Direct support providers turn out to oppose budget cuts

AFSCME members are speaking out against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s fiscal 2016 budget proposal, which would make devastating cuts to agencies that care for people with developmental disabilities.

At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee in Chicago, direct support providers (DSPs) were on hand to protest the governor’s plan, which would reduce spending on developmental disability services by more than $82 million through rate cuts, elimination of grants and increased restrictions on who would be eligible for care.

The DSPs were joined by other social service providers who are part of the Responsible Budget Coalition, a group of organizations – including AFSCME – that is urging legislators to reject Gov. Rauner’s plan and pass a budget that addresses the state’s critical needs.

Rauner’s proposed cuts to community disability agencies are especially dire because such agencies have already gone seven years without an increase in funding from the state, keeping average DSP wages below the poverty line for a family of four.

The governor’s proposal would not only prevent an increase in those wages, but also force agencies to scale back services and eliminate jobs.

“I’ve seen staff positions not filled because we don’t have the money, and that makes it harder to give quality care,” said Audrey Lake, a member of AFSCME Local 3492 who works as a DSP for Ray Graham Association. “Now the Governor’s budget would cut $2 million dollars from my agency.”

Lake said the only way for many DSPs to survive is to take on a lot of overtime hours or take a second job.

“The starting pay gets you less than $20,000 a year – that’s poverty wages,” said Lake, who testified before the committee. “We need DSPs who are alert and fresh and patient, not DSPs who are stressed and impatient from working two jobs to keep their families out of poverty.”