Brooklyn Developmental Disabilities Council

On behalf of IAC and NYDA – please see the attached template letter from NYDA for your agency to share with people you support, families, and elected officials, to ask them to send to the Governor, between now and the winter holidays.

Feel free to edit the letter without changing the focus. Personal stories and experiences always add to the impact and importance of the priorities.

Governor Hochul is working on the NYS Budget NOW!

Tell her what we need: Join SOS’s Call The Governor Campaign!

We need to get her attention so she understands the importance of our workforce for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and their families.

For the past 2 years, there has been no state investment for the direct care staff who work for not-for-profit agencies, just those who work in State Operated Facilities.

Please take 5 minutes to call Governor Hochul to urge her to include money for Direct Care Staff who work in non-profit provider agencies as one of her budget priorities.

Instructions:
Step 1: Call Governor Hochul’s office at 518-474-8390, Press 3, then press 2 to speak to a person or 1 to leave a message (NOTE: you may be on hold for a long time if you select to speak with a representative!)

Script: My name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR CITY/TOWN] and I am a (person with IDD/family member of a person with IDD/friend of a person with IDD). I am calling to urge Governor Hochul to include money, in her Executive Budget Proposal for Direct Care Staff who work for the not-for-profit providers who support people with IDD. These workers are essential to the health, safety, and quality of life of people with IDD, but earn barely above minimum wage and struggle to support their own families. Our state has a terrible worker shortage because NY doesn’t pay a living wage for non-profit Direct Care Staff. We need Gov Hochul to include a wage increase for Direct Care Staff who work for NON PROFIT IDD PROVIDERS in her Executive Budget proposal.

Step 2: Please click on this link so we can track the number of calls to the
Governor. https://forms.gle/DcGgBUkNgbtPnmxX9

Make sure to join the next BK DD Council general monthly meeting on October 23rd, 2023 for a special presentation by Kelly Weiss from the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence.

The presentation will focus on the collaboration project between NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and NYS Council on Developmental Disabilities (formerly known as the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council). NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is partnering with the Council on Developmental Disabilities to increase services for people with developmental disabilities who have experienced domestic and/or sexual violence. 

Goals of the Project:

• Develop trainings and resources for developmental disability providers
  • How to respond to someone who has been a victim of violence
  • Community services that are available for survivors
  • Risk assessment and referral processes
• Develop trainings and resources for domestic violence providers and rape crisis programs
  • Developmental disabilities, rooted in the social model of disability
  • Reasonable accommodations
  • Process for determining capacity to consent to sexual activity
  • Adaptations that will increase accessibility to services for survivors with developmental disabilities
• Build connections between systems, such as, developmental disability providers and domestic violence/rape crisis program providers
• Equip disability providers to offer sexuality education and violence prevention programming for people receiving services
• Identify long-term, sustainable solutions

Contact: Kelly Weiss, Project Coordinator at NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, kelly.weiss@opdv.ny.gov, 518-937-1431

INCLUDEnyc’s mission is to promote positive futures and enhance the quality of life for New York City children and youth with disabilities, ages birth through 26, and their families. INCLUDEnyc empowers families of children and youth with disabilities with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to make informed decisions, effectively access and navigate systems and services, and advocate for themselves and other young people with disabilities and their families. INCLUDEnyc supports educators, youth workers, and other professionals to partner with families for successful, person-centered services, and to support and promote a family voice in the policy process.

For a calendar of their upcoming events and workshops, please visit the link below:

https://includenyc.org/events/

For more details on this FREE event, please see the flyer below, and remember to attend our meeting on Monday September 18th where representatives from CP Unlimited will be presenting on this upcoming event, as well as other events that benefit the I/DD population throughout Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs.