A government agency that funds services and supports for people with disabilities living in the community will be broken up as part of a massive reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The agency’s Administration for Community Living, which oversees programs helping people with disabilities access all range of services in their communities and advocates for the needs of people with disabilities, older adults, families and caregivers across the federal government, will be shuttered.

“The critical programs within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) that support older adults and people of all ages with disabilities will be split across the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),” HHS said.

The changes announced late last week are part of what federal officials described as a “dramatic restructuring” of the health agency aimed at improving efficiency. Through the effort, the department will lay off about 10,000 employees. Combined with early retirements and buyouts since the Trump administration took over, HHS said it expects to downsize its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees.

In addition, the current 28 HHS divisions will be consolidated down to 15 and regional offices will be trimmed from 10 to five, officials said.

“We’re going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agencies while preserving their core functions,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “We’re going to do more with less.”

The Administration for Community Living was established in 2012 in an effort to bring together aging and disability programs across HHS in recognition of the fact that most people in these populations live in the community and want to remain there.

The agency funds and works with over 2,500 community organizations nationwide including centers for independent living, protection and advocacy systems, developmental disabilities councils and much more, according to Alison Barkoff, a professor at George Washington University who led the Administration for Community Living under the Biden administration.

People “might not have heard of the Administration for Community Living, but they’ve probably benefited from ACL’s programs,” she said, citing examples ranging from respite care services to help accessing special education or Medicaid benefits, employment assistance for transition-age youth and in-home supports and services. “I don’t see how you can have that level of cuts in staff without seeing an impact on programs and services.”

More than that, Barkoff said that the existence of the Administration for Community Living ensured that federal agencies considered the needs of people with disabilities in decision-making.

“ACL had a seat at the table with the secretary, with leaders of programs. If ACL is broken up, they will not have that seat at the table. The disability voice is being lost,” Barkoff said.

Representatives from HHS did not respond to questions about how the Administration for Community Living’s responsibilities will be divided or how many current staff will be let go.

“This consolidation allows the department to better meet the current health needs of vulnerable populations across the country. This does not impact the important work of these critical programs as it will continue elsewhere within HHS,” an HHS official told Disability Scoop.

Advocates from several disability organizations said they were shocked by the move to dismantle the Administration for Community Living, particularly given that it was established as a centralized hub in order to promote efficiency and prevent duplication.

“For over a decade, the Administration for Community Living has provided critical oversight and funding for programs that protect against abuse, promote community living and support family caregivers,” said Julie Ward, senior executive officer of public policy at The Arc of the United States. “Without a dedicated agency to champion these programs, millions risk losing the oversight, funding and technical assistance for programs they rely on to live independently. We urge the administration to halt this reorganization and engage directly with the disability community before making changes that could jeopardize their rights and well-being.”