The Developmental Disabilities Community Services (DDCS) system has produced numerous reports and studies, including  The Rucklehaus Report (2019), which identified significant challenges and outlined thoughtful potential solutions. Unfortunately, many of those recommendations stalled during the pandemic and were never fully implemented.

In addition, DDA has held multiple listening sessions over the past several years, including through the Disabilities Collaboration and Advisory Committee. These forums consistently highlighted serious gaps in community supports—particularly for individuals in crisis and people with high and complex support needs. The issues are well known. What we found lacking was a clear, coherent, and funded plan to move forward.

In 2013, ALTSA (Aging and Long-Term Services Administration), now part of HCLA (Home and Community Living Administration), was a clear statewide priority. A robust stakeholder process produced a strategic plan to move away from institutional care and toward community-based services. Today, Washington State is considered first or second in the nation (depending on the metrics used) and is widely viewed as a national leader. In 2023 alone, ALTSA supported the transition of 8,053 people into community settings. Other states regularly look to Washington as a model.

That expertise exists in Washington. Now, it’s time to apply that same level of intentional planning, investment, and accountability to developmental disability services. For too long, Washington operated with a “band-aid” approach—small, one-time investments each biennium that were deemed sufficient without addressing systemic barriers. This leaves families, providers, and individuals with developmental disabilities in a constant state of uncertainty.

That’s why The Arc of Washington asked the Legislature for a proviso in 2026 to fund a facilitated, 10-year strategic plan. This plan will build on existing reports, incorporate the extensive input from stakeholder listening sessions, and lay out sequenced, intentional investments to strengthen community-based services statewide.

We cannot afford to wait any longer. Planning now is the only way to ensure that future decisions—whatever they may be—are thoughtful, data-informed, and centered on the needs of people with developmental disabilities and their families.