Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity visits Northumberland County to mark Developmental Disabilities Month and tout PA ABLE milestone

At a Northumberland County Board of Commissioners meeting, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity presented a proclamation recognizing March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and urged local leaders to promote inclusion and access to savings tools for people with disabilities.

Garrity described PA ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) as a savings program that allows people with disabilities to accumulate assets without jeopardizing federal benefits. “We just hit a new milestone, over $200,000,000,” Garrity said, and noted that PA ABLE is now the fifth‑largest ABLE program in the nation. She also explained that, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the Able Age Adjustment Act raised the allowable disability‑onset age from 26 to 46, expanding eligibility for millions more Americans, including an estimated 1,000,000 veterans.

Jess Harry, supervisor of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit Work Foundations program, introduced students and staff who joined the event and helped read the proclamation. The meeting included applause and a photo opportunity with commissioners and program participants.

The proclamation text read at the meeting cited the federal ENABLE Act of 2014, the PA ABLE program launch in 2017, and noted that PA ABLE accounts can be used for day‑to‑day expenses, assistive technology, home and vehicle adaptations, and other disability‑related costs. The county resolution encouraged citizens to acknowledge and support local organizations that educate the public about PA ABLE and developmental disability services.

The proclamation was presented as part of a broader slate of routine county business and was signed unanimously by the board of commissioners. The county thanked the Treasurer and local program staff for their participation and outreach.