Who: HeartShare Human Services and peer non-profits, who belong to the Interagency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc.

What: Rally at New York City Hall

When: Friday, July 15, 2016 at 11 AM

Where: Steps of City Hall in Manhattan

Why: Direct Support Professionals and other staff who work in programs that support adults and children with developmental disabilities are grossly underpaid. These worker’s salaries rely exclusively on funding included in the State budget.  This situation has been exacerbated by the nearly total lack of any increase for the past eight years. These dedicated workers are required to perform complex and sophisticated life sustaining work including medication administration, CPR, safe behavioral de-escalation and intervention and service delivery documentation used to bill Medicaid.
To bring attention to this issue, advocates for children and adults with developmental disabilities including family members, DSPs and other low wage workers such as cooks, maintenance, and other support staff in our schools and adult programs, self-advocates and provider agencies have launched the #bFair2DirectCare campaign.
The #bFair2DirectCare campaign will host a series of news conferences and events, including the July 15th rally, to bring attention to this critical issue throughout the state and will continue until the adoption of the 2016-17 New York State budget