National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities

08/16/2026

"I can’t tell you the number of times doctors have asked me over the years would you like to have a hysterectomy? And that has never been for medical justification. There’s never been me indicating that that’s something I wanted. But doctors continue to have those eugenics based beliefs that people with disabilities should not be reproducing."

In a recent episode of the UpEnd podcast, Dr. Robyn Powell, Senior Research Associate at the Lurie Institute, discusses how the child welfare system discriminates against parents with disabilities and perpetuates stigma around mental health.

Learn more and listen here: https://zurl.co/TdPxG
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Image Description: Light yellow graphic for the UpEnd podcast episode titled “What About Disabled Parents?” The graphic includes a portrait of Dr. Robyn Powell, a white woman with brown hair, beside the episode title text.

08/16/2026

Danielle Kelly reflects on her experience of parenting with a disability and how becoming a mother changed the way she understood her own ADHD. In her latest blog, Kelly shares how letting go of shame and unrealistic expectations helped her embrace accommodations, practice self-compassion, and recognize the strengths her lived experience brings to parenting.

Read the full story on our blog: https://zurl.co/Ryjch

Image description: A graphic featuring a photo of Danielle Kelly, a white woman with long brown hair, wearing a black top. A large light-blue speech bubble contains a quote from Kelly: “Parenting with a disability does not make me less capable of loving, understanding, protecting, or advocating for my child. If anything, it has made me more empathetic to how hard it can be to move through a world not built for your brain. And maybe that understanding is one of the greatest gifts I can offer him.” The quote is attributed to Danielle Kelly and her blog post, “I Thought I Was Failing at Motherhood... Then I Realized I Was Parenting With a Disability.”



Chaos & Caffeine - ADHD Parenting Podcast

08/06/2026

“As a Black father with a disability, the history of just being able to have a family has always been one not necessarily possible.” -Keith Jones, Advisory Board member for the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities

From GBH / GBH News 📰 Staff at Brandeis research center for disabled parents say federal funding cut may force closure: https://zurl.co/EJYao

📢 Join us in taking action. Spread this information and use our toolkit to talk to your representatives on this issue: TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding

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Image descriptions:
1: A screenshot of an article published in GBH News by Meghan Smith. Text reads: “Staff at Brandeis research center for disabled parents say federal funding cut may force closure” Nicole Lomerson with her daughter Evelyn Schickling at the State House in Boston in March 2026.

2: A comment from Keith Jones, a Lurie Institute advisory board member, has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair, father of four. “As a Black father with a disability, the history of just being able to have a family has always been one not necessarily possible. We’ve never had a moment to exist without the government specifically targeting the ability to even be a parent.”

3: A comment from Monika Mitra, the Lurie Institute’s director and a professor of disability policy. “You’re not just removing another grant. It’s dismantling a national resource that’s [used by] thousands of disabled parents in the United States, service providers, researchers, policymakers, the families of disabled people, prospective parents.” A comment from Nicole Lomerson, a research associate at the Center and a physically disabled parent. Nicole shares about a technical assistance request where, quote, a parent with a physical disability who uses a wheelchair who is doing a Google search and realizes that there really is no adaptive baby equipment. That’s the one that’s keeping me up at night. Unquote.

4: Another comment by Nicole Lomerson. I got into this work because I had a baby in one of the big hospitals in Boston in the NICU, and my ability to parent her based on my disability was called into question. Then, the text reads: “Without new funding, the nation’s only research center on parents with disabilities will disappear by August 31, 2026.”

5: Text reads: “Take action: Share this post. Use our toolkit to contact your representatives. Use our pre-made graphics and alt text to spread the word. TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding.”

08/04/2026

"This center has made me so heard and seen." - Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, Advisory Board member for the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities

From The Waltham Times 📰 Brandeis research center for disabled parents confronts closure after federal funding opportunity removed: https://zurl.co/HTNdJ

📢 Join us in taking action. Spread this information and use our toolkit to talk to your representatives on this issue: TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding

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Image descriptions:
1: A screenshot of an article published in the Waltham Times by Charlie Johnson. Text reads: “Brandeis research center for disabled parents confronts closure after federal funding opportunity removed.” Exterior of Brandeis's Heller Building where the research center is located.

