Time goes fast and while it seems as if New York State’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget recently passed, Gov. Kathy Hochul will be submitting her next Executive Budget in January two-and-a-half months from now.
The intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) community consistently is given short shrift in New York’s budgets, and many of the crises connected to this vulnerable population have been left to fester and grow.
To have your voice heard, you can join New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) at its Capitol Rally on Tues., Nov. 19, 2024, at the NYS State Capitol Building in Albany. Its focus is the 2025-26 Executive Budget, and it has three legislative priorities it believes will help stabilize support systems:
- Investment in I/DD services through a 7.8% Medicaid rate increase to stabilize nonprofit provider agencies.
- Creation of a Wage Commission to examine the roles and responsibilities of human service workers and establish fair, sustainable compensation standards commensurate with that work.
- Enhanced Capital Funding to help agencies modernize their operations, making them more energy-efficient and in alignment with the state’s climate goals.
“Systemic underfunding has driven us into a critical staffing crisis and left nonprofit provider agencies struggling to provide adequate supports for New Yorkers with disabilities,” Mike Alvaro, NYDA president, tells The Boost in an email. “A 7.8% Medicaid rate increase this year would stop the bleeding and allow every aspect of care — including direct support providers, housing, food, transportation, and more — to receive the necessary resources.”
Rally Details
When: Tues., Nov. 19, 2024
Time: 11 a.m.
Where: New York State Capitol Building, War Room, 2nd Fl., State Street and Washington Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12224
NYDA is a statewide coalition of more than 300 non-profit organizations providing services and support to more than 130,000 New Yorkers with I/DD. For more information on NYDA, visits its website.
