The Arc of Northwest Wayne County

09/04/2026

08/21/2026

What is one thing you want to learn to do on a computer or phone? We can help! Together with AT&T, we’re offering free digital skills training that teaches:

How to use the internet
How to stay safe online
How to use a smartphone or tablet
…and much more!

You can learn your way online anytime or at in-person workshops at 26 chapters of The Arc.

Get started here: https://bit.ly/4zHnW0i

08/20/2026

Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded.

08/18/2026

Families of children with disabilities already struggle to find childcare and early learning programs that will enroll and support their child. Now, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing changes that could make one of the country’s most inclusive early childhood programs less accountable for doing so.

Head Start was including children with disabilities a decade before federal law guaranteed their right to a public education. Its performance standards require programs to address assessments, accommodations, exclusion, IEP coordination, and other parts of serving children with disabilities. HHS wants to remove many of those detailed requirements.

In a new op-ed for The 74, our CEO Katy Neas warns that disability laws are not enough if Head Start programs lose the rules that make inclusion possible. Under the proposal, programs would no longer have to assess every child’s development, accommodate every child’s participation, follow the same protections against suspension and expulsion, or help families navigate the IEP process. It would also remove the specific rule barring programs from turning children away because of a disability or chronic health condition.

For decades, Head Start has shown that disability inclusion in early childhood education can work. Weakening the standards that help programs deliver it would move us in the wrong direction.

08/17/2026

📢 Supported Decision-Making Webinar Series!

Is your child with a disability approaching adulthood? Turning 18 can bring many important decisions and questions for families.

Join The Arc of Oakland County and Oakland Community Health Network for a free webinar focused on Supported Decision-Making (SDM) and how it can help young adults maintain independence while receiving the support they need.

💡 Topics Covered —
✅ What supported decision-making is
✅ The differences between guardianship and supported decision-making
✅ Helpful tools and resources for supported decision-making

🗓 Upcoming Webinar Dates & Times — Click on the links below to register!

• August 25, 2026 | 2:00 PM–3:30 PM
https://tinyurl.com/5ykwrkru

• September 15, 2026 | 10:00 AM–11:30 AM
https://tinyurl.com/42uzr9dn

• September 30, 2026 | 12:00 PM–1:30 PM
https://tinyurl.com/3zc3z8nj

📞 Questions? Contact Jessica Showers at [email protected] or 248-816-1900.