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New York Disability Advocates (NYDA), our fieldwide Advocacy coalition, has launched its own one-click letter writing campaign, giving advocates additional opportunities to send a message to the governor and legislators. You are able to add a personal message to the campaign, tell your story, and make it your own.
The Arc New York, CP State, and NY Alliance, also have their own one-click campaigns, all of which can be accessed through the link above. We encourage you to participate in all of them, so state leaders are receive our message through as many channels as possible. The letters vary slightly, but the core content is the same. You are able to send letters at least once a day should you so choose.
As a reminder, our budget requests are:
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A 7.8% Medicaid rate increase to stabilize non-profit provider agencies.
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The creation of a Wage Commission to examine the roles and responsibilities of human service workers and so we can identify and implement a lasting solution to our staffing crisis.
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Enhanced Capital Funding to help agencies modernize facilities and align with the state’s climate goal
You can find additional information, talking points and resources in our Budget Advocacy Toolkit.
NYS BPHAL Caucus Includes I/DD in People’s Budget
This week, New York’s Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus called for immediate action to address the severe challenges facing the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce in their 2025 People’s Budget proposal.
They noted that, “non-profit provider agencies responsible for supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are grappling with unsustainable vacancy and turnover rates due to stagnant wages and rising operational costs. This workforce, predominantly composed of women (74.2%) and individuals from Black, African American, Asian, or Latino backgrounds (62.6%), highlights the pressing need to address wage inequities and create an inclusive, supportive environment. DSPs are critical yet undercompensated, with 50% experiencing food and housing insecurity. Despite 44% of DSPs holding college degrees, 80% earn less than $20 an hour.”
To stabilize this essential workforce, the Caucus supports:
- A 7.8% increase in provider rates in the SFY 2025-26 Budget to enable competitive wages and address rising costs.
- The establishment of a wage commission to study and develop long-term strategies for sustainable wage growth in the DSP and Human Services sectors.
New I/DD Ombuds Program Officially Launches
A new Ombuds program, headed by Community Service Society of New York, is now open and ready to accept the calls of people with developmental disabilities and their family members in need of assistance resolving concerns, navigating barriers to services and making the right connections.
The new Ombuds program, which will operate independently of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), was developed to provide education and help people better understand their rights, to provide advocacy and support for people navigating the OPWDD service delivery system, and to assist people with developmental disabilities and their families to resolve concerns related to service access and quality.
The Ombuds is not meant to replace the current mechanisms for accessing services but is meant to provide an avenue for resolving issues and complaints when existing mechanisms have not produced a resolution.
To contact the new Ombuds program for assistance, please call 1-800-762-9290 or email idd@cssny.org. You can find more information about the program here.
Recognizing the Role of DSPs Act Needs Final Push
Earlier this year, the House Education and Labor Committee unanimously voted to advance the "Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act" (S.1332/ H.R. 2941) to the floor of the House for a vote, which would pave the way for the creation of a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). The lack of a distinct occupational classification for DSPs hinders the ability of states to appropriately set rates for the services these workers provide. Adding a SOC for this profession is a necessary first step in addressing a decades-long workforce crisis that threatens individuals with disabilities’ access to critical supports.
However, the bill has continued to languish and needs a final push before the end of congressional session. We are closer than ever to push this important initiative across the finish line. We encourage you to participate in our one-click campaign for the SOC to tell your representatives why recognizing DSPs is so important. You can find summary of the bill to assist with your message here.
Mannion and Seawright Address Late Provider Rates in Letter
Senator John Mannion and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, Chairs of their respective Senate and Assembly standing committees of disabilities, sent a letter Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald, Division of the Budget Director Blake Washington, and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities Acting Commissioner Willow Baer, addressing the painfully late updated provider rates, which were approved on July 1, 2024. As you may recall, last month, New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) sent a letter as well.
In the letter, they noted that, “The absence of approved rates compounds the challenges faced by many nonprofit providers in offering effective programs and services, and recruiting and retaining high quality personnel... it is incumbent upon the State to ensure that rates are approved and provided in a timely fashion. Nonprofit provider agencies need these resources in order to perform their own tasks, roles, and responsibilities”
Simply put, the delay of rate increases hampers the ability for agencies to plan accordingly and address the current and future challenges before them.
The Arc New York Urges Governor to Make Preferred Source Modernization Act Permanent
Erik Geizer, CEO of The Arc New York sent a letter and memo in support of making the Preferred Source Modernization Act Permanent. In 2024 nearly 5,000 individuals with disabilities worked over 3.9 million hours, earning over $83 million in taxable wages. The program provides vocational and rehabilitative training opportunities, living wages and full and part-time employment to individuals with disabilities. These advancements will sunset on October 4, 2025. The Arc New York strongly advises to make the Preferred Source Modernization Act permanent in the 2025 New York State budget.
Media in Support of 7.8% Rate Increase
We have been working with our NYDA partners to secure coverage of our issues and our budget asks. In the past two weeks, op-eds have placed in numerous publications, reaching all corners of the state.
In USA Today, Mike Alvaro, president of New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) highlighted the impacts of inflation and rising costs of basic needs over time over time. “From 2019 to 2024, overall inflation in the U.S. rose by 24.8%, with food costs surging 29.3% and transportation costs climbing 27.1%...During that period, Medicaid rate increases for disability providers amounted to less than half of those inflationary rises, leaving providers unable to keep pace with skyrocketing costs.”
This opinion piece supporting people with I/DD was also published in other Gannett media outlets throughout the state, including the Daily Messenger, The Evening Tribune, Ithaca Journal, The Journal News, The Leader, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Poughkeepsie Journal, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Star Gazette, Times Herald-Record, Times Telegram, and Utica Observer-Dispatch.
Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, Chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on People with Disabilities wrote an Op-Ed published in the Long Island Press, where she noted, “If New York is to live up to its promise of fairness and inclusion, Governor Hochul should include necessary investments in the 2025-26 budget: a 7.8% rate increase in rates that support services for individuals with disabilities depend on to live, work, and thrive.” She went on to state, “Gov. Hochul, who strongly supported the successful passage of the Equality Amendment, has the chance to turn the tide. She can ensure that individuals with disabilities are fully protected from discrimination by supporting a valued and stable workforce––assuring that New York remains a leader in disability rights.”
Newsday covered the state of the field in light of plans by The People's Arc of Suffolk to sell their Bohemia Headquarters. Additional op-eds are currently in the works for placement.
Save the Date: Legislative and Advocacy Forum
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