To My New York State Legislative Leaders:

Human service providers of supports and services, advocates, individuals, and families across New York State urge their lawmakers to support and fund a 3% increase annually for 5 years. The time is now to commit to “3for5” so our communities thrive!

For the past decade, these provider agencies have been asked to do more with less as the state has continued to cut rates and defer annual increases, which has taken billions of dollars out of the service delivery system.  At the same time, the State has increased their own state-operated program rates by an average of 3% a year. These non-profit providers, who deliver approximately 85% of the day-to-day services for the more than 140,000 New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are dealing with the increased cost of operations, years of unpredictable and unsustainable rates, and workforce recruitment and retention challenges – all of which are critical to provide a lifetime of quality supports and services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Additionally, on top of an already unsustainable landscape, the OPWDD Commissioner stated publicly that there will be a 2% rate cut effective July 1st of this year. We cannot let this happen!

Without New York State’s Legislative Leaders and Governor Cuomo’s commitment to 3for5, these non-profit agencies are at serious risk of closure or program reductions, impacting tens of thousands of employees and individuals receiving services and supports.

Thank you for your consideration. I sincerely hope that you will lend your support and strongly advocate for the inclusion of 3for5 in this year’s budget.

Sincerely,

Supporters of 3for5