DDNJ Podcast Episode 14: Disability Network Highlight: Disability Councils

Talley Wells is the guest on Episode 14 of the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal Podcast. He is the current Executive Director of the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD). Wells was previously the director of the Disability Integration Project at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and also founded the Olmstead Disability Rights Law Clinic at the Georgia State School of Law.  

In this episode, Matthew Wappett, Executive Director of the IDRPP, and Wells discuss what the NCCDD is, the growth of inclusive post-secondary programs, bipartisan advocacy, threats to Medicaid, and more. 

NCCDD’s Post-Secondary Programs 

At the time of this podcast releasing, the NCCDD has 15 post-secondary programs for people with disabilities in North Carolina. 

“We've just started three at North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina, Wilmington and historically black college North Carolina, Central University in Durham. But we've had historically, and I'm not going to get them all right. But at Western Carolina has a phenomenal program. App State has a program. Appalachian State has a program. University of North Carolina, Greensboro has a program. So, yeah, we're very proud of the inclusive post-secondary education programs we have.” says Wells. 

What is the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities? 

The NCCDD is the governor's council for developmental disability. Members on the council help raise important issues from the disability community to the governor and legislatures that work to improve systems. Wells shares a story about Brian that highlights the work the NCCDD does. Brian uses a wheelchair and needs support getting to his full-time job. The only two people able to assist Brian was his 86-year-old grandmother and his 89-year-old grandfather. 

“In Brian's instance, we did meet with the governor, and we also met with the General Assembly, the Republican general assembly here in North Carolina, and talked to them. [We] issued a report about how much would it cost to get direct support professionals from $11.50 an hour, which they were paid pre-Covid here in North Carolina, up to $18 an hour. We didn't get there. We got to $15 an hour. We could not lobby, and we did not lobby, but we were able to say, this is the cost, and this is the consequence if we don't do it, this is the consequence to not only Brian, but the physical health of his grandfather and his grandmother.” 

The NCCDD’s Approach to Bipartisan Advocacy 

Wells then goes on to discuss how simply having conversations contributed to the success of the NCCDD. 

“I do think that we we've been able to show members of Congress on both the Republican and Democratic side the critical importance of our communities. I actually spent a lot of time sort of advocating with Christopher Smith's office in New Jersey, not lobbying, but talking to them, because they've been a real champion on autism and have been a friend to the developmental disability community... I think that we serve a critical role at the North Carolina Council, but at all of the Councils on Developmental Disabilities from Alaska to Florida, in serving people with developmental disabilities and really creating an economic engine for our communities and our states... there is real change happening, and not just at the federal level, but also at our state levels, and a real need to show our value and our importance and our and why, not only the disability community needs us, but our states need us, and I think we're doing that.” 

Wells goes on to say, “In my mind, we really worked hard at the North County Council on Developmental Disabilities to be bipartisan. Yeah, we really find friends on both sides of the aisle.” 

Threats to Medicaid 

Wells discusses the threats to Medicaid and how the NCCDD is handling those. 

“I've talked about how we are facing a $49.9 billion deficit based on the federal reconciliation bill to Medicaid, and that there are other major threats that we have to take extremely seriously, and we are. I've been spending most of my day and several weeks focused on cuts that we're facing here to Medicaid in North Carolina. But I also think the more that we do the job that is our job, which is to educate lawmakers about the needs of the developmental disability community, the more that we will be needed and continue to exist.” 

Listen to the full conversation between Matthew Wappett and Talley Wells on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the DDNJ Author Insights Podcast page, or on the embedded player above.