DES MOINES, Iowa — Local organizations that support people with disabilities are bracing themselves for potential budget cuts in 2026.

One group, Disability Rights Iowa, is taking extra steps ahead of time by asking the community to provide feedback on their services. 

Last month, a federal budget leak said the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2026 discretionary budget would be cut by about 1/3. That’s a $40 million cut, which would affect many programs for those with disabilities, including here in Iowa.

Some organizations would lose several grants and funding, like Disability Rights Iowa, which provides legal protection and advocacy. And now, they are sending out an “areas of focus” survey to the community to get a gage on the most important services they provide. This is information that would be helpful to have if these budget cuts go through.

“It’s particularly important that we receive word back from our community because both of these potential cuts to our programs, which would change our ability to provide services and support,” DRI Executive Director Catherine Johnson said. “If that happens, we want to make sure we’re providing the most vital support and services for Iowans with disabilities.”

Those who have worked with DRI are vouching for the organization, like Brianna Schaffer who has a 10-year-old son, Parker, who has autism and needed some advocacy at school. 

“DRI offered him just that normalcy to see that the one less thing that he had to worry about, or we have to worry about and ensuring that he was accommodated just as anybody else,” she said. “He got the same education and the same services that any other child should receive. I mean, they keep things fair in a way and just make people accountable for what’s right.”

Schaffer reached out to the attorneys at DRI and they helped her immediately. 

“They did far more in an email and a meeting than we were able to get done in years of working with the district. Really, it was thanks to the DRI.”

In the last fiscal year, DRI had over 2,000 Iowans contact them for help and gave them free assistance.

“The cuts would be devastating to our community. The potential budget cuts that we’re aware of would be approximately 40% of our budget,” Johnson said. “We have a very active team of passionate people that are really dedicated to Iowa’s disability community and dedicated to creating change in Iowa for, on behalf of Iowans with disabilities. So, we’re still doing the work. We’re moving forward. But it is scary because we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Johnson added since these budget cuts aren’t official yet, they’ve been contacting their congress people to try to stop it from happening.

If you’d like more info or to find the survey, go to disabilityrightsiowa.org.

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