The 2023 New York State budget season has been one of the most active advocacy initiatives in years. People with disabilities, direct care workers, parents and siblings, executive leadership, and allies have joined with dozens of New York State legislators to codify an 8.5% cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for disability service providers.
Governor Kathy Hochul disappointingly only included a 2.5% COLA in her executive budget proposal released in February. Thanks to distinguished lawmakers such as Senator John Mannion and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, both houses of the New York State Legislature included the full 8.5% COLA in their budget proposal. The executive branch and legislators will now negotiate a final budget, due on April 1st.
Making Up for a Decade of Disinvestment
“For over 10 years, children and adults with developmental disabilities, their families, the workforce, and the providers that support them, have experienced devastating disinvestment in a system that was once a national model,” said Marco Damiani, CEO of AHRC NYC. “Now, we are concerned that we are being left behind again. We cannot let that stand.”
Families and service providers were grateful for the 2022 NYS budget, which included a 5.4% COLA, the first significant investment in the field in over a decade. But it will take additional commitments from NYS government to return to a robust statewide system where direct care workers are fairly compensated and where people with disabilities can expect the best possible community-based services.
“Everyone with and without disabilities should have equal access to employment, housing, and school, especially college,” said Ryan Ford, a self-advocate and graduate of AHRC NYC’s Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program at the College of Staten Island. “I told Kathy Hochul’s office that we need an 8.5% increase in funding so we can keep our DSPs, and so that everybody can get the services that we deserve.”
In virtual meetings with legislators, AHRC NYC Board Members including Laura Kennedy, Anne Gordon, Germaine Laviscount-Scott, and Jeanne Sdroulas have spoken from the heart about their fears for the future of I/DD services. Lawmakers who have expressed their support in these meetings include Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, and Assemblymember Deborah Glick.
Help Us Get to the Finish Line
The budget is due on April 1st. With both houses of the legislature supporting an 8.5% COLA, it is up to Governor Hochul to fulfill her commitment to make New York State the paragon for disability services. Please tag the governor in social media posts @GovKathyHochul on Twitter and Instagram. You can send a message to the governor’s office, or call them at 518-474-8390. And keep contacting your local legislators to ensure their continuing support!
“We have huge support in the legislature and now it is time to do the right thing and make a difference in the lives of 150,000 people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities,” Marco Damiani said. “An 8.5% COLA is an essential next step in remedying so many years of neglect.”
