People with disabilities should have the opportunity to live, learn, work, and participate fully in their communities.

Kentucky families should not have to become experts in bureaucracy just to find the services their loved ones need.

I support expanding Medicaid waiver capacity and addressing Kentucky's waiver waiting lists, strengthening First Steps and other early-intervention programs, increasing the number of case managers and community providers, and improving the information and training available to families.

We also need better transition planning for young people leaving the school system. Too often, families spend years surrounded by school-based services only to encounter a cliff when their child reaches adulthood.

Support should not disappear at graduation.

Kentucky should strengthen partnerships among schools, healthcare providers, nonprofits, disability organizations, and community agencies so families can navigate services throughout a person's lifetime.

Healthcare access is another major barrier, particularly in rural Kentucky. I support improving reimbursement and other incentives for providers serving people with disabilities, expanding access to dental and mental-health care, and exploring mobile and itinerant healthcare models involving nurses, physicians, physician assistants, therapists, and other professionals.

We should also strengthen relationships with major medical systems in neighboring states—including Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia—because Kentucky families should be able to access specialized care regardless of which side of a state line the hospital happens to sit on.

And accessibility must extend beyond healthcare. Transportation, employment, education, civic participation, recreation, and public spaces should be designed with disabled Kentuckians in mind from the beginning—not added as an afterthought.