Last week, CEO Maura Sullivan provided testimony regarding the rates for Community-Based Day Support Services. The rates are reviewed periodically, and this year’s review brought modest increases.
In her testimony, Maura shared the importance of these services and why the state must continue to invest in them. She stated, “As you know, Community-Based Day Support (CBDS) Services are critical to help people with autism and IDD to stay safe, gain skills, foster community connections, and gain independence. It is a life-line service – we saw during covid the horrible impact of loneliness and regression for those without access. Lack of access to day programs can impact our exhausted caregivers and can also put families into financial crisis.”
Maura continued, “While we appreciate this year’s 9.3% increase and the Cost Adjustment Factor, the rates do fall short of what is truly needed to safeguard the CBDS system. The Arc of Massachusetts recently conducted a community survey to seek the top concerns of the community given the current federal uncertainty. The vast majority of the nearly 600 respondents reported anxiety and fear about the impact of potential closures of their CBDS programs—and the important nature of their services. Please fortify community based day support services against an ongoing attack from our federal administration both related to funding, immigration actions, and the value and dignity of people with disabilities.”
