Tag: direct support professionals

More than 300 members of the New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) have a message for Albany: Support the needs of direct support professionals (DSPs) as national policies shift and costs continue to rise.

These are pressures faced across the state, including in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“On Long Island, we’ve seen how inflation and rising costs affect every part of the care system,” Walter Stockton, president and CEO of Manorville-based Kinexion, said in a news release about a recent NYDA rally in Albany held earlier this week.

Kinexion is a management service organization that supports seven not-for-profit organizations on Long Island.  Stockton said that investment “in provider agencies and their staff will help stabilize services and ensure people with disabilities continue to get the care they deserve.”

Stockton was joined at the rally by leaders of nonprofit agencies across the state, several members of the state legislature, direct support professionals, family members and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Now, advocates are calling for a “CareForce Affordability Agenda” to meet the needs of those whose work involves caring for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

To address these needs, NYDA is advocating for a 2.7 percent targeted inflationary increase to keep Medicaid reimbursement in line with costs and allow nonprofit agencies to fairly compensate DSPs while maintaining essential services such as utilities, transportation, food, insurance and housing.

The organization also supports affordability initiatives, including a CareForce Affordable Housing Lottery Preference, an Employer-Assisted Housing Matching Grant Program, and SONYMA CareForce incentives to expand homeownership. Additional measures include funding for childcare, an expanded New York State Child Tax Credit for human services workers, and increased healthcare coverage to address workforce affordability challenges.

NYDA also calls for investments in infrastructure and the care system to modernize facilities serving people with intellectual and development disabilities. This includes supporting innovative service models, implementing climate-friendly upgrades and ensuring providers can properly maintain homes for the individuals they serve.

Advocates say that over the past five years, New York provided a cumulative 15.8 percent inflationary increase to providers, resulting in measurable gains for agencies. Since 2021, frontline staff vacancies fell 43.5 percent, staff turnover dropped 6.1 percent, and statewide starting wages rose 28.6 percent. Continued investment is needed, advocates say, to maintain this progress and prevent a return to earlier workforce shortages and funding shortfalls.

And while many DSPs find their work rewarding, they struggle with meeting expenses. Half face food insecurity, and half experience housing insecurity, according to NYDA.

Investing in affordability for DSPs would strengthen local economies and communities across the state, advocates say.  It would help reduce turnover, ensure consistent care for people with disabilities, boost local spending, support small businesses and increase housing stability and property tax revenues, promoting workforce stability statewide.

Advocates say the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has created uncertainty about the state’s healthcare commitments. New York provider agencies rely almost entirely on Medicaid, and while the federal cuts exclude the intellectual and developmental disabilities care system, experts stress the need for continued state investment as inflation drives up costs.

Federal cuts are eliminating $7.5 billion for the New York Essential Plan, a state‐sponsored health insurance program, which provides health coverage to New Yorkers in households earning up to $39,125 for a single adult or $80,375 for a family of four who are not eligible for Medicaid, according to NYDA. Ending the plan would put hundreds of thousands, including DSPs and other frontline care workers, at risk of losing affordable healthcare.

Rising inflation has increased operational costs for provider agencies, with essential expenses such as transportation, food and housing rising, while New York State’s inflationary increase for non-profit care agencies has not kept pace with real costs, according to NYDA. Lower-wage workers, including direct support professionals and frontline care staff, are disproportionately affected, facing severe housing insecurity as rent often consumes more than half of their income, advocates say.