Advocate

TAKE ACTION ON THESE KEY 2024 ISSUES

AHRC Nassau self-advocates advocate for a higher living wage for direct support professionals.Discussions around the New York State Budget FY 2025 are ongoing. Right now, your advocacy is critical to ensuring essential disability funding is set. Call out for:

  • A 3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for disability providers that does not overly restrict how funds must be allocated.
  • A Direct Support Wage Enhancement (DSWE) based on  (S4127-A/A5268-A).

Send an Email and Share Your Support With Legislators


Where are we in the process?

The governor’s proposed Executive Budget included a 1.5% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), while one-house budgets from the Senate and Assembly included an additional 1.7% COLA increase. This is a promising start recognizing the critical role of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), but unfortunately the language in both one-house bills is too narrow and does not support the full continuum of supports and services needed to successfully support the independence, health, and safety of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). A few examples include transportation, technology, facilities maintenance, and mandated fringe benefits.

While the Senate included the Direct Support Wage Enhancement (DSWE), it was omitted in the Assembly’s one-house bill and the Executive Budget. We need both the COLA and the DSWE if we are going to address the crisis to our support infrastructure.

How to get involved

At the Federal Level

At the federal level, the U.S. Senate passed the “Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) Act” (S.1332/ H.R. 2941), which requires the Office of Management and Budget to consider updating the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and recognizing the DSP role as a distinct profession. This leads to data collection and ideally more robust funding. The bill now goes to the House Representatives.

Send an email to your member of Congress