From Personal Advocacy to Federal Action
Seven years of partnership helped turn one champion’s mission into bipartisan momentum for children who stutter.
Client: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Change & Impact Foundation
Issue: Expanding access to early stuttering screening and speech therapy
Win: The bipartisan Kidd’s Stuttering Act introduced in both chambers of Congress
Challenge
Seven years ago, CGCN began working pro bono with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Change & Impact, supporting a deeply personal mission: improving care, resources and opportunities for people who stutter.
For Kidd-Gilchrist, the issue is personal. The former NBA player grew up with a stutter and has spoken openly about the isolation and challenges he experienced. After his basketball career, he turned that experience into advocacy, founding Change & Impact to expand access to care and resources for others who stutter.
Strategy & Execution
1. Build the Relationships
Through CGCN’s work with Change & Impact, Kidd-Gilchrist connected with lawmakers on Capitol Hill—including Senator Jim Banks—while advocating for children who stutter.
2. Prove the Model in the States
Kidd-Gilchrist took the case for better stuttering care directly to policymakers across the country. The result: bipartisan state-level victories expanding support for people who stutter, including legislative progress in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
In Pennsylvania, for example, Kidd-Gilchrist worked alongside lawmakers to support legislation guaranteeing insurance coverage for speech therapy for young children who stutter. The bill was signed into law in October 2024.
3. Take the Fight National
With state victories demonstrating bipartisan support, the campaign moved to Congress.
In December 2025, Representatives Addison McDowell (R-NC) and Shomari Figures (D-AL) introduced the Kidd’s Stuttering Act in the House. The legislation would require stuttering screenings during Medicaid well-child visits for young children and guarantee Medicaid and CHIP coverage for qualifying speech-therapy services.
4. Build Bipartisan Support
The issue continued to attract lawmakers from both parties. The House legislation grew into a genuinely bipartisan coalition, with Democratic and Republican members joining as cosponsors—demonstrating that access to early intervention for children who stutter could transcend traditional political divisions.
5. Expand to the Senate
In July 2026, Senators Jim Banks (R-IN) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced the Senate version of the Kidd’s Stuttering Act, with Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joining as a cosponsor.
Outcome
A relationship that began years earlier had helped develop into bicameral, bipartisan legislation with the potential to expand screening and treatment for children across the country.