716-483-2344
Jamestown, NY
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716-483-2344Jamestown, NY
The NYS Senate and Assembly released their one-house budget proposals, which increased the 2.5% cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) proposed by Governor Hochul to 8.5% for voluntary providers! This is a huge victory and it could not have been accomplished without your hard work and diligence. Thank you!!!
However, we are not yet over the finish line and need your help once again to get there. We need to thank legislators and tell them that anything less than 8.5% is non-negotiable and send a message to Governor Hochul to adopt the 8.5% COLA in the Enacted Budget. Both messages will be sent automatically with one-click.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) leverage the services of direct support professionals (DSPs) in order to live and work in their homes and communities. However, low wages due to stagnant reimbursement rates have led to high turnover and vacancy rates in the DSP workforce. The loss of DSPs across the field has left many people without stable access to home- and community-based supports.
Because we need data to understand the scope of the workforce crisis before we can fully solve the problem, the creation of a standard occupational classification (SOC) for DSPs is essential to ensuring people with I/DD have access to critical supports and services. A unique SOC for DSPs would help states and the federal government collect data on demographics and turnover rates. This, in turn, will help inform policies to address the workforce shortage. A DSP SOC will also help states more accurately set rates, which could positively impact DSP wages.
Tell your members of Congress today to support the bipartisan “Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act” (H.R. 4779 / S. 1437), which requires the Office of Management and Budget to establish a separate category within the Standard Occupational Classification system for DSPs.
Governor Kathy Hochul released her FY 2024 Executive Budget. In her address she asked us whether her administration were doing the hard things to lift up and support all New Yorkers, if her administration was committed to providing opportunity for every New Yorker, and if her administration met the moment of making the New York dream a reality for all New Yorkers.
Unfortunately, that answer is no for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), their families, and the hardworking staff who support people with I/DD every day.
This is our chance to tell the governor and legislators that this is unacceptable and we are a priority!
In the U.S., support for people with disabilities and older adults who need assistance with everyday activities can be unpredictable, unaffordable, and often unavailable.
Too many families are at a breaking point because of severe underfunding in care programs—and it’s time for a long-overdue investment in these supports and services!
We need:
We can and must do better to support people with disabilities, older adults, family caregivers, and the direct care workforce!
Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are essential workers who provide daily care, services and supports to people with intellectual and developmentally disabilities (I/DD) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Caring for people with complex needs is a rewarding yet challenging job, which requires ongoing training, high-level of responsibility, and skill.
We are calling on Congress, NYS Legislature, and Governor Hochul to:
With just a few clicks you can directly send our representatives a message by using this online form. You may customize who you are in the first paragraph as you see fit (parent, self-advocate, caretaker, supporter, etc.).
New York State’s failure to recognize and fully support the specialty care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) has created a separate and unequal system of health care. NY’s Medicaid policy has led to people with I/DD being denied equitable access to care simply because the cost of care for their complex needs is higher than that for the typical Medicaid population. People with disabilities require more time, expertise, follow up and care integration, which when provided will save system costs and improve health outcomes.
Urge your legislators to support New Yorkers with disabilities and make health equity a priority in New York state!
Governor Hochul will release her SFY 2023-24 Executive Budget next Wednesday, February 1st. NYAPRS is one of 12 statewide advocacy organizations who are working collaboratively to educate the Hochul Administration and Legislature on the need for an 8.5% COLA and $500 million rate adjustment for hard pressed community based mental health and addiction recovery focused services across New York State.
We are calling on all of you to use the link below today, Friday, January 27th to urge the Governor to include these recommendation in her proposed budget.
We hope you will take a moment out of your busy schedule for this last minute push! Please feel free to forward to your staff, friends and community members.
Thank you in advance for your efforts!
For decades, New York state has not made adequate investments to sustain the essential programs and services people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) rely on. This systemic underfunding has driven us into a critical staffing crisis and eroded New York’s system of supports for its citizens with I/DD. The data speaks for itself:
Now we must inform Governor Hochul how she can help address these issues in her 2023-24 Executive Budget. Our goals are twofold:
The current Congress is in its final days before new members are sworn in on January 3 and the balance of power in Washington quickly starts to shift.
The tight timeframe means there is an opportunity, as lawmakers will be laser-focused on passing a spending bill to keep the government funded. This spending bill could also include additional priorities focused on health and disability policies.
ANCOR is advocating for several of its policy priorities to be included in any year-end legislation that passes Congress. Such policy priorities, if included in the legislation, have the potential to strengthen home- and community-based services, create economic opportunities, and prohibit practices that endanger the health and well-being of people with disabilities.
ANCOR supports the following policies:
Congress should permanently reauthorize the Money Follows the Person program, which would support people to transition out of institutional settings and into home- and community-based settings.
Congress should expand eligibility for tax-favored ABLE (a Better Life Experience) Accounts, which allow people with disabilities to save for and pay for disability-related expenses, by raising the maximum qualifying age from 26 to 46.
Congress should raise the asset limit in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program so that people are not forced to choose between poverty or receiving benefits.
Congress should end the use of electric shock devices on people with disabilities, a practice still in place at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts.
Please contact your members of Congress today and tell them to support these policies!
In short, current auditing practices are unfair to providers and have led some to reduce or discontinue services. This is not what our fragile healthcare system needs right now.
Please urge Governor Hochul to provide protections from these predatory auditing practices.
200 Dunham Avenue, Jamestown, NY, 14701