The US National Research Center for Parents With Disabilities, an organization devoted to research about and support of parents who have disabilities, will cease some grant funded operations as of 31 August 2026, according to a press release from the organization. Funding from the US government was not renewed. The center, which is housed at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, represents a collaboration among multiple other institutions. It conducts research and provides support for parents with disabilities and their families. Depending on how one counts “parents,” there are approximately 4.4 (Li et al., 2022) and 6.8 (Namkung et al., 2019) million parents in the US who have disabilities.
Here is the first paragraph of the press release from the center,
The National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities—the nation’s only research center dedicated to advancing the rights, health, and well-being of parents with disabilities and their families—may be forced to close after the federal government withdrew the funding opportunity that has historically supported the Center before applications could even be submitted.
Funding has come from the US government’s Administration for Community Living that is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Familiar organizations such as The Arc refer to the parents center as a resource, and it is only one of many.
The decision not to continue to fund the center by the Trump administration may be a part of an overall reduction in support for community living for individuals with disabilities. Mitch Yell explained the US Supreme Court decision often referred to as “Olmstead” in his post on Sped Law Blog, “Trump Administration Interpretation of the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Olmstead,” which some advocates (e..g, The Arc) say will undermine community living for people with disabilities.
That agency of HHS closed approximately 150 projects in 2026. One can search a listing of them by title, grant number, and funding amount. Only some are closely related to special education, but many have to do with individuals (not just parents) with disabilities. Examples include
Community Living and Participation (Research)
Community Living and Participation (Development)
Research on Resilience and Positive Mental Health Outcomes Among People with Spinal Cord Injury
Employment Among People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Interventions to Promote Community Living Among People with Disabilities
The press
The cessation of federal support for the center on parents with disabilities has been covered in the news. Here are selected examples
Julia Métraus of Mother Jones reported about the story under the title, “The Only Research Center For Disabled Parents Is Losing Federal Funding: Staff call it a “profound setback for disability rights and family equity,” on 16 July 2026.
Keely Cat-Wells published “America’s Only Research Center For Disabled Parents Faces Closure,” in Forbes for 30 July 2026.
Roni Caryn Rabin reported “Federal Funding for Research on Parents With Disabilities VanishesL The government gave no explanation for terminating the funding, which for decades has supported the only national center focused on the issue” in the New York Times on 26 August 2026,
References
Li, F., Heyman, M., Akobirshoev, I., Williams, Z,, & Mitra, M. (2022). Prevalence of parents with disabilities in the United States. Heller School for Scoial Policy and Management at Brandeis. https://heller.brandeis.edu/parents-with-disabilities/resources/publications/social-economic-characteristics/prevalence.html
Namkung, E. H., Mitra, M., & Nicholson, J. (2019). Do disability, parenthood, and gender matter for health disparities?: A US population-based study. Disability and Health Journal, 12(4), 594-601. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9377812/pdf/nihms-1826271.pdf
Note: Pangram said this post has 0% AI! Imagine that!