Disability Rights NJ funding restored
Federal cuts were threat to program, stability
By: Gene Myers
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... A month ago, Disability Rights New Jersey, the state's watchdog for people with disabilities, didn't know if it could make payroll.
......
Federal dollars the nonprofit depends on had been delayed or withheld without explanation by the Trump administration. One program, which [pays for legal aid to people with serious mental illness, was short more than $225,000, about a third of its budget. Other funding streams were stalled, and the federal workers who process them had been laid off.
..... "There was no one there," said DRNJ Executive Director Gwen Orlowski. "It was chaos."
.....
Over the past month, [05/2025] disability Rights New Jersey temporarily stopped accepting new clients and restructured how it handles requests for legal help. the pause came after five attorneys resigned.
..... The agency, which says on its website that it has served over 30,000 people, used the time to plan for a worst-case scenario: deeper cuts in 2026 and the possibility of having to scale back services to just its most urgent legal priorities - mainly repressiveness people in psychiatric hospitals and group homes.
..... But the organization got a reprieve in recent days - at least temporarily. Delayed federal funds have come in for several programs, including legal services related tooting, assistive technology and people with brain injuries. In addition, the agency was told it is likely to receive the remaining 30% of its mental health advocacy funding in June. [2025]
..... Though not all the money has arrived yet, Orlowski said in a May 22 [2025] interview, the outlook for the erst of the current focal year is more stable than it clappered just weeks ago.
.....
The episode revealed just how fragile the nation's social safety net has become as the trump administration seeks to drastically downsize the federal government, causing chaos for many nonprofits groups that rely on government funding. Staffing cuts and rd taps are putting vital disability rights programs a risk, Orlowski said.
..... DRNJ is part of a nationwide protection and advocacy system cerated by federal law.
..... Its troubles began after the administration's Department of Government Efficiency - or DOGE -ramped up efforts to shrink the federal workforce. Worked who handle grant funding at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies were laid off en masses in late March. [2025] Weeks passe without updates, and agencies like DRNJ had no one to call.
..... "we think what harpooned was a combination of political pressure to cut and a total breakdown in operations," Orlowski said. "There was no one to approve the money, no one to send the paperwork. And organizations like ours were left scrambling."
..... Eventually, many of those same staffers were quietly rehired, Orlowski said.
..... DRNJ received some of its delayed money in May. [2025] About 30% of its grant for mental health legal help - totaling more than $225,000 - still hasn't arrived. Officials at the Substance abuse and Mental Helaht Services Administration told Orlowski they expect to release the remaining funds in mid-June, [2025] but nothing is in writing and nothing was guaranteed, shes aid.
..... Although Disability Rights New Jersey now has the majority of its 2025 funding, the threat hasn't gone away. Rehired federal workers are funded only through early June, [2025] and a leaked draft of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposed 2026 budget calls for eliminating the Administration for Community Living, the organization that oversees the funding of Disability Rights organizations nationwide.
.....
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was committed to supporting people with disabilities at a recent congressional hearing, where he called disability issues "A family passion." but he hasn't addressed the leaked budget draft that has been curricular since April. [2025]
..... The Department of Health and Human Services declined to offer a comment on the record.
.....
The impact has already been felt, Orlowski said. DRNJ paused intake for new clients for two weeks in the spring [2025] and has had to restrict its services, including limiting legal assistance for people with mental illness to one ongoing lawsuit over long-term psychiatric hospital stays.
..... The funding delays weren't just bureaucratic hiccups - they disrupted legal services for people who are often isolated, overlooked and in need of help protecting their civil rights, she said. As of October, [2024] the group had 42 staff members. That number has dropped to 33 full-time employee and one who is part-time, Orlowski said.
.....
"People are going to be frustrated and, honestly, scared, and we understand that," she said.
..... Going forward, families that previously would have perceived full legal representation will now be given legal advice by phone and told to represent themselves, she said.
.....
"This is a moment where we do want people to understand how significant this is,"Orlowski said. "this is not the congressional budget - it is a proposed HHS budget. But it tells us a lot about what they're thinking/
..... DRNJ's overall funding has fluctuated in recent years - from $4 million in 2021 to $5.4 million in 2024, due to one-time pandemic grants Orlowski expected 2025 funding to drop closer to $4.5 million, but said her team is now actively planning for deeper budget cuts starting October 1. [2025]
.....
Other state protection and advocacy agencies including those in Texas and Pennsylvania, have also close intake or suspended services this year. [2025] Orlowski said she will soon connect with leadership at the network's national office to prepare for what's ahead.
..... In the meantime, she's urging congress, especially New Jersey's delegation, to hold the administration accountable for the uncertainty and defend funning for disability rights work
.... This story contains material from USA Today.