The Arc of Nebraska: What They Actually Do for Autism Families

When a Nebraska family first gets an autism diagnosis, they usually come away with a stack of referrals, a few website URLs, and a feeling that help exists somewhere out there — if they can find the right door. One of the names that comes up early, especially in and around Omaha and Lincoln, is The Arc of Nebraska. If you've seen it mentioned and you're not sure what the organization actually does, this article is for you.



The short version: The Arc of Nebraska is a statewide nonprofit that advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. They don't run therapy, they don't provide direct case management, and they aren't autism-specific. What they do offer is advocacy, information, referrals, training, special-education support, voting-rights access, and a connected community — and for many autism families, those are precisely the things that are hardest to assemble on your own.

Who Is The Arc of Nebraska?

The Arc of Nebraska is the state chapter of The Arc, a national disability-rights organization founded in 1950 by parents of children with intellectual disabilities who, at the time, had been locked out of schools, services, and public life. The national organization now has chapters in nearly every state, and The Arc of Nebraska has been operating as the Nebraska affiliate for decades.

The Nebraska chapter has over 1,500 members statewide and works through a mix of staff, a board of directors, affiliated local chapters across the state, and a large network of volunteers and self-advocates. Members include people with disabilities, family members, professionals, educators, and allies. The organization is funded through memberships, donations, grants, and events.

Their mission, in one sentence: to protect the rights and promote the full inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Nebraska communities.

Does The Arc of Nebraska Focus on Autism?

No — and this is the first thing worth being honest about. The Arc of Nebraska serves the full population of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (often shortened to IDD). That includes autism, but also Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Fragile X, intellectual disabilities with unspecified causes, and many other conditions.

For autism families, that framing matters for two reasons. First, you won't find autism-specific therapies or clinical services at The Arc. Second, you will find staff, resources, and advocates who understand that autism intersects with many of the same system challenges that affect every IDD family — special education, Medicaid HCBS waivers, guardianship, employment, housing, and voting access. If your questions are system-level rather than therapy-specific, The Arc is often more useful than an autism-specific nonprofit.

What Specific Programs Do They Offer That Help Autism Families?

The programs below are the ones most relevant to autism families, drawn from the organization's current offerings:

• Find Local Services and Map of Services: a searchable directory of disability service providers across Nebraska, searchable by region and service type. Useful when you've just moved, or when a referral runs cold and you need to find alternatives.
• Video Training Library: short recorded trainings on topics like special education rights, Medicaid, guardianship alternatives, and self-advocacy. Watchable on your own time, no appointment needed.
• Know Your Rights: plain-language guides on what people with disabilities and their families are entitled to under federal and state law.
• Education & School Support (Special Education Hub): resources, templates, and guidance for navigating IEPs, 504 plans, and disputes with school districts.
• Disability Rights Voting Center: help for people with disabilities to register to vote, understand accessible voting options, and participate in Nebraska elections.
• Nebraska Disability Update: regular communications on policy changes, legislative action, and system updates affecting Nebraska IDD families.
• Local Chapters: affiliated chapters across the state where families can connect with others in their own community.
• Community Calendar: events, trainings, and advocacy opportunities.
• Tell Us Your Story: a channel for families to share experiences that inform The Arc's advocacy priorities.
• Senatorial Dinner and Advocacy Events: direct opportunities to meet state senators and legislators and raise concerns about disability policy.
• Employment Advocate Pledge: a pledge for employers committing to inclusive hiring practices, which The Arc tracks and highlights.

None of these are autism-specific, but almost all of them are relevant to autism families navigating school, services, and adult life.

How Can The Arc Help With Special Education and IEPs?

For many families, this is the single most useful door The Arc opens.

The Special Education Hub provides information on IEPs, 504 plans, procedural rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parent-school communication strategies, and what to do when a school isn't meeting its obligations. The materials are plain-language and oriented toward Nebraska families specifically, which matters because state-level implementation of IDEA varies.

