From the CP Board of Directors to Governor Kathy Hochul
To the Honorable Governor Kathy Hochul:
Thank you for your work creating a more inclusive and accessible New York for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
As members of the Board of Directors at Constructive Partnerships (CP) Unlimited, we represent a cross-section of advocates, parents, professionals, and leaders from a range of fields and disciplines united by our passion and motivation to help people with I/DD achieve fulfilling lives.
This letter represents our shared recommendation to take a bigger, bolder step forward for the many thousands of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) across the disability field—most of whom are women, People of Color, and often heads of households. Unfortunately, their dedication to our most vulnerable citizens is undermined by their personal worry about how they will continue to support their own families. Right now, our Direct Care workforce average just under $18.00 per hour for their life-sustaining and enhancing activities—as a result, and as a recent university study demonstrated, more than half of DSPs in New York are food or housing-insecure. Surely this is not the standard of living we want to offer people who share an abiding commitment for people with disabilities.
These wages can, and should, be enhanced by the 3.2 percent cost-of-living adjustment proposed in the legislature. However, without a true 3.2% COLA that includes service delivery expenses and other rising costs shouldered by the non-profit agencies who employ DSPs, we miss an opportunity to lessen financial pressure on these vital organizations. We urge you to pass a genuine 3.2% COLA in the SFY25 Enacted Budget alongside the $4,000 Direct Support Wage Enhancement (DSWE) for Direct Support Professionals and all employees.
If enacted, the proposed combined wage improvements would provide a dramatic, public endorsement for the 1,146 DSPs who are part of the CP Family and other agencies throughout New York. Please do all you can to lead the efforts to give our DSPs all they have truly earned.
In Thanks for Your Support,
Ross B. Levin, Board Chair; Aaron P. Medeiros, Vice Chair; William M. Trust, Jr., Treasurer; James D. Hutter, Secretary; Tracy J. Belmear, Director; Jeffrey C. Futterman, Director; Scott G. Kearns, Director; Carol L. Kirkman, Director; Brian J. Litten, Director; V. Rao Nanduri, Director; Blanca J. Ramirez, Director; David A. Solomon, Director; John T. Vlachos, Director; Yvette L. Watts, Director; Stephen C. Lipinski, Director Emeritus
