You might have heard the slogan “Nothing about us without us” it is often used by self-advocates to describe the involvement of people with disabilities in the planning of plans and policies that affect their lives. Now in Washington with the passing of HB 1541 this is a policy in Washington State.
The bill makes it so when a multimember task force, work group, or advisory committee, that is: temporary; established by statute; established for the specific purpose of examining a particular issue that directly and tangibly affects a particular underrepresented population; and required to report to the Legislature on that issue then somebody with that lived experience will be a member of the group.
This means that when certain groups are created by the legislator to review and change policies people with lived experience are a part of that group.
This bill was created after self-advocates felt left out of a workgroup and report that was created to review Developmental Disabilities services in Washington. Self-advocates brought their concerns to Developmental Disabilities Ombuds and others about the fact that people with lived experiences were not involved in this process. The DD Ombuds met with self-advocates and legislators to discuss why it is important to have people with lived experience involved in creating policies.
Self-Advocates then helped create a coalition of people to expand the bill to include any group of people with lived experience who will be affected by a policy change to have a chance to be involved in certain legislative created meetings. This bill is a great example of how when you expand your network it can benefit more people!