The Arc doesn't typically represent families in formal special-education disputes (that's the role of a special-education attorney or an advocate hired specifically for that purpose), but their resources help families walk into IEP meetings better prepared, with the right vocabulary and a clear sense of what to ask for and what to push back on. For families with a child entering preschool special education, transitioning to kindergarten, or facing a change in placement, this is substantial.

What Advocacy and Policy Work Do They Do?

The Arc of Nebraska works at the state legislature on policy that affects IDD families. Current and recent advocacy areas include:

• The InterRAI Assessment — the standardized functional-needs assessment Nebraska uses to determine services eligibility, which The Arc has engaged with on behalf of families
• Medicaid Work Requirements — monitoring and advocating on policies that affect Medicaid access, which many autism families rely on for ABA, speech, OT, and medical care
• Medicaid HCBS waiver advocacy — ensuring home and community-based services remain available and funded
• Employment and inclusion — through the Employment Advocate Pledge and partnerships with employers
• Voting access — through the Disability Rights Voting Center
• General legislative monitoring — the Nebraska Disability Update summarizes what's moving at the Capitol

If your family relies on Medicaid for your child's ABA therapy or any other service, The Arc's policy work directly affects your family's access, whether you're an active member or not.

How Does The Arc Help You Find Local Services?

Through their Find Local Services directory and Map of Services, which cover service providers across Nebraska by region and category. This is useful in several situations:

• You've just moved and don't know who provides what in your new area
• Your current provider is leaving the market or losing funding
• You need a provider for a service your current team doesn't offer (respite, Medicaid service coordination, employment support for an adult child)
• You want to compare options rather than take the first referral that comes through

The directory doesn't rank or review providers — it lists them, and you still have to do the vetting. But knowing who exists in your region is step one, and this is where that work can start.

Does The Arc of Nebraska Provide Direct Therapy or Case Management?

No. The Arc is not a therapy provider. They don't offer ABA, speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychological services, or any other direct clinical care. They also don't act as a Medicaid service coordinator or case manager — those roles sit with other organizations in the state's disability services system.

What they do is help you find and use the organizations that do provide those services. For autism families, this often means:

• Your clinical team (ABA, speech, OT, pediatrician, psychiatrist) handles therapy and medical care
• The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services handles Medicaid, waivers, and formal service coordination
• Your school district handles special education
• The Arc fills the gaps between those systems — the questions nobody else answers, the advocacy you can't do alone, the community you can't buy

How Do You Get Involved?

The entry points are straightforward:

• Become a member at any of several levels, including sliding-scale options
• Sign up for the Nebraska Disability Update email to stay informed on policy
• Join a local chapter in your community, if one exists in your region
• Attend a training from the video library or an in-person event on the community calendar
• Join a committee aligned with your interests (education, employment, policy, etc.)
• Volunteer at an event or an advocacy campaign
• Share your family's story through the Tell Us Your Story channel to inform their advocacy

You don't have to be a member to use most of the resources on the website. Membership is more about supporting the work and getting more involved in it.

When Does The Arc Help More Than ABA — and When Do You Need Both?

ABA addresses communication, daily living skills, social skills, and behavior — the clinical side of your child's day. The Arc addresses the system around your child — the IEP, the Medicaid waiver, the voting booth, the employer, the senator. These aren't competing resources; they're complementary ones.

A rough map of who to turn to for what:

• Something clinical — a new goal, a behavior change, a regression, a therapy question → your BCBA and clinical team
• A school issue — IEP goals, placement, discipline, a request being refused → The Arc's Special Education Hub, plus (if it escalates) a special-education advocate or attorney
• A Medicaid or waiver question — eligibility, service hours, reauthorization, denials → your service coordinator first, with The Arc as backup for broader advocacy
• A policy change that worries you — proposed cuts, assessment changes, new requirements → The Arc's advocacy team
• Finding a new provider or a service you don't currently have → The Arc's Find Local Services directory
• Preparing your child for adult life — employment, voting, independence → The Arc's employment work, voting center, and training library

Most autism families use ABA for years and only brush against The Arc when a specific need surfaces. There's nothing wrong with that approach, but families who connect earlier often find the long arc of the work (special education through adult services) easier to navigate because they aren't starting cold at every transition point.

Frequently Asked Questions