OUR STORY
Raising Voices Coalition was founded by caregivers who turned lived experience into policy and legislative impact.
What began as grassroots advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic evolved into a statewide movement for sustainable disability policy reform.
In 2023, thousands of families came together to preserve the flexibility which allows parents of minor Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) members to provide extraordinary care services to their disabled children.
That win, through an 1115 waiver amendment, laid the foundation for what would become a much larger fight.
In early 2025, Arizona faced a DDD funding crisis that threatened to dismantle critical services and eliminate the Parents as Paid Caregivers program.
Raising Voices Coalition led a coordinated advocacy campaign—mobilizing families, engaging media, and working directly with legislators to secure emergency gap funding and codify PPCG into law.
This bipartisan victory proved that when caregivers and self-advocates lead, systems change is not only possible—it’s powerful.