Op-Ed: We need to fix a problem, by Senator Weber

by New York State Senator Bill Weber (R, Nanuet).  Weber serves as the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Standing Committee on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

We need to fix a problem.

Budgets are about priorities, and for years, New York has not prioritized the salaries of workers who provide direct care support to individuals with developmental disabilities.

According to The Arc New York, the largest organization serving people with developmental disabilities, 85 percent of the people who need these services receive them from non-profit agencies. While their counterparts at the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities receive wages reflective of their crucial role, the employees of these non-profits do not.

How can we justify this disparity between workers employed by the state and those employed by non-profits who do the same job?

That’s why I co-sponsored and voted for S4127A as the Ranking Member of the Senate Disabilities Committee. S4127A “Establishes a direct support wage enhancement to employees that provide direct care support or any other form of treatment, to individuals with developmental disabilities and whose income is less than $125,000.” Its companion bill in the New York State Assembly is A5268A.

Our committee unanimously voted on January 29th to pass this legislation to the Senate Finance Committee. We strongly believe this should be included in this year’s budget.

We all know it is too expensive to live in New York, and New York spends too much money on nonessential projects and services. These are essential employees who provide essential services.

Paying these essential employees at a level only slightly above minimum wage is not acceptable. It has created a staffing shortage that is negatively affecting our disabled community. The support from these committed professionals is vital to their success, but many are forced to leave the job they love to earn more money.

This bipartisan…