Mental health, substance use and disability advocates testified at a legislative budget hearing on Tuesday about what they say is a lack of funding in the governor’s executive budget for the mental hygiene workforce. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget includes a 1.2% cost-of-living adjustment for providers — an increase that advocates say is not enough…Read More…

We are seriously concerned that Gov. Kathy Hochul did not include a direct support professional wage enhancement or a full cost-of-living adjustment in her 2024-2025 executive budget for not-for-profit agencies, such as Aspire of WNY, People Inc., Community Services for Every 1, ARC of WNY, SASI and others who serve about 85% of people with…Read More…

To the Editor: To New York state legislators and Gov. Kathy Hochul, I am the sister and legal guardian of a sibling with an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD). She resides in Onondaga County in New York state and receives services from the Arc of Onondaga. I live in Virginia, and have been her long-distance…Read More…

Disability service organizations and advocates have renewed their push for a cost of living adjustment and wage enhancement for direct support professionals to be included in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget as high vacancy rates continue to squeeze the industry. Direct support professionals who work with New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities make an…Read More…

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Elected officials joined together with the Developmental Disability Alliance of Western New York (DDAWNY) on Thursday to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to raise the wage for direct support professionals, or DSPs. DSPs work directly with someone with a disability to make sure they have access to basic needs from getting out…Read More…

What happens when nonprofits that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can’t recruit and retain enough staff to provide daily care for the 140,000 vulnerable New Yorkers who can’t function without it? It’s not a theoretical question, say agency leaders like Randi Castro-Rios, CEO of Jawonio, which operates group homes and programs throughout the…Read More…

Groups that advocate for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities are asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to provide more money for needed services. They say more than a decade of neglect has pushed them to the breaking point. The effort, named “Invest in Me,” includes CP State, a not-for-profit organization with nearly 30 affiliates that provide…Read More…

Lawmakers in Albany failed the disability community this past session. They failed providers, caregivers, family members and, most importantly, individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Organizations throughout the state made clear to legislators and Gov. Kathy Hochul that without a significant increase in pay for direct-support professionals, the ongoing staffing crisis would reach dire…Read More…

Advocacy groups say a workforce shortage is causing group homes helping Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be understaffed. View video here.Read More…

CAPITAL REGION, NY (WRGB) — Chances are you may know someone who has a developmental or intellectual disability; for the last 70 years ARC New York has worked with that someone on everyday tasks. Currently the non-profit and other organizations serving this population are seeing critical staff shortages. “We have a number of vacancies and we have had…Read More…