With “Direct Support Professionals” week underway, Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) today affirmed his commitment to the dedicated men and women who provide critical healthcare services to the developmentally disabled. Communities across the country mark September 10-16 as a week to thank these important healthcare professionals.

“These skilled professionals are improving the quality of life every day for some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers,” said Palmesano. “It isn’t just important for the individuals who receive expert, compassionate care, it’s important for their families and it’s important for our entire community.”

Last year, The Assembly Minority Conference impaneled a task force to find new ways to protect the rights of the developmentally disabled. At public hearings around the state, the legislators sought testimony from patients, parents, direct-care workers and other stakeholders to find new ways to improve the quality of life for these New Yorkers. They issued a report detailing their findings called “Championing Aid, Rights, Equality and Services (C.A.R.E.S.) Plan: A report on the Olmstead Decision & its impact on the state’s developmental disability community.”

Palmesano hosted a forum in Corning with Assemblyman Chris Friend.

This session, he worked with the governor and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Legislature to secure new funding in the state budget to help nonprofit service providers pay direct-care workers a competitive, living wage.

“Direct-care professionals are talented. They’re patient, they’re highly skilled and highly trained. Securing new funding to give them a needed raise was the right thing to do, and I’m gratified that we got it done,” said Palmesano.

Palmesano noted that there is more work to do when it comes to helping developmentally disabled New Yorkers lead healthy, fulfilling lives. He said many of the recommendations from his Conference’s 2016 task force deserve to be a bigger part of the legislative conversation heading into the new session.

“We need to have a serious conversation about protecting sheltered workshops. We need to have a serious conversation about providing real housing solutions. In many cases, aging parents are the primary caregivers for their child with a developmental disability, and they shouldn’t be shouldering anxiety about what is going to happen to their child when they’re gone,” said Palmesano.

“Thank you to all the direct support professionals who do so much to provide critical quality of care and life services to our most vulnerable citizens. Your work is so valuable and so important to our communities. Thank you to all of you as we celebrate ‘Direct Support Professionals’ week,” said Palmesano.