Federal grant delays could jeopardize essential disability services, research
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- NIDILRR has released only 7 of 80 potential grants despite $37 million in allocated funding, with over 90% (more than $34 million) yet to be distributed before the Sept. 30 fiscal year deadline.
- The Great Lakes ADA Center at University of Illinois Chicago faces an Aug. 31 funding cutoff after running a hotline for disability law questions, with director Robert Gould calling the situation "sickening."
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has overseen a massive reduction in force at HHS that increased delays in federal grantmaking, including at the Administration for Community Living where NIDILRR is housed.
- NIDILRR funds the 18 U.S. Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems and research behind accessible voting machines and airplane bathrooms, with delayed funding risking disruption to a 50-year spinal cord injury database.
- A grant for products improving disability lives had an estimated Jan. 7 release and March 9 application deadline yet remains unopened, according to the article.
- A federal health spokesperson said NIDILRR is "reviewing all grant opportunities" and will award the full $37 million in 2026, but did not explain the delays.
Why it matters: With only 7 of 80 grants released and the full award cycle taking a minimum of 2-3 months, even an immediate decision now would not save many programs before fiscal year-end. Disability researchers — many of them disabled themselves, like wheelchair-using researcher Kelsey Goddard — face job loss, while a 50-year Spinal Cord Injury Database and 18 specialized treatment centers hang in the balance.
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