2: A comment from Morénike Giwa-Onaiwu, and Advisory board member, mother of six, who is autistic and has rheumatoid arthritis and other disabilities: “You’ve dangled a carrot in front of [disabled parents], and now if they can no longer access the support that they need, the answers that they need. It would have been better to just leave us at the vortex that we had before.”

3: A comment from Nicole Lomerson, a research associate at the Center and a physically disabled parent: “I’m a disabled parent who knows what it’s like to have my ability to parent my child called into question by people with more power and authority than I have, and that was incredibly terrifying, and that made my career take a hard left turn towards this issue.” A comment from Miriam Heyman, the Center’s project manager. Regarding a parent’s barriers to getting their child to school, quote: "If it was the child's disability, then they would have had to provide a bus. But because it was a parental disability, there was no mandate for that school to provide a bus, so they didn't."

4: Comment from Monika Mitra, the Lurie Institute’s director and a professor of disability policy: This is the only center which focuses on the needs, the experiences of disabled parents. Then, the text reads: “Without new funding, the nation’s only research center on parents with disabilities will disappear by August 31, 2026.”

5: Text reads: “Take action: Share this post. Use our toolkit to contact your representatives. Use our pre-made graphics and alt text to spread the word. TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding.”


Brandeis University The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University Disabled Parenting Project

07/30/2026

💬 “This is not the cancellation of one proposed study. It threatens a functioning national infrastructure built over ten years.” - Robyn Powell

Read about the far reaching impacts of the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities' impending closure on the disability community of in this Forbes piece by Keely Cat Wells: https://www.forbes.com/sites/keelycatwells/2026/07/30/americas-only-research-center-for-disabled-parents-faces-closure/

📢 Join us in taking action. Spread this information and use our toolkit to talk to your representatives on this issue: TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding

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Image descriptions:
1: A screenshot of an article published in Forbes by Keely Cat-Wells. Text reads: “America's Only Research Center For Disabled Parents Faces Closure.” A disabled mom of color smiles as she holds her toddler up in the air. The mom uses a full leg prosthetic.

2: A comment from Robyn Powell, a disability legal scholar, a team member at the Center and lead author of the landmark 2012 Rocking the Cradle report: “The ultimate loss will not be measured only in unfinished research or outdated webpages. It will be measured in policies made without evidence, professionals working without guidance, parents unable to find help, and children unnecessarily separated from their parents because systems continue to misunderstand disability."

3: A comment from Amy AbuShanab,Associate Director for Administration and Engagement of Lurie Institute: “The biggest loss falls on disabled parents themselves, through the disappearance of technical assistance, resources, and the training that improves practice among practitioners, attorneys, and child welfare workers.” Then, a comment from Nicole Lomerson: “Reflecting on the Center's existence and the first time seeing its website, Nicole wrote, ‘it was literally the first time I saw my own experience as a brand new mom validated.’”

4: Comment from Robyn Powell: I am afraid the absence of research will be mistaken for the absence of harm. When no one is collecting data, monitoring laws, evaluating interventions, and documenting disabled parents' experiences, discrimination becomes easier to overlook and harder to challenge." Then, the text reads: “Without new funding, the nation’s only research center on parents with disabilities will disappear by August 31, 2026.”

5: Text reads: “Take action: Share this post. Use our toolkit to contact your representatives. Use our pre-made graphics and alt text to spread the word. TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding.”

