Our 2014 Family Advocacy Month started last week with our hope that family members, friends and staff call or email their legislators to urge them to support additional funding for:

• the development of day, employment and residential opportunities for individuals living at home
• to provide a salary increase for the Direct Support Professions (DSPs) working in voluntary operated developmental disability services

 
We are requesting that you encourage your legislators to write or contact to their respective leader and urge the respective leader to include our funding requests for development and DSP’s salaries in the one house budget requests which will be developed shortly.  One House budgets are the first step to final budgets.

NYSARC, the Alliance of Long Island Agencies, The IAC, DDAWNY, CP of NYS and UJA created and sent the attached sample letters to each member of the legislature with a cover letter asking that they use or modify the sample letter and send it ASAP to their leader urging them to include the funding requested in the budget.

Please take a moment to email your legislator personally.  You can download them accordingly:

• If your Assemblyperson is a Democrat, send this letter to Speaker Silver
• If your Assemblyperson is Republican, send this letter to Assemblyman Leader Kolb
• If your Senator is a Republican, send this letter to Senate Majority Co-Leader Skelos
• If your Senator is a Democrat, send this letter to Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins

 
Now that the legislative recess has ended, the legislators are back in Albany.  You can call your representatives if you so choose and urge them to take action to ensure that the additional funding for development and salaries is included in the budget.

Here are sample scripts for you.  Certainly, please feel free to edit.

My name is                                          and I am a constituent with a developmentally disabled child.  I am calling to urge Senator/Assemblymember                                                                 to take whatever action is needed to ensure that additional funding for the development of services for individuals living at home and for a salary increase for the Direct Service Professionals that care for my developmentally disabled child is included in the budget.

Call Assembly switchboard at 518-455-4100
Call Senate switchboard at 518-455-2800

To find your State legislator — along with contact information go to:

Senate:  http://www.nysenate.gov/senators

Assembly: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?sh=search

Please contact me Pamela Polacsek at 587-0723 ext. 1255 or ppolacsek@saratogabridges.org if you need further assistance.  Again, thank you so much for your support.