New York State Assembly

 
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A10409 Summary:

A10409 Actions:

A10409 Committee Votes:

Committee:MENTAL HEALTH   Chair:Gunther      
DATE:06/06/2016AYE/NAY:10/0  Action: Favorable refer to committee Ways and Means        
Gunther
Aye
Katz
Excused
Cusick
Aye
Corwin
Excused
Jaffee
Aye
Nojay
Aye
Rodriguez
Aye
Barrett
Aye
McDonald
Aye
Jean-Pierre
Aye
Richardson
Aye
Sepulveda
Absent
Santabarbara
Aye

Committee:WAYS AND MEANS   Chair:Farrell      
DATE:06/06/2016AYE/NAY:30/2  Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules        
Farrell
Aye
Oaks
Aye
Lentol
Aye
Crouch
Aye
Schimminger
Aye
Barclay
Aye
Gantt
Aye
Fitzpatrick
Nay
Weinstein
Aye
Saladino
Aye
Glick
Aye
Hawley
Aye
Nolan
Aye
Duprey
Aye
Pretlow
Aye
Corwin
Excused
Perry
Excused
Malliotakis
Nay
Colton
Aye
Walter
Aye
Cook
Aye
Cahill
Aye
Aubry
Aye
Hooper
Aye
Thiele
Aye
Wright
Excused
Cusick
Aye
Ortiz
Aye
Benedetto
Aye
Markey
Aye
Moya
Aye
Weprin
Aye
Rodriguez
Aye
Ramos
Aye
Braunstein
Aye

Committee:RULES   Chair:Heastie      
DATE:06/08/2016AYE/NAY:29/0  Action: Favorable         
Heastie
Aye
Kolb
Aye
Gottfried
Aye
Tedisco
Aye
Lentol
Aye
Oaks
Aye
Farrell
Aye
Butler
Aye
Gantt
Aye
Crouch
Aye
Nolan
Excused
Finch
Aye
Weinstein
Aye
Barclay
Aye
Hooper
Aye
Raia
Aye
Ortiz
Aye
Duprey
Aye
Pretlow
Aye
Cook
Aye
Glick
Aye
Morelle
Aye
Aubry
Aye
Englebright
Aye
Wright
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Colton
Aye
Magnarelli
Aye
Perry
Aye
Markey
Aye

A10409 Floor Votes:

A10409 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A10409
 
SPONSOR: Gunther

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act to direct the commissioner of the office for people with develop-
mental disabilities to study and report on the recruitment and retention
of direct support professionals working with people with developmental
disabilities
 
 
PURPOSE:
 
The bill is intended to identify the causes of the high vacancy rates
and high turnover rates being experienced by non-profit providers of
supports and services for individuals with intellectual and develop-
mental disabilities and to identify the resources necessary to maintain
a quality workforce and reverse the trend toward increased vacancies and
turnover in the direct support professional field.
 
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
 
Section 1 of the bill includes legislative findings
 
Section 2 of the bill requires the Commissioner of Health and the
Commissioner of OPWDD to develop and issue a report identifying the
causes of the increasingly high vacancy and turnover rates for direct
support professionals (DSPs) working with people with intellectual and
developmental disabilities
 
Section 3 of the bill requires the report to include the identification
of resources necessary to attract and retain a quality workforce for
DSPs working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disa-
bilities.
 
Section 4 of the bill requires the commissioners to deliver the study to
the governor and Legislative leaders by November 1, 2016
 
Section 5 provides for an immediate effective date
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent surveys by voluntary agencies employing direct support profes-
sionals serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabil-
ities indicate a high and increasing statewide vacancy rate, high and
increasing staff turnover rates and increasing difficulty recruiting and
retaining these valuable and essential professionals.
 
Current funding for these highly trained professionals is insufficient
to pay a fair wage for the work these skilled professionals do, leaving
these dedicated professionals in short supply.
 
Women and minorities are the cornerstone of the direct support profes-
sional workforce in New York State. According to recent surveys, 73
percent of direct care staff are women and 56.5 percent are either Afri-
can-American, black or have Hispanic and Latino origin. It is critically
important these skilled and dedicated professionals receive the fair
wage they deserve for the work they do.
 

In order to ensure these workers receive a fair wage commensurate to the
skill, training and heightened responsibilities these workers take on,
and to address the unacceptably high vacancy and turnover rates, which
disrupt care-giving, lessens the quality of the lives of those with
developmental disabilities, and threatens health and safety, a funding
mechanism needs to be established for DSPs in order to appropriately
value the work they do.
 
In order to quantify the factors having an adverse impact on the ability
of providers of supports and services for people with intellectual and
developmental disabilities to recruit and retain qualified staff and pay
a fair wage for the work DSPs do, a study of the factors leading to the
current unacceptably high vacancy rates and turn over rates needs to be
performed and the resources necessary to reverse these trends needs to
be identified, in order to allow state policy makers to provide suffi-
cient funds to support these individuals as part of the budget process.
 
