Advocacy

The Federal Reserve Board continues to develop guidelines for the Main Street Lending Program. Lutheran Services in America will continue to urge senators to support nonprofits through this program and to include our key priorities in their next round of coronavirus relief legislation.

Lutheran Services in America is pleased to see the HEROES Act addresses some of our most important priorities. The fulfillment of these priorities would grant nonprofits the funds and resources necessary to offer the care and service needed by many Americans during this critical time.

Lutheran Services in America is using the collective calls for financial support from members as a springboard for changes in federal and state policy. By channeling these concerns about limited resources into the basis for advocacy efforts, we have been successful in communicating to lawmakers the needs of nonprofits and their workers who are fighting on the front lines of this deadly pandemic.

President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides economic relief for individuals, businesses, and organizations impacted by COVID-19.

On Dec. 6, Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden announced a bipartisan agreement that would include a permanent funding reauthorization for the Money Follows the Person Medicaid Demonstration Program. Introduction of a bipartisan proposal to permanently fund MFP is a milestone achievement that is the result of persistent, ongoing federal advocacy by groups like our national network.

Representatives of the Lutheran Services in America – Disability Network flew to Washington last week armed with stories and shared best practices, outcomes, and challenges that allowed them to advocate for the people we serve, the people we employ, and for our industry. Advocacy an important part of our jobs, writes Lisa Morgan, but just as important are the relationships we build with each other while speaking up for those we serve.

By Sarah Dobson, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy 

Last week, Cedar Lake hosted 30+ Lutheran Services in America Disability Network (LSA-DN) members at their corporate headquarters in Louisville, KY for the LSA-DN 2016 Summer Meeting. In an effort to better understand each other's organizations, we decided to forgo holding our summer meeting in a hotel, as we have in past years, so that we could take a deeper look at a member organization. And to my surprise, everyone preferred meeting in a member conference room with meals brought in by Panera and snacks from the grocery store as opposed to the carefully curated environment of a hotel! DN members were able to better grasp how the host organization, Cedar Lake, was delivering long-term services and supports to people with disabilities and how they might be able to partner with, learn from, or help grow Cedar Lake.

The Bethesda College of Applied Learning is a unique, two-year post-secondary certificate program, the result of an innovative partnership with Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) and Bethesda Lutheran Communities that helps adults with intellectual, developmental and other complex disabilities realize their dream of receiving a college education.

On May 5-6, I had the unique opportunity to represent Lutheran Services in America at the Climate Action 2016 summit in Washington, DC. The summit was a two-day event designed to drive high-level engagement with global leaders addressing how to deliver on climate commitments and how we can embed changes across the globe in government, key sectors and among the general population. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened the gathering by proclaiming, "Together we can build the world we want."