Public Policy

The Virginia Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs (vaACCSES) is a statewide association of  organizations providing quality employment, residential, training, and support services for persons with  disabilities. 

vaACCSES in 2025 is committed to ensuring services and support for people with intellectual and developmental  disabilities and behavioral health needs are high-quality and sustainable across the Commonwealth. The  government must take key steps to support the 17,000+ individuals who are currently receiving services and the  additional 3,440 who have been promised services in the next two years. 

vaACCSES’ 2025 objectives are to: 

Fully fund high-quality waiver services. 
In July 2024, the Commonwealth of Virginia allocated a historic additional 3,440 waiver slots for individuals in need  of services, each with attached funding. However, the current funding allocation falls well short of meeting the  actual costs of providing these essential services. Waiver reimbursement rates have been perennially inadequate to cover the costs of providing and sustaining the services required. Cost drivers in recent years, including a  historic workforce shortage, the aging of the population served, the lasting impacts of COVID, and dramatically  increased labor costs driven by minimum wage increases and spiking inflation are now pushing an unstable  system into crisis. All Virginia’s providers are dependent upon reimbursement from the state to operate. Unlike  other businesses we cannot increase our rates to cover costs. To meet today’s demand – and tomorrow’s  increases – there needs to be significant increases in funding. Without them, current and future service recipients  will be at severe risk as capacity in the system continues to shrink rather than grow. 

Ensure annual rate increases so services will be available for everyone who needs them.
Providers must have the capacity to commit to delivering long-term supports for Virginians with disabilities. Annual  rate escalations to keep pace with the rising costs of doing business, inflationary pressures, and other market  forces are essential to ensuring that providers can deliver high-quality services without disruption or regression in  quality due to the continued financial strain of inadequate reimbursement rates. 

Develop a sustainable disability service workforce pipeline.  
Like many industries, the provider network has an aging workforce and lacks a sustainable pipeline at all staffing  levels, particularly for Direct Support Professionals and Employment Specialists. We must develop the  opportunities and resources to attract and retain future employees.  

For more information, please contact:
Joanne Orchant Aceto, Chair Governmental Affairs, vaACCSES 
jaceto@eggelstonservices.org or 703-731-6313