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
New Bill
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
 
To be determined
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

A10409 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10409
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 25, 2016
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Mental Health
 
        AN ACT to direct the commissioner of the office for people with develop-
          mental disabilities  to  study  and  report  on  the  recruitment  and
          retention  of  direct  support  professionals working with people with
          developmental disabilities

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The Legislature hereby finds that
     2  Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the lynchpin of  the  system  of
     3  supports for people with developmental disabilities. These dedicated and
     4  skilled direct support professionals allow more than 100,000 New Yorkers
     5  to lead safe, fulfilling lives.  More than 90% of all funding to support
     6  the  salaries  of these highly trained professionals comes from Medicaid
     7  or other state funds.
     8    The Legislature further finds the current  funding  for  these  highly
     9  trained  professionals  is  insufficient to pay a fair wage for the work
    10  these skilled professionals do, leaving these dedicated workers in short
    11  supply.  Recent surveys by voluntary  agencies  employing  these  valued
    12  professionals  indicate  a  high  and increasing statewide vacancy rate,
    13  high and increasing  staff  turnover  rates  and  increasing  difficulty
    14  recruiting and retaining these valuable employees.
    15    The  Legislature  further  finds  that  women  and  minorities are the
    16  cornerstone of the direct support professional  workforce  in  New  York
    17  State.  According to recent surveys, 73 percent of direct care staff are
    18  women and 56.5 percent are either African-American, black or of Hispanic
    19  and Latino origin. It is critically important  that  these  skilled  and
    20  dedicated professionals receive the fair wage they deserve, for the work
    21  they do.
    22    The  Legislature further finds that in his April 2012 Report to Gover-
    23  nor Cuomo, Clarence Sundram, the Governor's Special Advisor  on  Vulner-
    24  able  Persons,  found  that "a strong, well trained and committed direct
    25  support staff" is essential to safeguard and care for  vulnerable  indi-
    26  viduals.  In order to attract and retain such a workforce, and to ensure
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15398-03-6
        A. 10409                            2
 
     1  appropriate recruitment, job  training,  coaching,  motivation  and  the
     2  inculcating of core agency mission values in these front line workers by
     3  agency supervisors and managers as envisioned by the Sundram report, the
     4  Legislature  finds  not  for profit agencies must be given the resources
     5  needed in order to pay these workers and front-line managers and  super-
     6  visors a fair wage consistent with the responsibilities and duties these
     7  individuals perform.
     8    The  Legislature further finds that as a result of fiscal difficulties
     9  the state faced beginning in 2009,  the  state  has  failed  to  provide
    10  appropriate  funding  to  allow not for profit providers to pay the fair
    11  wages these dedicated and skilled professionals  deserve  for  the  work
    12  they do.
    13    The  Legislature  further  finds that in order to begin to address the
    14  wage losses sustained by these dedicated professionals, and in order  to
    15  ensure  these  workers  receive a fair wage commensurate to their skill,
    16  training and heightened responsibilities, and to address the  unaccepta-
    17  bly high vacancy and turnover rates, which disrupts care-giving, lessens
    18  the  quality  of  the lives of those with intellectual and developmental
    19  disabilities, and threatens health and safety, a funding mechanism needs
    20  to be established for DSPs in order to appropriately value the work they
    21  do.
    22    The Legislature further finds it is necessary to quantify the  factors
    23  having  an  adverse  impact  on the ability of providers of supports and
    24  services for people  with  developmental  disabilities  to  recruit  and
    25  retain  qualified staff and on their ability to provide the supports and
    26  services necessary for their health, safety and happiness and  an  iden-
    27  tification of the resources necessary.
    28    §  2.  The  commissioner  of  the office for people with developmental
    29  disabilities shall develop and issue a report enumerating the causes  of
    30  the  high  and  increasing  turnover and vacancy rates of Direct Support
    31  Professionals (DSPs) working with people with intellectual and  develop-
    32  mental  disabilities.  Such  report  shall  include an assessment of all
    33  factors which are causing the vacancy and turnover rates of providers of
    34  supports and services for individuals  with  intellectual  and  develop-
    35  mental disabilities to raise.
    36    § 3. The report shall include identification of resources necessary to
    37  attract  and retain a quality workforce, and the fiscal resources neces-
    38  sary to maintain a quality workforce in sufficient number to assure  the
    39  health  and safety of individuals with developmental disabilities and to
    40  reverse the unacceptably high vacancy and turnover rates.
    41    § 4. On or before November 1, 2016, the commissioner of the office for
    42  people  with  developmental  disabilities  shall  complete   the   study
    43  conducted pursuant to sections two and three of this act and shall ther-
    44  eafter  deliver  a copy of the findings of the study and any legislative
    45  recommendations he or she deems to be necessary, to  the  governor,  the
    46  temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
    47    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.