On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This landmark legislation protects people with disabilities against discrimination. People with disabilities must be treated fairly while working, patronizing businesses, and accessing government services. Despite progress being made to achieve a society where people with disabilities can fully participate, the reality is much work needs to be done.

Topics covered in this one-hour panel discussion:

• Addressing threats/protecting the ADA on the federal level.
• Celebrating progress under the ADA.
• Steps advocates need to take for enforcing the ADA.
• What changes our panelists would like to make to the ADA?
• Q&A

Presenters:

• Anita Cameron: Founder and Executive Director: We Were There, Too: Blacks in the Disability Movement.
• Doug Hovey: CEO of Independent Living, Inc. in Newburgh, NY.
• Stephanie Orlando: CEO: Western NY Independent Living in Buffalo, NY.
• Theo Braddy: Executive Director: National Council on Independent Living in Washington, D.C.

Recorded on Tuesday, July 29 1-2:00 p.m.

American Sign Language (ASL) and human captioning will be provided.

Click Here Watch the Replay and Subscribe to NYAIL's Youtube Channel   

One of the core components of New York’s 1115 waiver amendment approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) in January 2024 is the new Social Care Network program. SCNs are regional networks that will bring together community-based organizations and providers to help eligible Medicaid Members access health-related social needs (HRSN) services, such as housing supports, food and nutrition assistance, transportation, and more.  

This webinar will provide an overview of the SCN program. It will review the social care network eligibility and screening as well as how to access services for those who qualify and are in need.

Recorded on: Monday, June 16

Presenter: Emily Engel, Director, Bureau of Social Care and Community Supports, NYS Department of Health

American Sign Language (ASL) and captioning are available.

Click Here Watch the Replay and Subscribe to NYAIL's Youtube Channel 

Additional Resources:

Slides (PDF)
Slides (PPT)

A big focus of the 2025-26 State budget was around policy changes related to mental health services. While Governor Hochul pushed for expansions to involuntary commitment, mental health advocates fought for increased funding for voluntary, community based services. Harvey Rosenthal and Luke Sikinyi with the Alliance for Rights and Recovery will provide an overview of where things landed in the final budget agreement. We’ll discuss next steps in the fight to protect the civil rights of people with mental health, substance use and trauma-related challenges.

Recorded on Thursday, May 22nd, 2025

Presenters:

Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, Alliance for Rights and Recovery
Luke Sikinyi, Vice President of Public Policy, Alliance for Rights and Recovery

Click Here Watch the Replay and Subscribe to NYAIL's Youtube Channel 

Additional Resources:

Slides (PDF)

ASL and CART will be provided.