For Immediate Release
Contact: Leanne Ricchiuti, Overit for Association for Community Living, 518.222.8073
May 2, 2023
STATEMENT
Association For Community Living Executive Director’s Statement on Passage of the Budget
(Albany, N.Y.) – The Association for Community Living (ACL) Executive Director, Sebrina Barrett, releases the following statement marking the passage of the 2023 Budget:
“We are pleased to see that Governor Hochul kept her promise to include, and the Legislature approved, $39 million in rate increases to existing mental health housing in the enacted budget, further closing the $96 million funding shortfall that exists after decades of underfunding. Indeed, this funding gap exists because for decades the COLA was ignored and unfunded — and we cannot go back to that time. These additional funding dollars essentially allow us to get caught up, but now we’re unable to get ahead.
And while this funding is appreciated and necessary, we remain concerned that the budget included only a 4% COLA, which is less than half of the COLA calculation as set forth in statute, and established by the Consumer Price Index in July 2022, which measured at 8.5 percent. This amount doesn’t resolve the issue of inflation. The cost of everything continues to rise, making it challenging to sustain operations and retain staff, who are overwhelmed and underpaid. Without support and ample resources, our employees will continue to be burnt out and many will leave, making the 25% statewide staff vacancy rate that currently exists, even worse. And while we welcome the much needed development of 3,500 units of new housing over the next 5 years, the inadequacy of resources over many years has placed providers in a precarious position, making it difficult for them to absorb new programs with current staffing levels. For these reasons, more is needed, and we will continue to advocate with our partners in government for resources and solutions to our workforce crisis.
In addition, we are disheartened that the Aging in Place Task Force, which was included in the Assembly’s proposal, was not included in the enacted budget. We cannot stress enough the vital importance of allowing those on their mental health recovery journey to remain in their homes, among the community. Nursing homes are not equipped to admit those with mental illness who also exhibit other significant medical challenges; similarly, our agencies are seeing a growing need for resources to serve the aging community with dignity. This Task Force would help study, evaluate, and enact new policy to help the most vulnerable residents of New York State. Because this situation will only become worse as more residents age, we remain committed to working with state leaders to develop solutions for those who are aging in place.
We are thankful to the Mental Health Committee Chairs, Senator Samra Brouk and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, who are strong champions for mental health and our dedicated workforce, and we look forward to our continued collaboration in support of the people our members serve.
Also we recognize that Governor Hochul has provided more funding for mental health services than any governor within the last 40 years. We look forward to her continued commitment to rightsizing the funding and services and look forward to the work ahead.
As we see more housing units develop over the next five years, our hope is that we’ll see an increased COLA to match the wages, or we’ll have empty buildings. We will continue to fight for what is needed, because we all know that if we don’t see a real and lasting commitment to investing in these residential programs, they will not remain viable. Nor will it be possible to expand via the 3,500 new units, and any other planned development, as well as make reality the vision we all have for the future.”
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