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Advocacy Resources

 

 

New Budget Advocacy Strategy and Toolkit

As you are well aware, Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget did not include our budget requests of an 8.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and $4000 Direct Support Wage Enhancement, which we have been championing since fall 2022. While we did receive a 2.5% COLA, it is not nearly enough to make up for over a decade of underinvestment investment, during which we received an overall COLA totaling only 6.6%, which pales in comparison to inflation of more than 27% over the same time period.

Our actions over the next few weeks and our interactions with legislators will be vital to our advocacy success. To support your meetings and messaging we have developed updated one-page handouts for legislators and additional talking points with our NYDA partners. We have also developed two template Op-eds for you to customize and submit to media outlets in your community. One is focused on the critical need for funding and our budget requests, and is suitable for submission by providers or family members. The other focuses on the disparity in Direct Support pay between state-operated and voluntary providers, and is more appropriate for providers.

One of the most important requests for these meetings is for legislators to send a letter to their leadership in their respected houses about our requests. When you meet or message your legislator, please provide them with this template. If they are amenable to sending the letter, follow up to receive the copy they have sent. Please do not simply have them forward the template as is, without their signature. We are tracking this and depending on you!

These materials can be found below, and in our Budget Advocacy Toolkit.

Budget Advocacy Toolkit Materials

 

 

 

 

 

Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) Covid-19 Report

The DDPC has announced the release of their report on New York State’s response to COVID-19 for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

The Arc New York State Office and Executive Directors Association met with DDPC representatives in June to share our experience during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Our office provided DDPC representatives with materials relating to the state’s response and access to our COVID-19 updates to assist with developing the report. DDPC engaged with over 2,000 self-advocates, parents and providers to hear stories about how the pandemic and state’s response impacted them. The report includes DDPC findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature. Some of the recommendations include the following:

  • Create an emergency management plan specific to the I/DD community
  • Include the I/DD community in the COVID-19 review RFP issued by the Governor's Office on July 20, 2022.
  • Make health and safety rules easy to understand and easy to access, especially for people with I/DD in underserved communities. Give the rules to providers and CCOs as soon as possible.
  • Think of the I/DD community's needs when making rules about visitation, hospital discharge, vaccinations, testing, mask wearing and quarantining.
  • Create a plan to keep sustain services for people in the I/DD community, including people in the community or with special needs like being medically fragile.
  • Work with local emergency management offices to make a plan to meet the needs of the I/DD community.
  • Train first responders to understand and respond to the special needs of the I/DD community during a public emergency.
  • Make data collection easier and improve access to data during an emergency.
  • Improve coordination between NYS agencies and local government offices during a public emergency.
  • Increase staffing to support people with I/DD.
  • Make other housing options in the community more available for people with I/DD.
  • Maintain waivers to continue flexibility for providers and offer more flexibility to people with I/DD who self-direct.
  • Help people with I/DD use the internet, get computers and access online programs and services.
  • Partner with organizations to improve communication with underserved communities.
  • Promote the mental wellness of people with I/DD, family caregivers and the I/DD workforce.