Following Disabilities Budget Hearing, Chair Fahy Calls for 2.7% Inflationary Increase for DSPs, Outlines Priorities as Disabilities Committee Chair

ALBANY, N.Y. – Senator Patricia Fahy (D—Albany), Chair of the Senate Disabilities Committee, urged a minimum 2.7% inflationary increase for disability providers and Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in the final FY2026-27 budget and announced her committee priorities following yesterday’s Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Mental Hygiene.

More than 3 million New Yorkers, or 1 out of every 5 New Yorkers, are living with a disability, and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), in partnership with over 400 non-profit providers across the state, oversees and operates a system of support serving over 130,000 people.

"As the Chair of the Senate Disabilities Committee, I’m looking forward to ensuring that New Yorkers living with disabilities and their families can access the support, services, and opportunities they need to thrive—and that starts with a 2.7% inflationary increase for providers," said Senator Fahy (D—Albany), Chair of the Senate Disabilities Committee. "Yesterday’s budget hearing provided a snapshot of the challenges facing providers serving New Yorkers living with disabilities and the needs of the disability community, including low pay and burnout for Direct Support Professionals, the backbone of our disability care system. As negotiations surrounding the final FY2026-27 state budget progress, I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to craft a budget reflective of the needs of providers and New Yorkers living with disabilities and their families.”

Senator Fahy’s key FY2026-27 budget priorities:
 

• A 2.7% inflationary increase for providers and Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Four out of five DSPs make under $20/hour, significantly less than a living wage; half of DSPs experience food and housing insecurity, and staff vacancies are the primary reason provider agencies struggle to meet the needs of New Yorkers with I/DD.
  • From 2020 to 2025, NYS has provided a combined inflationary increase of 15.8% to I/DD non-profit care agencies, well below the rate needed simply to keep up with growing costs and maintain services.
• Investing in housing, childcare, and healthcare to lower costs for the DSP workforce, which continues to suffer from low wages, burnout, and a lack of state investment.

Together, these investments recognize the importance of investing in the workforce that serves New Yorkers living with disabilities, expanding employment opportunities for workers living with disabilities, and providing critical support for students living with disabilities.

Additionally, Senator Fahy announced her legislative priorities for the committee, which include, but are not limited to, the following pieces and packages of legislation:

Housing Innovations for Independent Living

These bills provide a strategy to assist New Yorkers with developmental disabilities in finding housing, helping New Yorkers with developmental disabilities navigate housing, streamlining access to more housing options, and providing appropriate support services for independent residents with developmental disabilities.
 

• S.4835 Fahy/A.6751 Simone: Creates a curriculum, task force, and services for housing navigation to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities find suitable housing.
• S.4908A Fahy/A.9194 Santabarbara: Establishes an innovative housing initiative allowing persons with developmental disabilities to reside in non-certified, independent settings with supports.
• S.8675 Fahy: By explicitly allowing coordination with local, employer-based, and federal programs, the bill ensures that the CareForce program complements, not replaces, existing housing tools.
• S.8676 Fahy/A.9616 Santabarbara: This bill provides a narrowly tailored, fair-housing compliant tool to better align affordable housing policy with the State's workforce and service delivery needs. By limiting the preference to lottery weighting, imposing clear caps, and restricting its application to an initial marketing window, the legislation preserves broad access to affordable housing while creating a modest but meaningful opportunity for care workers to live closer to their jobs at no cost to the State.

Healthcare Access and Provider Protections

These bills aim to expand healthcare access to New Yorkers living with disabilities and provide protections for healthcare providers.

• S.4711 Fahy: Authorizes additional Medicaid reimbursement for health and dental providers to cover extra support needed for patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• S.4720 Fahy: Ensures telehealth services for individuals with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injuries are reimbursed at in-person rates.

Wheelchair Right to Repair

This legislation requires manufacturers to provide independent repair providers and wheelchair owners with the necessary parts, tools, and documentation to conduct repairs, ensuring a more competitive and accessible repair market.
 

• S4500 Fahy/A6569-A Bores: Requires manufacturers to provide parts, tools, and documentation for repairing powered wheelchairs, granting a "right to repair" for users.

Enhancing Oversight and Improving Planning

These bills create accountability and transparency in government-established entities that assist New Yorkers with developmental disabilities in the workforce environment.
 

• S4841A Fahy/A6021-B Santabarbara: Establishes a blue-ribbon commission to study and recommend systemic reforms for supports and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• S4907 Fahy/A226 Cruz: Requires OPWDD to develop an emergency staffing plan, including incentives and recruitment, when vacancy rates drop below 90%.
• S.8674 Fahy/A.9151 Bronson: Establishes a reasonable accommodation reimbursement grant program under which eligible employers may request a grant for reimbursement of expenses made for reasonable accommodations for applicants or employees with a disability; establishes a reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund for payment of such grants; makes an appropriation of $5,000,000 for such program.

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