Aretha Franklin’s iconic demand for R-E-S-P-E-C-T resonates today as a rallying cry for New York’s disability community— a field that has long been undervalued despite its critical contributions to our state. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities — I/DD — remain insufficiently integrated into our health system, schools, and communities, while the dedicated workers who…Read More…

Hundreds of Advocates at New York Capitol Urged Lawmakers To Address Decades Of Inadequate Funding and Support People With Disabilities ALBANY, NY – On Tuesday, November 19th, over 300 members of New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) coalition rallied in the War Room of the Capitol to urge lawmakers to support a stable care system for…Read More…

11 a.m. – New York Disability Advocates rally at the New York State Capitol to encourage legislators to support a stable care system for people with disabilities in New York, New York State Capitol Building, War Room, second floor, State Street and Washington Avenue, Albany.Read More…

New York State’s final $237 billion budget fails to meet the needs of New Yorkers with disabilities, their families, the workforce that supports them and the nonprofit provider agencies. Awareness days and months serve as important reminders of the challenges facing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Yet, these efforts, combined with the voices of…Read More…

A call for a Cost-Of-Living-Adjustment for nonprofit providers and a Direct Support Wage Enhancement to give direct care workers a much-needed bump in pay. My son Jonathan is 38-years-old and living with autism. He resides in a group home and attends a day habilitation program. Like many others living with a disability, Jonathan’s life is…Read More…

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Direct support professionals are individuals who provide people with disabilities help with their everyday needs. According to the state’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, there’s more than 100,000 across New York state. They’re an essential part of how Betsy Irish lives her everyday life. “She requires assistance with every activity of life, dressing,…Read More…

Direct Support Professionals and non-profit provider agencies are the backbone of our state’s care service sector with over 85% of the responsibility for supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  The forecast is bleak with no relief in sight with the hemorrhaging of staff costing providers $100.5M annually.  We must fund a comprehensive 3.2% Cost…Read More…

One of the key ways to gauge the integrity of any democratic government is the ability to represent and protect its most vulnerable constituents. Policies and actions that meet these criteria serve as a litmus test of the values and priorities we all strive for. This year, our elected officials in both the Senate and…Read More…

We are confronted with a dire need to invest resources to address an employment crisis. With the New York State budget deadline fast approaching, the support and well-being of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) is at risk. Often overlooked, 11% of New Yorkers are living with an intellectual or developmental disability. Each person…Read More…

More than 130,000 New Yorkers are living with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and 85% of them are served by nonprofit providers. Over the last decade, the nonprofit I/DD community has experienced a dramatic shortfall in staffing, high turnover rates, and rising costs of operations that are no longer met by Medicaid funding. This gap…Read More…