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* Not mentioned is that the projected surplus is one-time and we could be heading into a recession…
Did you know?
Illinois has a budget surplus of over a billion dollars – NOW’S the time to return our community’s fair share so we can #InvestInCommunities.Learn more and take action: https://t.co/y93lbmCc4i pic.twitter.com/2W9JkfQKKM
— NWMC Legislative (@NWMCLegislative) April 27, 2023
Click here for some of the ARPA money received by local governments.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Industry advocates and unions supporting caregivers for individuals with developmental disabilities are calling on lawmakers to more than double a funding increase proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February.
The Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities is requesting a $4 hourly increase to the wage rate for direct service professionals in community-based settings that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Direct service professionals, or DSPs, are the individuals who provide daily personal care such as assisting individuals with eating, grooming and dressing. The requested increase is $2.50 beyond an increase proposed by Pritzker earlier this year.
The $4 rate increase is also backed by AFSCME Council 31, the union representing about 4,000 workers at community facilities as well as about 4,000 employees at state-run centers.
When fully implemented after the coming fiscal year, the state’s cost will start at $141.6 million per year.
From the governor’s office…
The Pritzker administration along with the majority in the General Assembly has implemented a series of investments to adequately fund facilities that provide services for developmentally disabled individuals. These investments will be phased in over a five year period, which began in FY22 with $108.9 million. Since then, the State followed up with $179.6 million in FY23 and a proposed investment in FY24 of $161.3 million. If the Governor’s proposed budget passes the General Assembly this spring with these investments intact, that would mean a $449.8 million investment in the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Individuals with mental illness, intellectual, and developmental disabilities deserve to be treated with dignity and ought to receive the highest quality of care. Under Governor Pritzker, IDHS is standardizing and improving conditions across the care system – while prioritizing community-based solutions to ensure protection for the most vulnerable Illinoisans.
Also…
The proposed fiscal year 2024 budget for DHS provides over $2 billion for services for people with developmental disabilities (DD) in support of the Ligas consent decree. The fiscal year 2024 budget proposes a nearly $200 million increase to support these services, including:
• $63.1 million to implement an accelerated timeline of changes following the Guidehouse rate recommendations beginning January 1, 2024, including a $1.50 per hour increase for Direct Service Providers (DSP) and regionalization of rates for Day Services.
• $56.7 million to annualize the cost of fiscal year 2023 Guidehouse rate increases.
• $26 million is included for continued compliance with the Ligas consent decree including $12 million to annualize fiscal year 2023 placements and $14 million for 700 new placements.
• $19.3 million to increase staffing by 330 positions at state DD facilities.
• $27.6 million to adjust for the SSI increase of 8.9 percent for people served through the Home
• and Community Based Waiver.
Lots more here.
…Adding… More…
As Lawrence, ICIRR Exec. Director, said: the a budget is a moral document.
That’s why we’re FIGHTING for an IL budget that funds immigrant services, a #ChildTaxCredit, #Childcare4All, #Healthcare4All, & economic opportunity for formerly incarcerated Illinoisans! pic.twitter.com/lO5AWl8YBo
— IL Immigrant Rights (@icirr) April 27, 2023
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 11:03 am
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I’d call Jim Edgar on advice to being “Governor No”
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 11:40 am
Makes me wonder how the AFSCME contract negotiations are going. Can’t imagine that with 4.6% inflation and the state with a “surplus” on the books that they aren’t pushing to get some decent pay raises. Especially after the Governor himself pushed for raises for his staff.
Comment by Mason born Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 11:41 am
Weighing in on the DSP advocacy and the reasons for it. We appreciate what the General Assembly and the Department has accomplished with recent investments. Context is also important in this space as it is in the overall budget picture.
We are going on six years being out of compliance with an Americans with Disabilities Act/Olmstead federal consent decree because services are not available in sufficient quality, scope and variety. This is largely driven by staffing issues, as has been documented in annual consent decree reports.
Additionally, when the Guidehouse rate study was published (a result of non-compliance), it called for an immediate $329 million investment with projected annualized costs out for five years. We never achieved that initial outcome and DHS has outlined a six year plan to fund it.
