Each year, DRNC asks people with disabilities, their families and supporters, and other community members to help shape our work by filling out a short survey. These responses help us understand the legal issues that are most urgent and important to people with disabilities. DRNC uses your input to guide our advocacy, legal work, and community efforts. You can find them in their entirety here. Thank you to all who shared your perspectives! DRNC staff read each response carefully and can appreciate the time and care you took in answering the questions. We truly appreciate your partnership! Advocacy Targets – DRNC
This year, DRNC included 3 open ended questions in our survey. We’ve included a short summary of responses below.
The first question, “What issues currently affecting North Carolina’s disability community would you like to bring to DRNC’s attention?” received 295 responses. Feedback was submitted by people with disabilities, family members, caregivers, and professionals across North Carolina. Responses ranged from brief phrases to lengthy, detailed personal accounts. The responses throughout expressed urgency of needs and in some cases, desperation. Many respondents described active crises (service denials, housing instability, school exclusion) rather than abstract policy concerns. Other comments included concerns raised particularly around CAP/C paid caregiver denials, the Innovations Waiver waitlist, frustration with bureaucratic delay or outright denial, and transportation reliability. Housing and education non-compliance were the most broadly distributed concerns, appearing across nearly every region and disability type represented. A recurring theme across nearly every category is fear of losing existing services amid state and federal budget cuts, combined with frustration over slow, inconsistent, or opaque administrative processes.
The second survey question asked respondents to comment on DRNC’s core advocacy activities. We received 131 responses to this question. The largest number of responses to this survey question were in the categories of Praise and Gratitude for DRNC services and Requests for New Services. Transportation and I/DD Community Supports were the smallest, likely because this survey question was framed around DRNC’s specific “core” (non-discretionary) advocacy activities rather than personal circumstances. Overall, the responses to this question tended to focus less on issue-specific comments compared to the previous question. Of note: a genuine tension appeared between two groups of respondents on how broadly DRNC should act. One group wants DRNC to expand into even more systemic investigation, class-action litigation, and policy advocacy. Another group explicitly wants DRNC to stay narrowly focused on enforcing existing legal rights.
The last open-ended survey question received 141 responses, in answer to a new question on the survey this year, a request for practical tips, experiences, and examples that could help others access disability-related services and supports in North Carolina. Unlike the two prior survey responses, this dataset was mostly oriented toward informal, community knowledge that came from lived experience, rather than complaints about a system, although complaints were present here as well. A large share of responses function as an informal resource guide. They named specific programs, organizations, and contacts. Personal stories, both positive and painful, illustrate why particular strategies matter. DRNC will share specific resources and seek to contact community partners who weighed in via our survey during the upcoming year.