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* Illinois Times…
Increased state funding has helped Sparc bump up hourly pay rates for direct service providers (DSPs), those who care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the Springfield nonprofit’s group homes and in other settings.
But the increases in this chronically underfunded segment of Illinois’ human services industry “don’t go far enough yet,” said Douglas McDonald, chief executive officer of Sparc. […]
The coalition is calling for a $151 million boost in the $94.8 million Pritzker has proposed in new funding for reimbursement rates to disability service organizations.
The boost would bring the total rate increase to $246.8 million, an amount that would make up for the state not meeting the full Guidehouse recommendation in the current fiscal year and fully funding the increase suggested for fiscal 2023, Evans said. […]
Pritzker’s budget also includes $1 billion in one-time tax cuts for everyday citizens.
“Before we necessarily propose $1 billion in tax breaks, can we try to live up to and meet the commitments that have been outlined for social services?” Evans asked. “Now we’re in a budget situation where it seems we can.”
The additional appropriation is most definitely needed to comply with the Ligas federal consent decree, which the state has been out of compliance with pretty much since it entered into the consent decree eleven years ago. Let’s hope something can be worked out for these folks because their problem is all too real and the state can’t keep treating providers of critical services this way.
But using one-time “extra” money for a permanent fix would risk blowing a hole in the following year’s budget and put the state on a track to the bad old days.
Illinois didn’t get into this deep hole overnight. We’ve seen years and years and years of mismanagement, including doing things like making the structural deficit worse by using temporary revenue streams for permanent programs.
…Adding… Related…
* Advocates want $246M for developmental disability services in Illinois: Providers say direct support professionals should receive 150% of the state’s minimum wage. The decision could affect more than 30,000 direct support professionals and any future workers in the field. “If we do not recruit and hire DSPs, train them, we will no longer have the supports needed to continue to support intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state of Illinois,” said Helen Blackburn, VRS executive director of Centerstone. Blackburn started as a DSP in Southern Illinois 20 years ago. She said there was never a question of whether or not that could be a career. But with wages so low in 2022, Blackburn said it’s difficult for anyone to make ends meet.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 10, 22 @ 8:50 am
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Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 10, 22 @ 12:57 pm
Evans has a point. No tax breaks for anyone at least until the state satisfies the Ligas decree.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Mar 10, 22 @ 12:59 pm
I wonder how many DSP employees in CILAs or intermediate care residential locations make much more than the current state minimum wage. Is the request for funding just to keep pace with the minimum wage increasing, currently $12. There is a perpetual revolving door of staff in these jobs, so yes $18 per hour (150% of minimum wage) is needed to slow that turnover. This is a worry for the quality of care my loved one receives. Also, this work is incredibly hard. We can’t keep relying on the employee who views this work as a “calling” to hold this system up.
Comment by Johnnie F. Thursday, Mar 10, 22 @ 2:11 pm
I spent 11 years working as a DSP at a private facility. Morale is rock bottom and workers come in and out of a revolving door. Every year, our “annual bonus” was a letter from the CEO stating how valuable we were but that, unfortunately, there wouldn’t be any pay increases that year.
As a teacher, I now make more than three times what I made as a DSP. It’s not that I make much as a teacher, it’s that I made so little as a DSP.
The state must address this - yesterday.
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Thursday, Mar 10, 22 @ 2:41 pm
Whoever wrote that article either doesn’t understand the difference between temporary and permanent revenue streams or is willfully trying to obscure it. ARPA dollars are federal pandemic relief dollars - that is a temporary revenue stream. The surplus money that the Governor wants to spend on one time tax relief isn’t a temporary revenue stream - it comes from increased personal and corporate income taxes. And we never know how those might look year to year. If our standard for creating or increasing funds to an ongoing program is only if we have the money in perpetuity we will never have any new programs. I’m sure one Party is fine with that but the other shouldn’t be and in fact isn’t.
Comment by Budgets Thursday, Mar 10, 22 @ 3:48 pm