The Arc New York District Impact Sheets
Did you know that The Arc New York contributes more than $2.5 billion annually to the New York state economy? To help put this fact to work, The Arc New York created a package of Legislative District Impact Sheets to use as a tool in conversations with legislators about how The Arc New York Chapters are economic drivers within their district.
Each sheet outlines the number of people served, number of employees, budgeted revenue, and total cost of employee salaries and benefits at each Chapter in a legislator's district, as well as the total impact of all Chapters in that district. We also developed regional impact sheets to illustrate the collective economic impact each of our four regions. In August, we prepared similar impact sheets for federal legislators.
The sheets are organized by district number. You can find your legislative district and representative here. Please keep in mind, your Chapter may extend to multiple legislative districts. The sheets can be found below, and are also available on The Arc New York website. We encourage you to set up meetings with your legislators to let them know why investment in New York's I/DD providers matters to you!
NYDA Legislative Forum
This week, New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) hosted a legislative forum to highlight their budget priorities for the 2022-23 New York state budget. NYDA member representatives, including The Arc New York CEO Erik Geizer, were joined by the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Developmental Disability committees, Senator John Mannion and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, and members of their respective committees. Advocates detailed the dire need for investment in our field, the historic lack of investment that precipitated the current crisis, and our core legislative agenda:
- Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) – Projected to be 5.4% for FY 2023
- Workforce funding: continued funding of the 20% wage enhancement received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
- Recruitment and retention of staff through tax incentives, career ladders and credentialing programs, and regulatory reform
- Concerns with new rate methodology
Prior to the forum, NYDA released updated information sheets in partnership with The Arc New York to aid in educating lawmakers on our state budget priorities. A recording of the forum can be found here, and the full press release offers additional details and comments from legislators.
Op-Ed Shines Light on the Gravity of Workforce Crisis
Tibi Guzmán, Executive Director and CEO of The Arc Westchester outlined the dire need for long term solutions to address the workforce crisis in the I/DD field in an Op-Ed published this week in lohud. Guzmán cited data from a survey conducted by NYDA, which showed that a staggering 93% of provider organizations have seen their number of job applicants drop, and the Hudson Valley region is experiencing a vacancy rate of more than 22%. People with disabilities rely on staff every day for activities that we might take for granted. This workforce crisis prevents them from living the life of their choosing and endangers their basic human needs.
Nominees Sought for The Arc US Board of Directors
The Board Development Committee (BDC) of The Arc of the United States is requesting your help to identify talented people of diverse backgrounds to meet the current and future leadership needs of the organization. The BDC developed 2022 Nominating Priorities, which are outlined in the 2022 Board Prospectus. Please take a moment to review The Arc’s 2022 Nominating Priorities in the Board Prospectus. Perhaps you know someone who would be a good fit for The Arc’s Board of Directors including, in particular, candidates who will help us achieve greater diversity on the national board.
You may nominate someone you know for a board member position by filling out the application for the Board of Directors online, or you may share the Prospectus with the individual(s) you have in mind and suggest they consider nominating themselves.
The Board Development Committee will begin review in January 2022 with the ultimate goal of presenting a single slate of candidates for election at the 2022 Annual Meeting in the fall.
Thank you for supporting The Arc US in their board development process.
Governor Hochul Nominates OTDA Commissioner
This week Governor Hochul announced Daniel Tietz will be nominated to serve as Commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). The full press release with his bio can be found here.
