After being two months late, the state finally passed its fiscal year 2027 state budget at the end of May.
Since we covered many of the ways budget proposals could impact New Yorkers, it only feels fitting to share a few updates on what went through.
Targeted Inflationary Increase
“I think a lot of my hospitalizations probably would've been avoided if I had the support that I needed," said Emma Pratt, a youth peer advocate. Pratt was one of many people BTPM spoke with this budget season about mental health funding.
“It really was just, I had gotten to a point where I was struggling so much it just wasn't safe for me to be home anymore," Pratt said.
One of the loudest budget fights, year over year, is over what’s called a Targeted Inflationary Increase, or TII. Essentially, it’s a cost of living increase. It impacts workers and agencies paid by the “O” agencies, such as the Office of Mental Health and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, for example.
"We've seen an average turnover rate of about 30% in our programs," said Luke Sikinyi, the vice president of Public Policy at The Alliance for Rights and Recovery,
Sikinyi says low wages drive a lot of staffing issues for programs serving people with mental health conditions. Organizations in the developmental disabilities space have faced the same challenge.
The state budget is a lot of back and forth. This year, advocates originally proposed 2.7%. The governor came out with 1.7 percent. Both houses then supported an overall 4% with differences in how they target funding to staff. The final budget included advocates’ original ask: 2.7 percent, with no targeted staff funding.
Mental Health
Additionally, the Alliance for Rights and Recovery shared that other asks from advocates were ultimately in the final budget including $8 million to Daniel’s Law pilot programs and keeping funding for the Adult Home Resident Advocacy and Resident Council programs, as well as for the Coalition of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled, which Hochul’s initial proposal suggested removing.
Family Care
Oh, it's great living with her. She's the best. I love her very much," Willette Worthy said.
"Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you. I love you, too," Annette Austin, her roommate, responded.
Worthy and Austin shared their story with BTPM back in March. The duo are part of the state’s Family Care program, which places adults with developmental disabilities into thoroughly screened and trained families who have signed up to have someone live with them rather than in a group home.
Advocates in the budding program asked for a 5% increase in the state budget this year – and that’s exactly what they got.
Early Intervention
Lastly, funding for early intervention, which addresses developmental delays in children under three, was a significant concern for education and disability advocates.
The program can reduce lifelong need for disability services, but families face barriers in a system that hasn’t seen a significant funding increase in 30 years. Based on historic rates from The Children’s Agenda, in previous reporting we shared that adjusted for inflation, 2024’s reimbursement rate for a half hour of services is about half what it was when the program began in 1994.
However, this year’s budget keeps funding flat for early intervention.
“The first reaction was disappointment for the children who are on waiting lists, and for the 1000s of children who will not get services once again," said Joseph Cozzo, the president of Buffalo Hearing and Speech, a local early intervention provider.
Cozzo gave his reaction earlier this week, after BTPM had the chance question Governor Kathy Hochul on early intervention on Friday. We asked her response to concerns that funding universal childcare without increasing funding for early intervention will exacerbate current issues.
“No, of course, you have to look at the whole ecosystem that you're creating," Hochul said.
She went on to say that the state needed to first build more child care facilities and address educational barriers to building staffing.
“So, so get the locations, get the workforce, and then the funding to make sure that that's successful," Hochul said. "So we don't have the crush of individuals yet, because it's we're right now we're focused statewide on the four year old program then the three year old, but it is something, I -- you are correct I'm keeping my eye on to make sure that we, we meet the demand when it comes.”
But Cozzo and other experts say this approach is flawed.
“I would say the crush is already here," said Carrie Gillispie, the Project Director of Early Development & Disability at New America. She tracks early intervention policy nationwide.
“And it's been here, and families are on wait lists, both for childcare and early intervention, for so long that children phase out of early intervention," Gillispie added.
