Trump's Proposed Federal Cuts Will Have Lasting Effects on Those Living With Disabilities

This month, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual recognition of the positive impact people with disabilities have on the American workforce. Although we mark this monumental milestone, we sadly see dark skies on the horizon in 2026 and 2027, all due to the proposed massive and historical federal cuts in Medicaid that will significantly impact people of all ages who have developmental disabilities. Organizations, such as The Arc Westchester, offer Medicaid-funded programs designed to help and guide people with disabilities progress and find jobs to live a prosperous and happy life. The proposed slashing of funds for these programs could easily have a crippling and rippling effect on the progress of the disabled for many years to come.

Located nearby in Hawthorne, The Arc Westchester is the largest agency in Westchester County supporting children, teens, and adults with developmental disabilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum, and their families. Here, over 700 employees provide nearly 2,000 people throughout the county with a broad range of innovative and effective programs and services designed to foster independence, productivity, and participation in community life.

For Fiscal Year 2026, President Donald Trump and his administration are proposing to make major and significant cuts that will take effect next year and be widely seen in 2027, but the seeds have been planted this year. These Federal cuts are proposed not only to reduce funding for the Department of Education, but also to eliminate specific grant programs, significantly decreasing resources for agencies like the EPA and Housing and Urban Development, and to cut healthcare funding, with the emphasis on Medicaid. The new law is aiming to cut federal Medicaid spending by about $900 billion over a decade and programs for children's health and those with disabilities, both children and adults, will sadly have lasting effects.

These federal cuts have The Arc Westchester's CEO, Tibisay Guzmán, deeply concerned, as major Medicaid-funded programs in health and employment would be easily slashed. The federal government, not being able to offer these current programs, will leave those with developmental disabilities and issues out in the cold, ultimately slowing and possibly halting their progress to live an everyday life.

"Simply, Medicaid is the life of the community that makes it possible for people with developmental disabilities to have a community life," said Guzmán. "Medicaid is also the primary source of healthcare, and all of these community-based supports that we offer are all paid through this plan."

So the federal and state Medicaid programs are the primary and only source of funding for long-term care that supports people with developmental disabilities.

"This is all they have, and it's not like they have a lot of choices in the commercial side or the private sector side," said Guzmán. "Medicaid really supports their lives, their ability to be independent, the ability to grow, and to be employed. It allows people to really blossom in their community, be genuine citizens, and, in turn, give back to it. We have about 50 different volunteer programs throughout Westchester County that people with disabilities give back to, and there are some other not-for-profits."

Tibi continues to point out that this Medicaid work requirement program is for adults 18 to 64 who have 80 hours per month of demonstrated community engagement and must also meet a monthly earnings requirement.

"A person with developmental disability depends on our support to make sure that they can work," Guzmán continues. "We provide coaching, job coaching, and we provide all of this communication to the employer so that they can be as independent as possible. So, we facilitate all this for businesses because, many times, they don't have the time and want to engage with a person with developmental disabilities. To see these people succeed, there's no other feeling in the world."

Fighting to keep Medicaid alive and well has been an underlying movement that The Arc Westchester and other organizations have been vocal about, and rightfully so. Guzmán and her team continue to meet to discuss the possible implications and fallout that these federal cuts will do, but for now, it's a wait-and-see on what path this will take. For now, though, The Arc Westchester is on top of these uncertainties and, at the same time, keeps the number one priority in mind: the progress of those with developmental disabilities and their well-being.