Federal cuts leave North Dakota disability group ‘heartbroken’ after third of employees laid off
The federal government is “basically telling people with disabilities that ‘you don’t matter, we don’t want you to go for the same opportunity everybody else goes for,’ ” an employee said.
By Peyton Haug
May 01, 2025 at 4:54 PM
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities is scrambling to figure out how it will continue operations after one-third of its staff was suddenly terminated due to federal cuts.
“For 35 years, we have earned our keep and managed it really well,” said Lori Garnes, the organization’s executive director. “It’s just a huge number of potential cuts in such a short amount of time that throws us off kilter.”
Of the organization’s 72 staffers, 23 received letters Wednesday, April 30, notifying them that their positions are to be terminated.
“Not a single one of these employees did anything that would have led to them not being able to work here,” she said. “It’s purely a funding situation.”
The group has been in place since October 1990 and is housed at Minot State University. It has 20 active projects that provide a vast range of services statewide, including in-home support for those with developmental disabilities, newborn disability screenings, transitional services for adults with disabilities, and related onsite assistance for schools, landlords and workplaces.
Five of those projects have been paused or eliminated entirely.
A $1 million grant, administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Navigator program, will be defunded in August, according to Garnes. The federal program assists people in accessing health care and insurance.
Two grants valued together at around $60,000 are paused. The money came from the State Council of Developmental Disabilities and is used to aid child care providers and employers in working with children and people who have disabilities.
Additionally, the funding for a substantial portion of the hearing detection and intervention services, which are also backed by federal dollars, will not be renewed.
Since the center’s operations purely depend on grants from the federal and state government, Minot State University cannot spend its state funding on the center’s projects, Garnes said.
Around 45% of the funding is federal, and the rest comes from state and local contracts.
“By doing this, you’re basically telling people with disabilities that ‘you don’t matter, we don’t want you to go for the same opportunity everybody else goes for,’ ” Kyle Erickson said.
Erickson is a research associate at the center, a role he describes as being “full circle” since he lives with a disability and received the center’s services as a child.
His position was among those eliminated. His last day is scheduled for July 29, he said.
“This is not some nebulous demographic,” Erickson said. “This is your neighbor, your family members.”
In a Thursday release, Sen. Josh Boschee, D-Fargo, called the action “absolutely devastating.”
“This is not what North Dakotans voted for this past presidential election,” he said. “The Center for Persons with Disabilities plays an impactful role in ensuring North Dakotans are able to live independently and participate in the workforce. They have quality group living, well-trained staff, and advocate for smart policy to improve the quality of life for our family, friends, and neighbors living with a disability.”
Garns said she was left “heartbroken” after being notified of the cuts.
Amid the uncertainty, the remaining 49 employees will continue running what programs are left while the center looks for other funding to compensate for the losses, continue its work and “do it well,” Garnes said.
“The cuts that have been made are very severe, very fast and haven’t put in a safety net to allow the human beings in our state, who are ultimately going to be impacted, to have a soft landing,” she said.
Erickson said the fight “isn’t over yet.”