As a New York State Assemblymember and Chair of the People with Disabilities Committee, my colleagues and I in Albany are vigorously fighting to address the severe crisis facing the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) community. As we approach the final days of budget negotiations, we are at a critical fork in the road in…Read More…

The day Sean was born was the best day of my life. I remember when I first saw him, I knew I would go to the ends of the Earth to ensure he had every opportunity to thrive. So, when we found out he had autism at two years of age, my priority was building…Read More…

NEW YORK – The bond between 27-year-old Dylan Snaith, who’s non-verbal autistic, and Courtney, his direct support professional (DSP), didn’t happen overnight. It took years of trust, dedication and love. But relationships like these are on the verge of disappearing.  Advocates say wages within the DSP field are disproportionately low, and while the minimum wage was increased nationally, New…Read More…

Before I had a home, parts of my childhood were spent in and out of a surgery-turned-housing-institution for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in Western New York. When I returned as an adult years later to work on campus, I could still smell the Band-aids in the air and a mixed emotional flood…Read More…

Nearly 130,000 caregivers around New York who take care of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) are keeping closer tabs on whether the new state budget will include a pay raise for them. The workers, known as direct support professionals (DSPs), currently earn not much more than minimum wage and are advocating for an…Read More…

Last month in the War Room of the Capitol in Albany there was a rallying cry: “DSPs do serious work! DSPs deserve serious pay!” Today, that rallying cry continues to be the message that advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are spreading amid a dire crisis impacting the nonprofits and workforces in…Read More…

Paul Joslyn has been the Executive Director of AccessCNY since 2016 and prior to that was the COOof Unity House in Auburn. AccessCNY’s team includes over 1,400 staff that serve over 2,400 people with a developmental disability or mental health diagnosis. Ellen Gutmaker joined Arc of Onondaga in 1999 and has served as executive director…Read More…

ALBANY — Disability rights advocate Bernard Carabello would have liked to be an attorney, something he wishes more people would ask him about. But more often than not, Carabello, 73, is peppered with questions about a much darker period in his life: the 18 years he spent as a child and young adult at the…Read More…

The state Senate and Assembly want to more than triple the 2.5% cost-of-living raise Gov. Kathy Hochul plans for workers who aid New Yorkers with developmental disabilities. But they scrapped a key wage hike for the majority of direct support professionals who work for nonprofit agencies and make barely more than minimum wage. Russell Snaith…Read More…

The New York Disability Alliance is holding a rally on Thursday in Albany to urge lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul to reach an agreement on an 8.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for direct support professionals (DSPs). DSPs provide aid to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).  According to Kevin Horrigan, vice president of…Read More…