The Arc is pleased to announce that the new House and Senate Conference Budget includes $225 million for rates with a focus on staffing.
Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano (left) and Senate President Karen Spilka (right)
Additionally, language is included to address raising rate determinations for salaries above the 50th percentile in the Bureau of Labor Statistics for our state. However, the bill still needs to pass both branches though the likelihood is strong.
The supplemental budget that Governor Charlie Baker filed in late August was melded into the economic development conference committee report.
Thank you to the conferees, General Court leadership, Ways and Means, and strong support from many legislators. We will announce some of them in our next update.
The Arc kept up our strong advocacy from the start of the session. But we want to recognize the work of the Collaborative, which is a combination of trade organizations. A special shout out especially to our colleagues at the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers (ADDP), the trade organization in our field which has kept a focus on the impact on agencies in our field, and our friends at ABH.
The legislature’s decision to move on this vital need is big step in addressing our workforce crisis at the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and at MassHealth.
We and others need to continue strong communication so we can have a fully responsive workforce!
