NCD quarterly meeting focuses on employment, nursing home placement of youth with disabilities

For Immediate Release

June 4, 2025

WASHINGTON –The National Council on Disability (NCD) visited New York May 29-30 for its latest quarterly meeting.

NCD Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman Shawn Kennemer opened the meeting with an introduction of NCD’s new executive director.

“I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Ana Torres-Davis to the Executive Director position,” said Kennemer. “She has been with NCD since 2015 as an attorney adviser, and I’m just really impressed that she’s picked up the ball and ran with it.”

New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities Commissioner Christina Curry welcomed the Council and attendees to the meeting.

“On behalf of Mayor Eric Adams and the city of New York, I’m honored to welcome you to today’s quarterly meeting,” said Curry. “As we continue building a city that works for everyone, your leadership and advocacy at the national level go hand in hand and inform the work that we do locally,” said Curry. “To the Councilmembers, thank you for your service and for bringing critical attention to issues that impact millions of Americans with disabilities.”

The first day included updates on NCD’s currently underway policy projects; voting on changes to NCD’s Extreme Weather report; voting to approve NCD’s forthcoming report on ground transportation and mobility disabilities; discussion and voting on proposals for policy projects for the next fiscal year; and later a panel on employment of youth with disabilities.

“For youth with disabilities, the unemployment and underemployment of transition-aged youth still represents a huge barrier to full participation in adult activities,” said Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation Director of Legislative Affairs Tonia Ferguson, Esq.

An afternoon panel focused on the population of youth and younger adults in nursing homes.

Councilmember Kimberly Hill Ridley, who moderated the panel, mentioned that NCD highlighted the issue in a recent report. “In our 2022 report [on the home and community-based services] ecosystem, NCD found living in one’s home with necessary services and support systems is safer than living in an institution, costs less, and is the desire of most individuals.”

Panelists provided insights into first-hand experiences being younger adults in nursing homes. “I fought for a long time to try to get out of the nursing home, and my issue that I was hitting was everything was either not accessible or it was age restrictions that I had to be a senior citizen in order to get any type of assistance,” said Cherice Redd, who after experiencing medical issues was placed in a nursing home and a variety of care facilities largely due to the lack of accessible affordable housing in New York City.

Following Council member report outs about their community engagement, the meeting concluded with an in-person public comment session focused on youth and younger adults in nursing homes and major developments in disability policy.

The second day was focused on business of the Council and included required annual training for Council members and staff on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); the Chairman’s report and Executive Committee reports; and an agency strategic plan discussion before adjourning.

NCD is an independent federal agency advising policymakers, including the President, Congress and federal agencies on national disability policy. The Council meets quarterly.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 6-7 in Washington, D.C.

Learn more at NCD.gov.

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