Community Living Policy Center

Welcome to the Community Living Policy Center!

People with disabilities and older adults in the United States have the right to live in the community, but systemic barriers and inconsistent federal, state, and local policies can prevent them from exercising their rights. The Community Living Policy Center, or CLPC, at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University, conducts research on the provision and quality of home- and community-based service programs for people with disabilities in the United States.

The Community Living Policy Center receives grant funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Happening Now at the CLPC

Disability and Health Journal - Special Issue

This special issue of the Disability and Health Journal is the first issue of this journal to focus specifically on community living policy. Edited by Joe Caldwell, Director of the Community Living Policy Center, and Ari Ne'eman, and containing articles by several Lurie Institute researchers, the supplement highlights the importance of careful policymaking and service provision to protect and advance the rights of people with disabilities and illustrates the crucial role research plays in advancing community living policy. The 13 articles in the issue cover a wide range of current issues and populations needing Long-Term Services and Supports, and they span four major themes in community living policy: housing and transportation supports; access to home- and community-based services (HCBS) and unmet needs; system design and delivery; and HCBS outcome measures. Find the special issue on community living policy here.

Find the "at a glance" (summary version) of the special issue here.

NIDILRR Supports Family Caregivers and People with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IDD): Two New Infographics

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) funds important research and advances policies on many things, including family support for families of people with disabilities and aging people, as well as individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD).

These two infographics showcase a dozen examples of NIDILRR-funded projects that benefit the disability community and the broader population's access to community living and better healthcare.

View the NIDILRR Caregiver Infographic

View the NIDILRR IDD Infographic

NIDILRR is Crucial to Everyday People’s Lives: An Infographic

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research's (NIDILRR) funding is crucial to everyday people’s lives. Our work at the Community Living Policy Center (CLPC) helps policymakers identify ways to decrease federal funding and improve health outcomes.

This infographic highlights the importance of NIDILRR's support, showing just a few examples of how our work has fostered positive, cost-effective change for our aging and disability communities.

View the NIDILRR Community Living infographic

Learn about the NIDILRR program through an accessible infographic.

Medicaid is Vital for the Disability Community: A Set of Three Infographics

We've prepared a set of infographics highlighting Medicaid's importance for people with disabilities.

• Millions of Americans with disabilities need Medicaid so they can receive needed services and supports.
• Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) that millions of Americans with disabilities require to live are considered ‘optional services.’
• States may seek to cut Medicaid for people with disabilities who need Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS).

Webinar: Olmstead 25th Anniversary Panel: The Progress and Promise of the Olmstead Decision

The Community Living Policy Center held a timely and important panel event on Tuesday, June 18th on key milestones of Olmstead advocacy and future directions for community living policy. We were extremely fortunate to be joined by Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, Professor Jasmine E. Harris, law and inequality legal scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Teresa Nguyen, Director of the Community Living Equity Center, and Mike Oxford, community living advocate.

Access the OLMSTEAD Webinar Recording

CLPC in the News

Links between Unmet Needs & Adverse Outcomes

Our study highlights links between unmet needs for home and community-based services and adverse health and community-living outcomes.

Read about the Study

The Better Care Better Jobs Act

Henry Claypool, a national policy expert for CLPC, is cited in a widely republished story for his expertise on the BCBJ Act, which would provide much-needed investment so disabled people and the elderly may receive better care in their homes.

Read the news story

A related new CLPC brief explains why people with disabilities and older adults need home and community-based services and how the BCBJ Act will help them get in-home care.

Read the brief

Feature Story on the CLPC

The critical research work of the CLPC and its partners to advance community living policies is featured in the Heller Magazine's summer 2021 issue. The story underscores how the COVID-19 pandemic shows why disability communities must be a part of research and policy development. 

Read the profile