On Tuesday, July 20, The Arc of Massachusetts submitted written testimony for the Hearing of the Joint Committees on Ways & Means and the House Committee on the Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight regarding the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for addressing essential services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the Commonwealth.
This is the time. Years of minimal rate increases have resulted in chronic vacancies in direct care positions in our disability sector. Nationally, before COVID-19, turnover rates were higher than 40%. But add the Commonwealth’s red hot real estate market to the mix, and you can imagine the crisis many families, individuals, and agencies face.
Massachusetts is facing a workforce shortage crisis for direct support workers, which has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis affects staff support for families and individuals with intellectual & developmental disabilities (I/DD) and autism in home, day, employment and residential settings.
As The Arc of Massachusetts continues our commitment to promoting and ensuring equity in healthcare, we’re thrilled to announce that Maura Sullivan, our Director of Government Affairs and Operation House Call, is participating as part of the faculty panel for the National Health Equity Summit happening this week (6/7-6/10).
