COVID-19's Broadscale Impact on the Lives of People with Disabilities | NCD 20 04

Opportunity Information: Apply for NCD 20 04

The National Council on Disability (NCD) released this funding opportunity (NCD 20 04; CFDA 92.002) to support the development of its annual progress report focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people with disabilities across the United States. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the recipient would not just deliver a report but would also work collaboratively with NCD throughout the project. The core goal is to produce a policy-relevant, research-based report that helps decision-makers in the White House, Congress, and federal agencies understand what went wrong, what worked, and what needs to change so that disability civil rights and basic supports are protected during national emergencies like pandemics.

The solicitation sets out a clear scope: the report must examine COVID-19 impacts in seven major areas, specifically nondiscriminatory access to healthcare, the direct care workforce, group housing, education, employment, mental health, and communications. In addition to those seven pillars, the report must also address two cross-cutting topics: the intersection of disability and race, and transportation impacts. NCD frames the pandemic as exposing deep weaknesses across systems that people with disabilities rely on to live independently and safely, and it wants the report to document those weaknesses, evaluate government responses, and propose actionable recommendations aimed at improving preparedness, response, and long-term policy.

A major emphasis is healthcare discrimination, especially during periods of scarcity and triage. The opportunity notes that the pandemic arrived shortly after NCD work on bioethics and disability that documented longstanding devaluation of disabled lives within medical culture and policy. During COVID-19, this concern became concrete as states and hospitals developed or revised Crisis Standards of Care that, in some cases, explicitly deprioritized or excluded people with certain disabilities from life-saving treatment, or allowed reallocation of resources like ventilators away from disabled patients. The description highlights that these practices raise civil rights concerns under laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Affordable Care Act, and it points to oversight and enforcement pathways including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and federal litigation. It also notes the tension created by state-granted medical liability immunities: while intended to let providers act decisively during an emergency, such protections may also shield discriminatory practices if not carefully bounded.

The opportunity also focuses heavily on congregate settings, particularly group homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. NCD describes group homes as high-risk environments for viral spread due to close living conditions, the hands-on nature of caregiving, and challenges some residents may have with distancing or other mitigation measures. The narrative emphasizes elevated infection and death risks among residents, compounded by high rates of pre-existing conditions. It also calls attention to operational dynamics that can amplify exposure, such as staff moving between clients or sites and inadequate access to personal protective equipment (PPE). Another highlighted issue is the practice of discharging hospitalized patients back into group homes or nursing facilities, which can reintroduce risk into settings already struggling with containment.

Closely related is the condition of the direct care workforce, which the solicitation characterizes as chronically underpaid, often lacking benefits like health insurance, and during the pandemic frequently lacking adequate PPE. The opportunity ties workforce instability to direct harm for people with disabilities: when aides become ill, fear infection, reduce shifts, or leave the job, individuals who rely on daily assistance may lose essential supports needed for health, safety, and independent living. The text also flags policy factors that could shrink the available workforce, including immigration restrictions, suggesting the report should consider how workforce supply interacts with emergency resilience for disability services.

In education, NCD is concerned with how rapid school closures and the shift to online learning disrupted legally required supports for students with disabilities, including those delivered through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 plans. The opportunity stresses that remote education can be inaccessible without appropriate accommodations and accessible platforms, particularly for students who are blind, Deaf or hard of hearing, or who have cognitive disabilities requiring specialized supports. It also raises a policy alarm about the possibility of waiving IDEA requirements under emergency authority, warning that weakening these civil rights protections could leave students with disabilities without meaningful access to education for prolonged periods if schools remain remote or partially closed.

On employment, the solicitation points to a familiar but intensified pattern: during economic shocks, people with disabilities often experience higher job loss and slower re-entry into the labor market than nondisabled peers, and early COVID-era Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicated that dynamic was repeating. The opportunity also highlights a pandemic-specific barrier tied to health risk and disclosure. Some people with disabilities, including those with invisible or not previously disclosed conditions that increase vulnerability to COVID-19, faced difficult choices about requesting accommodations, returning to unsafe workplaces, or risking job loss and benefits. NCD suggests the report should capture how fear of exposure, accommodation processes, and workplace policies affected job retention and equitable participation in the labor market.

The mental health section frames quarantine, distancing, and prolonged uncertainty as drivers of both worsened existing mental health conditions and new mental health challenges, noting reported increases in stress and negative mental health impacts among people sheltering in place. The opportunity connects social isolation to broader health risks, including suicide risk and the cumulative physical and mental effects of loneliness. It also calls attention to youth mental health, pointing out that school closures can cut off access to school-based mental health services, which can be especially consequential for students already receiving supports through educational systems.

Communications is treated as a foundational layer across every topic, because the pandemic forced a rapid shift to remote interaction for school, work, healthcare, and public information. NCD underscores that accessibility of digital platforms is not optional if people with disabilities are to participate equally. The report is expected to address barriers and requirements for accessible online learning tools, telework platforms, and telemedicine systems, particularly for users who are blind or have low vision, are Deaf or hard of hearing, or have cognitive disabilities. In practical terms, the solicitation is pointing toward issues like compatibility with assistive technology, captioning and interpretation, clear and usable interfaces, and effective access to information that can directly affect health decisions and service access.

The report is expected to be grounded in the disability civil rights framework, explicitly referencing the ADA, Section 504, IDEA, and the Supreme Court's 1999 Olmstead decision, which addresses unjustified segregation and supports the right to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate. Within that legal backdrop, the project must do more than describe problems; it must assess challenges to systems, identify systemic weaknesses and strengths, summarize federal agency and congressional actions, and evaluate progress or lack of progress in addressing the issues COVID-19 exposed or intensified. The final deliverable is intended to include findings and concrete recommendations to Congress and federal agencies aimed at strengthening emergency preparedness and response while ensuring civil rights protections and essential supports remain intact during future crises.

Key administrative details include that the opportunity was discretionary and open to a broad range of applicants (unrestricted eligibility, subject to any solicitation clarifications). NCD anticipated making one award, with a maximum funding level (award ceiling) of $150,000. The notice was posted July 24, 2020, and required full proposals to be submitted by 5:00 p.m. local time on August 21, 2020, with late applications not accepted. For full application instructions and requirements, applicants were directed to consult the complete solicitation on NCD's website (www.ncd.gov).

• The National Council on Disability in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "COVID-19's Broadscale Impact on the Lives of People with Disabilities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 92.002.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 24, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 21, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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