Arizona families with children who have developmental disabilities are facing an unimaginable crisis. Starting October 1, new rules will slash access to life-sustaining care for thousands of vulnerable children—just months after families believed they had secured funding to keep these services alive.

These changes include strict age-based restrictions that will deny coverage for essential care tasks like bathing, toileting, and habilitation services for young children. They disproportionately affect families in rural areas and those caring for nonverbal or medically complex children who require constant, specialized support. Many of these parents gave up jobs to care for their children through the Parents as Paid Caregivers program—a program that now may no longer pay them for the care their children still desperately need.

Parents weren’t properly informed of these sweeping changes until a public forum just weeks before implementation. That lack of transparency has left families panicked and scrambling—some fearing they’ll lose their homes, others unsure how they’ll keep their children safe.

Yes, funding is tight. But Arizona cannot balance its budget by pushing the most vulnerable families to the brink. Early intervention services like habilitation have lifelong impacts. Cutting them now means more suffering and higher long-term costs—for families and for the state.

We call on Governor Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Legislature, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), and the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) to:

• Immediately pause the implementation of the new care restrictions.
• Hold public hearings to revise these rules with full community input.
• Ensure sustainable funding for DDD programs without penalizing children based on age.
• Guarantee transparency moving forward in all policy decisions affecting Arizona’s disability community.

This is not about politics—it’s about protecting children who can’t protect themselves and ensuring Arizona lives up to its promise of dignity and inclusion for all.

Sign now to demand justice and care for Arizona’s disabled community.