Title 42 › CHAPTER 144 — DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES ASSISTANCE AND BILL OF RIGHTS › SUBCHAPTER I — PROGRAMS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES › Part B — Federal Assistance to State Councils on Developmental Disabilities › § 15024
States that want federal help must send a 5-year strategic plan to the Secretary and get it approved. The plan must be updated as needed during the 5 years. It must create and describe a State Council and name the State agency that will support the Council. The plan must include a full review of services and unmet needs for people with developmental disabilities and their families. That review must cover other state-federal programs (like health, work, social and long‑term care), how agencies cooperate, whether community services help people take part in community life, barriers to access, assistive technology, waiting lists, resource sufficiency, care in facilities and in home- and community-based waivers, how funded entities worked together, and the reasons for the Council’s goals. The plan must set data-based 5‑year goals for advocacy, capacity building, and systemic change based on those unmet needs. Each year must include goals to fund a self-advocacy group led by people with developmental disabilities, train leaders, and expand cross-disability and culturally diverse leadership. Every grant year the plan must list goals, strategies, and how success will be measured (starting in fiscal year 2002, annual goals must match the law’s progress indicators). The plan must include promises that are acceptable to the Secretary, including that at least 70% of grant funds go to the plan’s goals; funds will supplement, not replace, state money; money will reach local areas and be shared with public or private groups; at a State’s request up to 1/2 of funds (or all if the Council is the designated agency) may pay necessary agency expenses but no more than 5% of funds or $50,000 (whichever is less); no more than 20% may go to the designated agency for Council‑approved service demonstrations; and the State will share costs. The plan must also promise no conflicts of interest, extra help for urban and rural poverty areas, accessibility standards, individualized services, protection of human rights, diverse geographic and racial participation, employee protections, Council staff dedicated only to the Council, limited noninterference by the designated agency, Council participation in state quality systems, and any other information the Secretary requires. The Council must get public input, let people review the draft in accessible formats, respond to major comments, consult the designated agency, and then submit the plan for the Secretary’s approval or disapproval (after notice and a hearing if needed).
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The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 15024
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110