A Message from CEO Erik Geizer (Continued)
ADVOCACY
Gearing Up For Budget Season
Permanently increase wages of Direct Support Professionals through a Direct Support Wage Enhancement (DSWE) Include a 3.2% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to meet rising costs due to inflation achieved a great deal over the past several years, but we must continue the fight to ensure quality supports and services, inclusion and opportunity for New Yorkers with I/DD. Our goals for the 2024-25 Executive Budget are twofold. We are calling on state leaders to: Our budget campaign has begun, and we need your voice! Thanks to your ardent advocacy, we have We've launched a one-click campaign to inform the governor and other representatives of these budget requests. We urge you to add your voice! By participating, you will quickly send a letter to your elected representatives to tell them support for New Yorkers with I/DD must be a priority in this year's budget. We also encourage you to bring your voice directly to the Capitol halls to rally with our New York Disability Advocate (NYDA) partners in support of New Yorkers with I/DD. Join us Wednesday, November 15, at 11:00 am in the War Room on the 2nd floor of the NYS Capitol building. Our goal is to get 400-500 people there as a show of force and solidarity from across the state. Our voices are louder together. Make yours part of the call! Register for the rally here. Information on logistics, messaging for signs, and parking will be released in the near future. Registration is very important, as we are gauging interest for coordinated group transportation. Learn more about our goals and find resources to support your advocacy efforts in our Budget Advocacy toolkit.
In addition to our budget advocacy efforts in New York, we are urging Congress to support the bipartisan bill, "Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act." DSPs are not designated with their own Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As a result, DSP wage and occupation data is not accurately captured. This diminishes the true impact of the workforce crisis and hinders opportunities for professional advancement, certifications, and the pursuit of a lifelong career. The bill recently passed the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee with a unanimous vote. We've created a one-click campaign to quickly send a letter directly to congressional representatives to let them know their support of this bill is critical as we seek to get DSPs the recognition they deserve.
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