organizations
- Information in Accessible and Alternate Formats and Languages
- Additional Resources and Information
NCIL Resources
- Funding Options for Transition and Diversion During COVID-19: A Fact Sheet for CILs
- See all NCIL COVID-19 Information and Action Alerts
Legislation
Package 1: On March 6, 2020 the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was signed into law. This provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Package 2: On March 18, 2020 the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed in to law. This increases Medicaid funding through a 6.2% FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage) increase, provides free COVID-19 testing, provides for some emergency paid sick and family leave, expands food assistance, and expands unemployment benefits.
Package 3: On March 27, 2020 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. The CARES Act is a $2 trillion package that includes direct “recovery rebates” to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, funding for businesses, and funding for a range of programs like housing and transportation, among other things.
- Read the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
- Read a brief summary of the disability-related provisions that were included and left out of the CARES Act.
Package 3.5 On April 24, 2020 the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act was signed into law. This is an interim bill (known as “Package 3.5”) that provided additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), COVID-19 testing, and other provisions from the CARES Act.
Package 4: On December 27, 2020 the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law. This $900 billion bill includes both government funding and COVID-19 relief. The COVID-19 relief includes a smaller round of “recovery rebate” payments to individuals, funding for emergency rental assistance and an extension of the CDC’s eviction moratorium, a renewal and extension of unemployment benefits, funding for COVID-19 vaccine efforts, and funding for schools, transportation, food assistance, small businesses, and more. The package also includes a 3-year reauthorization of the Money Follows the Person program through September 2023.
- Read the Consolidated Appropriations Act (PDF)
- Read a one-page summary of the COVID-19 relief (PDF)
- Read a division-by-division summary of the COVID-19 relief provisions (PDF)
- NCIL Information Alert: Congress Passes COVID-19 Bill; Disability Community Needs Continue to be Unmet
Package 5: On March 11, the American Rescue Plan became law. Importantly, this nearly $1.9 trillion bill finally includes dedicated funding for Medicaid home and community based services (in the form of a 10 percentage point FMAP bump through March 31, 2022). It also includes another round of “recovery rebate” payments to individuals, an expansion of unemployment benefits, an expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies, and additional funding for COVID-19 vaccine efforts, rental assistance, education, transportation, food assistance, and more.
- Read the American Rescue Plan (PDF)
- See more highlights from NCIL
- NCIL Information Alert: American Rescue Plan Brings Welcome Relief to the Disability Community
- Read a fact sheet on Older Americans and People with Disabilities from the Senate Special Committee on Aging (PDF)
- Read the Senate’s title-by-title summary (PDF)
- See additional information from the Senate
Resources from the Government
Administration for Community Living (ACL)
- ACL COVID-19 Page
- Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) to help with COVID-19 vaccinations for people with disabilities:
- Call: 888-677-1199
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: acl.gov/DIAL
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- About Coronavirus Disease
- People with Disabilities Toolkit
- Vaccination Toolkits
- COVID-19 Vaccination Page / How CDC is Making Vaccine Recommendations
- COVID Data Tracker
- Easy to Read COVID-19 Safety resources
- COVID-19 ASL videos
- Guidance:
- Information for People at Risk for Serious Illness from COVID-19
- What to do if you are sick
- Keeping workplace, school, home, and commercial establishments safe (PDF)
- Guidance for Homeless Shelters
- Guidance for Infection Control and Prevention of COVID-19 in nursing homes (PDF)
- Summary of Guidance for Public Health Strategies to Address High Levels of Community Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Related Deaths, December 2020
- Information on post-COVID conditions
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- CMS COVID-19 Page
- Coronavirus waivers & flexibilities
- Partner Resources Page
- Guidance to help states restore regular Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) operations after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends (PDF)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Policies & Guidance
- Guidance on American Rescue Plan Funding for Medicaid HCBS
- May 2021 vaccination and reporting regulations for long-term care (LTC) facilities and intermediate care facilities (ICFs) for individuals with intellectual disabilities
COMBAT COVID (HHS)
- COMBAT COVID website: combatcovid.hhs.gov
- Combat COVID’s “I HAVE COVID-19 NOW” page
- Possible treatment options for COVID-19
- Information on Monoclonal Antibodies
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Department of Education
- COVID-19 Resources for Schools, Students, and Families
