On January 14, 2025 at 1 p.m. Governor Kathy Hochul gave her 2025 State of the State address. You can watch live, follow for updates, and read a recap of her main points.

On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Independent Living Centers will be included in the new fiscal intermediary structure for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP.

Advocates canvassed Niagara Falls’ LaSalle neighborhood with a plume map last weekend showing neighborhood exposure to a bladder carcinogen. They want to see the EPA intervene and stop Goodyear from releasing ortho-toluidine into the air at high rates. Residents are angry, but not surprised.

Regulators cited the Goodyear chemical plant for releasing high amounts of a bladder carcinogen last year but say they are still investigating.

The Democratic National Convention gets underway in Chicago this week where it is expected Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the Democratic presidential nomination. WBFO’s Thomas O’Neil-White spoke to a few first-time delegates from Western New York about their expectations ahead of the convention.

Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs, did not get the cost of living increase they were asking for in this year’s budget. Advocates say wages are too low for this profession, which leads to people seeking jobs elsewhere. In today’s episode, we talk about what DSPs provide to people with disabilities and the challenges of recruiting and retaining workers.

New York York State’s recently-passed 2024-2025 budget included $55 million so 200 new inpatient psychiatric beds can be added to state-run psychiatric hospitals, according to the Division of the Budget. On today’s episode, we share part of a conversation with disability advocates about how the state’s funding of new inpatient psychiatric beds may impact disabled people.

One major change came at the last minute in New York State's Budget negotiations? The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP, will move from being administered by hundreds of organizations to only one.

New York State’s recently-passed 2024-2025 budget included a lot of changes for the disability community. However, one change that did not make it through budget deliberations was the creation of “medication aides” in long term care facilities. Nursing associations were worried about the impact on recruitment and retention of nurses. But the disability community has slightly different concerns.

For many people with disabilities, laws and funding have been instrumental in ensuring equitable access to housing, transportation and employment. On this week’s Disabilities Beat, we feature part of a recently aired one hour special on the New York State Budget, which you can hear the entirety of by clicking here. Two experts from our panel explain what we know about how the budget will impact housing, transportation and employment for New Yorkers with disabilities.