07/30/2026

💬 "The ultimate loss will not be measured only in unfinished research or outdated webpages. It will be measured in policies made without evidence, professionals working without guidance, parents unable to find help, and children unnecessarily separated from their parents because systems continue to misunderstand disability." - Robyn Powell

Read about the far reaching impacts of the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities' impending closure on the disability community of in this Forbes piece by Keely Cat Wells: https://www.forbes.com/sites/keelycatwells/2026/07/30/americas-only-research-center-for-disabled-parents-faces-closure/

📢 Join us in taking action. Spread this information and use our toolkit to talk to your representatives on this issue: TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding

A decade of research serving 4.4 million disabled parents ends August 31 after HHS quietly withdrew the funding opportunity.

07/29/2026

Upcoming Webinar 💻 Disabled Parents Building Mutual Aid Networks

🗓️ Thursday, August 27, 2026
⏰ 1 PM ET
📍 Zoom – Register today: tinyurl.com/BuildingMutualAid
♿️ ASL interpretation and Zoom automated captions will be available.

About the webinar 💬
Join the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities for a conversation by and for disabled parents about building systems of support through mutual aid. Mutual aid can take many forms, including sharing resources, providing food, offering financial support, and caring for one another in times of need.
Disabled parents Judith Brown, Dom Kelly, and Dom Evans will share their experiences with mutual aid efforts and discuss how community care helps strengthen families, foster connection, and create more accessible and supportive communities.
The webinar will be recorded and available for later viewing.

Image description:
A promotional webinar flyer with a dark green background. At the top, a purple banner reads "Webinar" beside the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities logo. Large white text announces the title, "Disabled Parents Building Mutual Aid Networks." Below, icons indicate the event details: August 27, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET, held on Zoom, with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and closed captions (CC) available. Across the bottom are cutout photos of the three featured speakers, each with a name label above their image: Dom Kelly on the left, Dom Evans in the center, and Judith Brown on the right. Each speaker is outlined with a purple shadow effect behind them.

New Disabled South Project 70Forward FilmDis

07/29/2026

TASP continue to call for the restoration of the federal funding opportunity for the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities.

Speaking on the loss of funding:
"They been trying to shut us out way too long. We The People had enough."
- Quiana Mayo, Parent Self-Advocate

See TASP's statement: https://achancetoparent.net/tasp-calls-for-restoration-of-federal-funding-for-the-nrcpd/
See NRCPD's statement and learn more about what you can do: https://heller.brandeis.edu/parents-with-disabilities/about/nrcpd-funding-2026-press-release.html

07/25/2026

“It is a huge gap that no other entity or funding source can fill.” - Alison Barkoff, previous administration's Assistant Secretary for Aging & George Washington University health law policy professor

Read coverage about the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities' funding crisis in The Imprint: https://zurl.co/1P7b5



Disabled Parenting Project

The only U.S. research center focusing on parents with disabilities faces closure after the Trump Administration withdrew a federal grant.

07/25/2026

🗞️ Read how the impending closure of the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities directly impacts our communities through this piece in The Imprint by Michael Fitzgerald: https://zurl.co/c8w1B

📢 Join us in taking action - spread this information and use our toolkit to talk to your representatives on this issue: TinyUrl.com/ParentingCenterFunding

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Image descriptions:
1: A comment from Alison Barkoff, the Biden administration’s assistant secretary for aging and George Washington University health law and policy professor. “I think this is sending a message that this isn’t a critical issue, that maybe parents – people with disabilities – don’t need this kind of support and advocacy and research... But people with disabilities face so much discrimination as parents. It is a huge gap that no other entity or funding source can fill.”

2: A comment from Cathy Haarstad, board president of the Maryland-based Association for Successful Parenting: “The cost of a foster care placement currently averages $58,000 per child per year... government investment in research that benefits parents with disabilities, whose children often end up in foster care due to systemic bias, would be a good investment of taxpayer dollars.” Then, a comment from Kimberly Tissot, a cancer survivor, amputee and disability rights activist who leads the nonprofit Able South Carolina: ““[Cancelling the grant] will destroy families. This was a significantly bad move... parents with disabilities are overrepresented in the child welfare system and nobody else talks about it.”

The Association for Successful Parenting Able South Carolina

Disabled Parenting Project