New minimum wage strains workers who support New Yorkers with developmental disabilities

State leaders are reveling in New York reaching the vaunted $15 minimum wage — even though that's now just for NYC (it's $12 in Westchester and $11.10 in Rockland). But state officials have yet to say if they will fulfill another wage promise — to increase pay for Direct Support Professionals, the workers who provide daily care for New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

At least in the Senate, the DSP pledge looks promising. Sen. David Carlucci, who was recently named chair of the Senate's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee, said that he supports DSP funding efforts.

The New City Democrat made those comments on Tuesday, as he took his oath of office at Jawonio, one of the nonprofit agencies that provides lifespan services for the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

Another good sign: Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins joined Carlucci, a show of support for the former member of the Senate's breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, and for Jawonio. "He will be a direct conduit for the good things needed here," the Yonkers Democrat told the crowd. "His responsibility will be all of you."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged two years ago to increase pay for DSPs over a six-year period. So far, though, it's not clear whether his next budget plan, due at the end of the month, will keep apace with that promise. (Considering that nearly three-quarters of the state's 90,000 DSPs are women and more than half are black or Hispanic, a fair wage certainly fits into the governor's much-touted "Justice Agenda.")

NEW LEADER: Stewart-Cousins' Westchester roots will help her lead Senate Democrats

NEW COMMITTEES: Stewart-Cousins makes her Senate picks

LEGISLATURE: New pay raises come with strings attached

The state essentially sets the pay rate for DSPs, because it provides reimbursements for the nonprofit agencies that fulfill the government commitment to care for people with developmental disabilities.

DSPs have a huge responsibility — they are lifelines for many vulnerable New Yorkers who just a few decades ago would have been left to live in institutional settings. The jobs can be physically demanding and emotionally taxing. Workers usually earn just a bit more than minimum wage. That makes it really hard to attract enough quality staff. Agencies across the state report staffing shortages and high turnover — after all, entry-level fast-food jobs pay almost the same in many places. 

In his speech Tuesday before an audience that included Jawonio staff and consumers, Carlucci acknowledged the need for the state to ensure fair compensation for people's hard work. "For you, this is not a job, this is a passion," Carlucci said. 

Carlucci said he hoped adequate funding for DSP raises would be included in the governor's budget.

He also pointed out that Stewart-Cousins' title as "first woman" legislative leader is "just the tip of the iceberg." Carlucci told the more than 100 gathered at Jawonio's New City main campus that they should anticipate so much more. "When we look back, it's going to be about policy, about the lives we touch." 
 
Here's one way to truly touch lives: Ensure a quality work force to help New York's most vulnerable by providing a living wage for DSP workers. 

Nancy Cutler is an Engagement Editor. Twitter: @nancyrockland