Caregivers are the difference between isolation and opportunity for New Yorkers with disabilities. Address their low wages, along with housing and child care, to stabilize this essential workforce.
By Michael Seereiter, For the Times Union
March 24, 2026
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As lawmakers finalize New York’s budget, they face a choice that will profoundly affect families across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley: whether to meaningfully invest in the system that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In regions defined less by urban density and more by small towns, with long distances between services, the challenges are especially acute. Geography is not just an inconvenience; it is a barrier to stability, workforce retention and access to care.
Direct-support professionals provide hands-on, round-the-clock assistance that allows people with disabilities — like my brother — to live safely, work, build relationships and participate in their communities. Their work is skilled, essential and deeply human.
Yet the workforce is under extraordinary pressure. In many parts of the Capital Region and Hudson Valley, direct-support professionals often travel long distances to reach the people they support. Public transportation options are limited or nonexistent. For many, owning a car is not optional; it’s the only way to get to work.
Car ownership comes with rising insurance premiums, fuel costs and maintenance expenses. Add unpredictable schedules, overnight shifts and harsh winter weather and the burden grows heavier.
That is why a 4% targeted inflationary increase in this year’s budget must be the priority. It is necessary to allow the nonprofit providers, who deliver 85% of services to people with disabilities in New York, to keep pace with rising costs and preserve reliable care across our region.
Compensation remains the most pressing issue. While investments over these past several years have improved direct-support professionals’ wages, we still have a long way to go. We can’t afford to let their wages and benefits lose ground to competition in other sectors.
When experienced direct-support professionals leave, the consequences are immediate: Staff shortages bring service disruptions and increased pressure on families like mine.
Lawmakers should also continue advancing solutions that support this workforce beyond the state budget. Establishing a CareForce Affordable Housing Lottery Preference within state-supported housing programs (S.8676) would help reduce commute times, ease financial strain and improve retention. When direct-support professionals can live in the communities they serve, continuity of care improves, burnout declines and quality of life is strengthened.
Child care presents another serious obstacle, as these professionals routinely work evenings, weekends and holidays, precisely when most programs are closed or charge higher rates.
According to the state comptroller’s office, costs have risen nearly 18% in recent years, and many communities are now considered child care deserts. Too often, caregivers are left relying on patchwork arrangements that can collapse without notice, forcing missed shifts and disrupting care. Strengthening the state’s Child and Dependent Care Credit would help offset these costs and support workforce retention.
These services are not an abstract line item. They are the difference between isolation and opportunity for thousands of New Yorkers with disabilities and their families.
As budget negotiations continue, lawmakers must act with urgency and foresight. Investing in care today ensures a stronger, more inclusive New York tomorrow.
Michael Seereiter is the president and CEO of New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation and a board member of New York Disability Advocates.