Agencies Serving People with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Rally for Fair Wages
The S:US leadership team, staff, and people served with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) joined I/DD agencies in Albany on Monday, February 12, to advocate for fair wages for the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce.
“Disability advocates and their caretakers from across the state are fighting for a 3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for staff, up from Hochul’s proposed 1.5%. COLA funding helps nonprofits with food, supplies, transportation, maintenance, employee benefits, insurance costs and more,” according to an article written by Spectrum 1. The agencies are also advocating for a Direct Support Wage Enhancement to give employees who make under $125,000 annually a $4,000 benefit — increasing pay by $2.19 per hour. Click here to read the article.
DSPs are a lifeline to people I/DD. With compassion and dedication, they provide vital assistance with everything from meeting daily needs, such as medication administration, to companionship and a variety of other supports to help people contribute to their communities and enjoy all that life has to offer. DSPs also help people learn how to do things for themselves. It is because of their care and compassion that people who receive our services continue to have enriching and rewarding lives.