The recent gains in DSP wage rates have only netted a $0.50/hr increase over the statewide minimum wage, and the DHS proposal would continue that trend of minimal gain. Absolutely nobody who has done DSP work will tell you this is minimum wage work.
I acknowledge and respect the Department must advocate for its budget and it can and should be proud of its work, but the context remains we are losing ground through a multiyear approach.
The advocacy community has been forced to compromise its needs with a multiyear plan, and we came forward this year with yet another compromise by not pushing to fully fund the rate study, just the top priority of the rate study - the DSP wage rates.
The Administration can be proud of what it is doing amongst competing interests and also acknowledge their proposal falls short of what is needed - and I believe it has done that in budget hearings to-date.
Comment by Josh Evans Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 12:05 pm
It’s been a solid 2+ years now of journalists with zero subject matter expertise telling the country it’s already in a recession or about to be in a recession, when it is in fact not in a recession.
If I were naive I’d be wondering whose interests that rhetoric serves.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 12:16 pm
To piggyback on Mr. Evans, failure to meet the first year’s benchmark has set the entire plan back years. By my estimate the funding shortfall is between $500 and $600 million over the base year. Tout the accomplishments all you want, but the fact that these workers are still earning just a smidge over minimum wage is very telling. Governors own.
Comment by Born in the Shadows Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 12:25 pm
Recession, inflation, stagnation, stagflation, depression…are all swindley weasel words used to defend capitalism…as it fails the 99% …and continues to enrich the already obscenely rich…Class.
Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 12:40 pm
—-The recent gains in DSP wage rates have only netted a $0.50/hr increase over the statewide minimum wage—
So based on this fact, if rates are not increased for the staff serving the most vulnerable people in Illinois and even at the $.50 increase already proposed, the staff working in these facilities will be equal to the Illinois minimum wage effective January 1st 2024.
The staff are required to cook, clean, drive, pass medication, provide daily living needs, which is the equivalant of a nurse, a cna, a cook, a bus driver (and yes, some DSP’s drive busses), work with individuals with maladaptive behaviors which can be verbal, physically aggressive, etc.
We have seen in the past year what has happened at Choate, the state putting in more oversight to decrease the incidents happening in these homes, which has received a huuuge support on this forum for the individuals.
If we as a state want to support individuals with disabilities and have the best care, we need to pay people the pay for the work we are expecting them to do. A $4.00 increase sounds like a lot, but when the same person can go flip a burger without the liability at the pay rate now, we will continue to face the issues at the forefront of Choate and other group homes.
The administration has done a great job so far supporting services for individuals with special needs, however previous governors have cut funding for these services in the past that forced agency’s to close. So as there may be recent investments for services, we are still many many years behind on the neglect from previous governors.
I recall on this blog a plumber saying if people in these fields believe they should be paid more, they should fight for it and get more money, etc. Well, it looks like they are.
If we can guarantee $40,000 a year for teachers and the rauner administration can get $300 million a year increase for schools, then we can afford to pay the people serving our most vulnerable citizens a decent living wage.
“Governor No”- this has been the problem for many years for individuals with disabilities and persons with Mental Illness. You “support” great care for people and then underpay the people providing the care. If you do, you are part of the problem.
Comment by T.S. Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 1:03 pm
The money is out there. R3 is a cannabis tax-funded, accessible, and sustainable state grant program. IL has pumped $145+ million in R3 funding into communities with high rates of gun injury, child poverty, unemployment and incarceration in the past 2 years. Funding supports innovative, promising, and/or evidence based programs offering civil legal aid, economic development, reentry, violence prevention, youth development and community reentry activities.
Comment by Politix Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 2:18 pm
== Recession, inflation, stagnation, stagflation, depression…are all swindley weasel words used to defend capitalism…as it fails the 99% …and continues to enrich the already obscenely rich…Class. ==
And what type of device did you type this comment on? Spare me the ills of capitolism. It’s not perfect but it’s better than any other system that’s ever been tried.
Comment by Occasional Quipper Thursday, Apr 27, 23 @ 6:05 pm