Visits-Calls-E-Mails-Needed!!!!!
Please join MACS and The Arc Maryland for the KEEP THE PROMISE LOBBY NIGHT in Annapolis next Monday, March 9, 2015. The budget committees will be making decisions very soon, and we need a strong grassroots advocacy push in order to ensure that direct support staff do not become minimum wage workers, and that funding for the DDA Waiting List is provided in FY 2016.
It is absolutely critical that as many people as possible come to Annapolis next Monday evening to educate their legislators about these critical issues. We are advocating that the General Assembly restore the 3.5% rate increase ($9 million) for DDA community services in FY 2016 and that $3 million be provided in FY 2016 for the Crisis Resolution category of the DDA Waiting List.
The Lobby Night will begin at 4:15 pm in the Senate Finance Committee Room, located in 3 East, Miller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen Street Annapolis, Maryland 21401. We will begin briefing people at 4:30 pm on these two critical issues. Briefing sheets and KEEP THE PROMISE buttons will be available. As attendees arrive at the Finance Committee, we will brief people in rounds before sending them off to meet with their legislators.
Attendees are advised to make every effort to schedule an appointment with their legislators for next Monday evening between 5:00 and 7:45 pm. The General Assembly will go into Session beginning at 8 pm, and will not be available for meetings after that time. If you are unsure of who your legislators are, please visit www.mdelect.net, type in your address, and on the left-hand column, you will see a list that includes your State Senator and State Delegate(s). You can also access current contact information in The Arc Baltimore 2015 Legislative Guide.
Please note that you must have a Photo ID in order to enter State Office Buildings. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Mary Snyder and if you expect to be part of a large group, please let her know that as well. We ask that you come to Annapolis, and urge people who receive supports, their families, staff, Board members, and others to attend the KEEP THE PROMISE Lobby Night next Monday, March 9.
NOTE: If you would like to attend, but could use assistance with transportation, The Arc Baltimore will organize car pools. To access a car pool, contact Lauren Seabolt or 410-296-2272 ext. 5210.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND LOBBY NIGHT ON MONDAY,
please make a call or send a letter at your earliest convenience.
See background and message points below
WHY: Gov. Hogan's proposed budget for FY 16 cut in half the mandated funding increase for DD community supports, from 3.5% to 1.75% -- but the General Assembly can restore funding!
Last year, the General Assembly passed a bill (The Maryland Minimum Wage Act of 2014) that increased the State minimum wage, AND mandated a 3.5% rate increase for DDA-licensed community services each year form FY 2016 through FY 2019.
The 3.5% rate increase keeps State reimbursement for direct support wages at approximately 30% above the minimum wage. State reimbursement must cover all direct support staff, regardless of seniority. It is not a starting wage.
Former Governor Martin O'Malley cut the 4% FY 2015 rate increase in half, and Governor Hogan's FY 2016 budget cut the mandated rate increase in half to 1.75%.
As a result, funding to keep direct support staff from becoming minimum wage workers has started a dramatic downward spiral from which we will not recover unless action is taken THIS SESSION.
WHAT TO SAY:
PLEASE BE SURE TO PERSONALIZE YOUR EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS! Below are some message points, but please use your own words as much as possible, and explain why funding for developmental disability supports is important to you. Feel free to include a photo if you'd like.
Please restore the full 3.5% rate increase for DDA community services as mandated in the Maryland Minimum Wage Act of 2014.
The General Assembly can amend the BRFA and restore the full 3.5% rate increase with approximately $9 million in General Funds.
If the 3.5% rate increase is not fully restored, providers across Maryland will struggle to keep direct support wages at a level needed to recruit and retain qualified staff.
With the FY 15 budget cut, DDA's reimbursement rate for direct support wages is the lowest it has ever been in comparison to the minimum wage - it is now just 25% above the current minimum wage of $8.00 per hour.
If the 3.5% rate increase is not fully restored, State reimbursement for direct support wages will be lower than the minimum wage in Prince George's and Montgomery Counties by FY 2017.
Chronic underfunding of DD supports and services has made it increasingly difficult for community providers to meet the needs of the 25,000 people they support, especially those with more intensive needs.
The 8,000 people on DDA's Waiting List, and the over 600 Transitioning Youth each year, need strong providers to help them live and work in the community.
Marylanders with developmental disabilities and their families are relying on you to ensure that DDA community direct support staff do not become minimum wage workers.
We are counting on you to not leave people with developmental disabilities behind. If the minimum wage continues to increase as passed last year, funding for DD services must also increase as mandated in the same bill.
KEEP THE PROMISE and restore the 3.5% rate increase for DDA community services in FY 2016!
WHO TO CONTACT:
Contact your Senator and Delegates in the MD General Assembly.
If you're not sure who your legislators are:
Visit www.mdelect.net, type in your address and click "Find."
On the left side of the page, you will see "Your Elected Officials."
Look under "State Delegates" and "State Senator." Click on your Delegates' names and your Senator to find their email addresses and phone numbers. You may have as many as 3 Delegates listed- please contact all of them, in addition to your State Senator.
Click here for a list of the House Appropriations and Senate Budget & Taxation Committee Members. If one or more of your legislators are on this list, it is especially important that you contact them. These two committees will be making decisions regarding the DDA budget in the coming weeks.