BTPM NPR reached out to a spokesperson for Governor Hochul to ask if they would like to provide more clarity on her early intervention strategy. A spokesperson for the Department of Health responded with the following statement:
“The New York State Department of Health, under the leadership of Governor Hochul, remains committed to supporting and enhancing accessible early intervention services that serve thousands of children statewide. The Department will continue to work closely with the Governor’s office and key stakeholders to evaluate any potential increased need in early intervention services as the state continues to expand childcare options for families.”
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript created by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins:
Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins and this is the Disabilities Beat. After being two months late, the state finally passed its budget at the end of May. Since we covered how state budget proposals could impact New Yorkers, it only feels fitting to share a few updates on what went through.
Emma Pratt:
And I think a lot of my hospitalizations probably would've been avoided if I had the support that I needed.
Emyle Watkins:
Emma Pratt, a youth peer advocate, was one of many people I spoke with about mental health funding.
Emma Pratt:
Because it really was just I had gotten to a point where I was struggling so much it just wasn't safe for me to be home anymore.
Emyle Watkins:
One of the loudest budget fights year over year is over a targeted inflationary increase or TII. Essentially, it's a cost of living increase for workers and organizations paid by agencies such as the Office of Mental Health and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Luke Sikinyi:
We've seen an average turnover rate of about 30% in our programs.
Emyle Watkins:
Luke Sikinyi, the vice president of public policy at The Alliance for Rights and Recovery, shared that low wages drive a lot of staffing issues for programs serving people with mental health conditions. Organizations in the developmental disabilities space face the same challenge.
The state budget is a lot of back and forth. This year, advocates originally asked for a 2.7% TII. The governor came out with 1.7%. Both houses then support an overall 4% with differences in how they target funding to staff and the final budget included the advocate's original ask, 2.7% with no targeted staff funding.
Willette Worthy:
It's great living with her. She's the best. I love her very much.
Annette Austin:
Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you. I love you too.
Emyle Watkins:
You might also remember Willette Worthy and Annette Austin whose story we shared back in March. The duo are part of the state's family care program, which places adults with developmental disabilities into thoroughly screened and trained families who have signed up to have someone live with them rather than in a group home.
Advocates in the budding program asked for a 5% increase in the state budget this year and that's exactly what they got.
Emyle Watkins:
Lastly, funding for early intervention, which addresses developmental delays in children under three was a significant concern for advocates. The program can reduce lifelong need for disability services, but families face barriers to a system that hasn't seen a significant funding increase in 30 years. To providers dismay, this year's budget keeps funding flat for early intervention.
Joseph Cozzo:
Well, the first reaction was disappointment for the children who are on waiting lists and for the thousands of children who will not get services once again.
Emyle Watkins:
Joseph Cozzo, the president of Buffalo Hearing and Speech, a local early intervention provider, shared how dire these issues are earlier this year. I called him this week after I had a chance to question Governor Kathy Hochul on early intervention on Friday. I asked her response to concerns that funding universal childcare without increasing funding for early intervention will only exacerbate current issues.
Governor Kathy Hochul:
No, of course. You have to look at the whole ecosystem that you're creating, first of all.
Emyle Watkins:
She went on to say the state needed to first build more childcare facilities and address educational barriers to building staffing.
Governor Kathy Hochul:
Get the locations, get the workforce, and then the funding to make sure that that's successful. So we don't have the crush of individuals yet because right now we're focused statewide on the four-year-old program than the three-year-old, but it's something you are correct I'm keeping my eye on to make sure that we meet the demand when it comes.
Emyle Watkins:
But Cozzo and other experts say this approach is flawed.
Carrie Gillispie:
I would say the crush is already here and it's been here.
Emyle Watkins:
Carrie Gillispie is the project director of early development and disability at New America. She tracks early intervention policy nationwide.
Carrie Gillispie:
Families are on wait lists both for childcare and early intervention for so long that children phase out of early intervention, they age out of the program and we know developmentally that even a month for a young child is a huge opportunity for their brain development and their physical development. So the crush is already here and if we're thinking about ecosystems, children with disabilities, people with disabilities are a huge part of any ecosystem and so it can't be an afterthought or an add-on.
Emyle Watkins:
We have more on early intervention as well as each of these updates on our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
