Industry advocates and unions supporting caregivers for people with developmental disabilities are calling on lawmakers to more than double a funding increase proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February.
The Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities is requesting a $4 hourly increase to the wage for direct service professionals in community-based settings that serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Direct service professionals, or DSPs, are the individuals who provide daily personal care such as assisting with eating, grooming and dressing. The requested increase is $2.50 beyond an increase proposed by Pritzker earlier this year.
While the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities and AFSCME are backing different proposals in terms of how providers could spend the money, each of them would bring the base wage to $21 an hour by January 2024. Josh Evans, Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities president and CEO, said if the state is to ensure community placements are available, it must provide adequate financial support for providers to be able to hire and retain staff.
"I started 3½ years ago, was $12.18 an hour," she said at a news conference."Now we're up to $17.89. But let's be honest, it's just not enough." "You must ensure that providers are required to pass through the funds for our wages rather than spend that money in other ways," Christine Rivera, an AFSCME member and DSP at Ray Graham Association, told a House committee Tuesday.
"We need to fund this rate study proposal this year," Evans said in an interview, noting that the state is in the midst of a period of strong revenue growth that could soon be slowing down.
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