- Guidance Reaffirming Importance of Full Implementation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic (August 24, 2021)
- Long COVID under Section 504 and the IDEA (PDF) (July 26, 2021)
- Questions and Answers on Providing Services to Children with Disabilities During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak (March 2020)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- HHS Coronavirus page
- HIPAA and COVID-19
- Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, Section 1557 (Joint Guidance from HHS and the Department of Justice)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- HUD COVID-19 page: hud.gov/coronavirus
- Vaccinations and Testing Toolkit to support community health centers and HUD-assisted housing and homeless programs (PDF)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
- DOJ COVID-19 page: justice.gov/coronavirus
- Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, Section 1557 (Joint Guidance from HHS and the Department of Justice)
- COVID and the ADA
Department of Labor (DOL)
- Department of Labor COVID-19 Page
- Guidance for Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
- COVID-10 and Long COVID-19 information page
Department of the Treasury
- COVID-19 Economic Relief page: home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus
- Emergency Rental Assistance Program information
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- EEOC COVID-19 resources: eeoc.gov/coronavirus
- Updated and expanded technical assisted related to the COVID-19 pandemic
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- FEMA COVID-19 Page
- Addendum: Delivering Personal Assistance Services in Congregate and Non-Congregate Sheltering
- Statement clarifying President Biden’s Executive Order directing FEMA to pay 100% federal funding for eligible activities and to apply full funding retroactively
National Council on Disability (NCD)
- 2021 Progress Report: The Impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities (October 29, 2021)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- NIH COVID-19 page: covid19.nih.gov
- ACTIV (Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines)
- RADX (Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics)
- RECOVER (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery)
Office of Civil Rights (OCR), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Civil Rights and COVID-19
- Contact OCR with questions
- File a complaint with OCR
- Bulletin: Civil Rights, HIPAA, and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 – COVID19 (PDF) – March 28, 2020)
- Ensuring the Rights of Persons with Limited English Proficiency in Health Care During COVID-19 (PDF) – May 15, 2020
- Resolution regarding requirement for hospitals and state agencies to ensure disabled patients have access to support person(s) in hospital settings during COVID-19 – June 9, 2020
Social Security Administration
- SSA COVID-19 page: ssa.gov/coronavirus
- Guidance regarding how pandemic-related financial assistance affects Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility or monthly SSI benefit amounts (August 4, 2021)
Vaccines.gov – federal resource to find a COVID-19 vaccine near you
- Website: www.vaccines.gov /vacunas.gov (Spanish)
- Text: GETVAX (438829) / VACUNA (822862) for Spanish
- Call: 1-800-232-0233
Veterans Affairs (VA)
- VA COVID-19 page: va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine
White House Coronavirus Task Force
Resources from Partners and Other Organizations
Ability Center of Greater Toledo
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- ASAN Case Tracker
- COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet (Plain Language and Easy Read)
CDC Foundation
Community Living Policy Center
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
Georgia Tech Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation
Kaiser Family Foundation
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
Transitioning to Sheltering in Place
- Freelancing with a disability: Designing an accessible work from home space
- How to hide your messy room for a Zoom video conference
- Workout from Home: Options for People with Disability and Chronic Health Conditions (YouTube Playlist)
Information in Accessible and Alternate Formats and Languages
Plain Language
- Plain language information about COVID-19 (PDF)
- Plain language prevention recommendations (PDF)
- Important Things to Know about COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
- Coronavirus: What Is It and What Can I Do? (PDF)
- Plain Language Booklet: My COVID-19 Plan
- COVID-19 Vaccine Information in Plain Language (PDF)
- A Self-Advocate’s Guide to COVID-19
- Vaccine information
- Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine social story
Spanish Plain Language
- Información de COVID-19 Por y Para Personas con Discapacidades (PDF)
- Prevención de COVID-19 Recomendaciones (PDF)
More Languages
Additional Resources and Information
Resources from the Biden-Harris Administration
- President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan: Path out of the Pandemic
- Biden and Harris – Supporting People with Disabilities During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
- Statements from President-Elect Biden
Center for Public Representation
National Academy of Medicine
National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
World Health Organization (WHO)
These links are provided for informational purposes. No endorsement is implied.