On Tuesday, in a series of emails sent at 5 a.m. Eastern Time, all employees—around 20—of the federal Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) Center for Policy and Evaluation were laid off. This follows the news last week that ACL, a subsidiary of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for key issues around disability and aging, would essentially be shut down as part of a massive restructuring and firing campaign led by HHS head Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which is expected to involve some 10,000 layoffs overall. Although the Kennedy plan claims that at least some of the Administration for Community Living’s responsibilities will be transferred to other Health and Human Services agencies, the dismantling of units like the Center for Policy and Evaluation suggests that many of ACL’s functions will be lost—or at least severely diminished.
The Center for Policy and Evaluation, according to ACL’s website, analyzes services and evaluates programs that are “designed to ensure older Americans and persons with disabilities are able to fully participate and contribute in an inclusive community life,” including through collaboration with other HHS agencies like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Vicki Gottlich, the head of the Center for Policy and Evaluation until her retirement in June 2024, believes that HHS’ move makes no sense “if you’re interested in government efficiency.”
“I fear this purge will drain the department of crucial disability subject matter and expertise and humanity just when we need it most.”
The center “collects the data on how Older Americans Act money is spent and how many people are served,” Gottlich told me. “It helps states and grantees understand how to run their programs and helps ACL project staff with compliance. In other words, CPE helps make sure federal dollars are well spent.”
Given that the Kennedy-run HHS’ plans for reorganizing “vital” parts (and it’s unclear what “vital” means) of ACL are incredibly vague, it’s still unknown which agency, if any, will take up those responsibilities.
A CPE staffer who received a “Reduction in Staff” notice this morning told me, “I fear this April 1 purge will drain the department of crucial disability subject matter and expertise and humanity just when we need it most,” and that “the loss of subject matter expertise may threaten the Department’s ability to meet its statutory and regulatory obligations.”
As I reported last week, ACL also saves federal government funds by supporting programs that help disabled and aging adults remain in their communities, a less costly approach than institutionalization.
While the HHS cuts, and the Trump administration’s wider slashing of federal agencies and services, are nominally about saving money, Jacobs doesn’t believe that eliminating the Administration for Community Living—which helps keep people out of nursing homes—will do so. “Community living costs our taxpayers a third of what it costs for people to live in institutional settings,” [former ACL disability commissioner Jill] Jacobs said. “There are very economically sound reasons for ACL to continue to exist.”
The Department of Health and Human Services has not responded to a request for comment.
