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Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Allegany Arc Supports #3for5

WELLSVILLE, NY - Allegany Arc’s Chief Executive Officer Mike Damiano recently attended a Joint Legislative & Advocacy Event in Albany along with his son, Joe Damiano who is a Self-Advocate.  Mike Damiano said “Direct Support Professionals (DSP) are the backbone of agencies like Allegany Arc.  They deserve higher wages and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve the highest quality of support from a dynamic workforce that is passionate about what they do.  We have that now, but our DSPs certainly don’t earn the wages they richly deserve.” 
Across New York State, agencies like Allegany Arc provide comprehensive and individualized services and programs that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in all areas of their lives.  A decade of under-investment threatens the future of this system.  Over the last decade, non-profits supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities received only one funding increase of 0.2% while other Medicaid-funded industries received much more.  One third of providers in New York State had to cut programs or reduce services in the last three years due to funding constraints, impacting nearly 50,000 New Yorkers with disabilities.  
New York Disability Advocates is a statewide coalition representing more than 300 non-profit organizations providing vital supports and services to more than 140,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Their solution, one we hope everyone will support is #3for5:  An annual 3% funding increase for five years.  This multi-year commitment from the state is crucial for the continuation of cost-efficient care, as well as investments in the workforce and much needed technology and facility modernization. 
Joe Damiano said of the Joint Legislative & Advocacy Event, “It was an awesome trip and I was very blessed to have experienced it.”  Joe Damiano continued, “We need to urge our people in Congress to support the #3for5 so we don’t lose people that work with us because of higher wages someplace else.”  
Allegany Arc’s CEO Mike Damiano agreed saying, “We have made strides in getting DSPs a better wage but we have a ways to go.  Staff work tirelessly, spending long hours at jobs they love for people we support.  To say I am thankful for our employees’ incredible dedication is such an understatement.  We need to do more for staff.  And we need to do more for people with I/DD so they can continue to depend on the quality services they rely on.”   
If you would like more information on #3for5, please visit www.nyalliance.org.  For more information about Allegany Arc and some of our programs, please visit www.AlleganyArc.org.