ACRD and NOSSCR Forge Historic Collaboration

Two Preeminent Organizations Unite in Unprecedented Collaboration to Elevate Professional Standards and Strengthen Disability Representation; December Symposium to Launch New Era of Partnership.

Dallas, Texas — November 11, 2025 — In a watershed moment for disability advocacy, the Advocates, Counselors & Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) and the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) announced today the formation of a groundbreaking collaboration that promises to advance how the disability representation profession addresses shared challenges, amplifies collective influence, and serves the millions of Americans who depend on skilled advocacy to access critical benefits.

“Separately, ACRD and NOSSCR have shaped the profession,” said Brendon Cassity, CEO and Board President for ACRD, “this cooperation creates a strong professional ecosystem.”

“This unites the field's two most influential organizations, representing more than 6,000 professionals nationwide, in a strategic alliance that leverages complementary strengths, pooled resources, and coordinated action to elevate the profession during a period of unprecedented complexity and regulatory evolution,” said David Camp, Senior Policy Advisor for NOSSCR.

The collaboration’s transformative potential derives fundamentally from the organizations' complementary capabilities. ACRD brings a technology-forward approach to professional development, an innovative training methodology that emphasizes practical skills and emerging technologies, over 2,000 members nationwide, and an Advisory Board featuring distinguished public servants. This combination of technological sophistication, broad membership reach, and high-level political relationships positions ACRD as an invaluable catalyst for professional innovation and strategic visibility.

NOSSCR contributes 46 years of institutional continuity since its founding in 1979, over 4,000 attorney and representative members who collectively possess deep expertise across every dimension of Social Security law, established relationships with SSA leadership that enable meaningful policy dialogue, proven advocacy effectiveness in Congressional and regulatory arenas, and comprehensive continuing legal education programs that have shaped professional standards for nearly five decades. This foundation of legal expertise, institutional credibility, and stakeholder relationships makes NOSSCR an indispensable partner for policy engagement and professional advocacy.

Together, they have the power to address every dimension of the practice, from frontline skills development to high-level policy advocacy, from technological proficiency to legal expertise, from grassroots member support to strategic stakeholder engagement. By aligning their considerable resources, expertise, and networks, ACRD and NOSSCR create a unified professional ecosystem capable of delivering authoritative guidance, powerful advocacy, and comprehensive support.

December Symposium: Cutting Through the Noise

As part of this coordinated effort, ACRD and NOSSCR will co-host a national symposium in December 2025 dedicated to addressing questions surrounding regulatory changes that have prompted concern in the field. The symposium represents a deliberate departure from the fragmented information landscape that has characterized recent regulatory discussions. Rather than allowing practitioners to navigate conflicting interpretations, incomplete analyses, and speculative projections, the collaboration will provide a singular, authoritative forum with verified information, expert analysis, and the profession's leading voices providing clarity about both challenges and opportunities inherent in regulatory evolution.

While the December symposium demonstrates the collaboration's capacity for targeted response to immediate challenges, both organizations recognize that episodic engagement proves insufficient for the profession's long-term needs. Accordingly, ACRD and NOSSCR are establishing permanent collaborative infrastructure designed to provide sustained support. This includes mutual support for a series of national conferences planned for 2026.

The formation of the ACRD-NOSSCR collaboration marks a defining moment in disability representation, a recognition that the profession's future depends on strategic collaboration, unified purpose, and coordinated leadership. This collaboration represents the profession's commitment to elevating its own standards, amplifying its collective voice, and ensuring that the millions of Americans who depend on skilled disability advocacy receive representation worthy of their trust and their needs.

For information regarding the ACRD-NOSSCR collaboration and December symposium details, contact either Rachel Buck (rachelb@acrd.org) or David Camp (david.camp@nosscr.org).