The Arc of Pennsylvania and its affiliated 36 local chapters of The Arc serving 47 counties across the state make a difference in lives of people with disabilities and their families every day! For over fifty years, The Arc has worked to provide advocacy and resources to citizens with cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disabilities.

Thanks to The Arc in Pennsylvania, laws have been passed, community program funding secured, and education rights and civil rights protected to enable citizens with disabilities such as mental retardation, Down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy to live self-determined, "everyday" lives in their communities. Parent education and assistance programs, public awareness activities, and other advocacy and training initiatives are all hallmarks of The Arc movement in Pennsylvania.

The Arc is special in that it is one of the only disability organizations in the nation that is both family-driven and has a public policy advocacy component to its mission. On behalf of children and adults with disabilities, The Arc of Pennsylvania fights for special education, in-home supports, early intervention, employment, transportation, health care, and housing in our state capital, Harrisburg. The Arc of the United States does the same in Washington, D.C. And local chapters of The Arc provide advocacy and much-needed resources to individuals with disabilities and their families at the local level.