People With Disabilities Deserve More!
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) deserve the opportunity to lead meaningful lives in their community. Illinois has not met its obligation to afford them this opportunity. State leaders should make funding IDD services a PRIORITY.
The state has made incremental investments since 2017:
- Increasing wages for direct support professionals (DSPs)
- But, wages have not kept pace with minimum wage increases, inflation, competitive job market, or the cost of delivering services
The result:
- UNFILLED positions
- CLOSED group homes and day programs
- NO expanded access to services
- EXCESSIVE overtime, which is NOT reimbursed by the state
The State of Illinois...
...has been out of compliance with the Ligas Consent Decree since 2017 & now seeks to end it while the system remains in crisis
...has still not yet provided $12.5 million in supplemental IDD funding the General Assembly passed in January 2023!
THE SOLUTION:
The state-commissioned Guidehouse Rate Study recommends DSP wage reimbursement be at least 150% of minimum wage.
Minimum wage goes up another dollar January 1, 2025. We need a $3 per hour DSP wage increase beginning January 2025 to finally achieve 150% of minimum wage (est. cost $106.2M FY25).
Without this increase, there will be:
- No wage increase until January, 2026 at the earliest
- An inability to recruit and retain this critical workforce
- A reversal of the gains the state has helped us make