NY State Senate Bill 2015-S7677A

Senate Bill S7677A

Vetoed By Governor

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Relates to a study on the recruitment and retention of direct support professionals working with people with developmental disabilities

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status Via A10409 - Vetoed by Governor

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Vetoed By Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Sep 30, 2016	tabled
Sep 29, 2016	vetoed memo.215
Sep 20, 2016	delivered to governor
Jun 15, 2016	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.1830 substituted for s7677a
Jun 15, 2016	substituted by a10409 ordered to third reading cal.1830 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 17, 2016	print number 7677a
May 17, 2016	amend (t) and recommit to mental health and developmental disabilities
May 12, 2016	referred to mental health and developmental disabilities

Votes

- Jun 15, 2016 - Floor Vote
  A10409
  
  62
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 15, 2016
      
      aye (62)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Amedore
      
      Avella
      
      Bonacic
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Croci
      
      DeFrancisco
      
      Dilan
      
      Espaillat
      
      Farley
      
      Felder
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Golden
      
      Griffo
      
      Hamilton
      
      Hannon
      
      Hassell-Thompson
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kennedy
      
      Klein
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Larkin
      
      Latimer
      
      Little
      
      Marcellino
      
      Marchione
      
      Martins
      
      Montgomery
      
      Murphy
      
      Nozzolio
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Panepinto
      
      Parker
      
      Peralta
      
      Perkins
      
      Persaud
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Seward
      
      Squadron
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Valesky
      
      Venditto
      
      Young
      
      excused (1)
      
      Diaz
  Jun 15, 2016 - Rules Committee Vote
  S7677A
  
  23
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  2
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 15, 2016
      
      aye (23)
      
      Bonacic
      
      Breslin
      
      Carlucci
      
      DeFrancisco
      
      Dilan
      
      Farley
      
      Flanagan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Hannon
      
      Hassell-Thompson
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Little
      
      Marcellino
      
      Montgomery
      
      Nozzolio
      
      Parker
      
      Perkins
      
      Robach
      
      Seward
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Valesky
      
      absent (2)
      
      Espaillat
      
      Larkin

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2015-S7677 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10409
Law Section:: Health

2015-S7677 - Summary

Directs the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities to study and report on the recruitment and retention of direct support professionals working with people with developmental disabilities by November 1, 2016.

2015-S7677 - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7677

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to direct the commissioner of health and the
commissioner of the office for people with developmental 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 experiences by non-profit providers of
supports and services for individuals with intellectual and
developmental 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 disabilities.

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
professionals serving individuals with intellectual and developmental
disabilities 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
professional workforce in New York State. According to recent surveys,
73 percent of direct care staff are women and 56.5 percent are either
African-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 sufficient state funds to support these
individuals as part of the FY18 State budget process.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately

2015-S7677 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  7677

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 12, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
  mental Disabilities

AN ACT to direct the commissioner of health and the commissioner of  the
  office  for people with developmental disabilities to study and report
  on the recruitment and retention of direct support professionals work-
  ing with people with developmental disabilities

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The Legislature hereby finds that
Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the lynchpin of  the  system  of
supports for people with developmental disabilities. These dedicated and
skilled direct support professionals allow more than 100,000 New Yorkers
to lead safe, fulfilling lives.  More than 90% of all funding to support
the  salaries  of these highly trained professionals comes from Medicaid
or other state funds.
  The Legislature further finds the current  funding  for  these  highly
trained  professionals  is  insufficient to pay a fair wage for the work
these skilled professionals do, leaving these dedicated workers in short
supply.  Recent surveys by voluntary  agencies  employing  these  valued
professionals  indicate  a  high  and increasing statewide vacancy rate,
high and increasing  staff  turnover  rates  and  increasing  difficulty
recruiting and retaining these valuable employees.
  The  Legislature  further  finds  that  women  and  minorities are the
cornerstone of the direct support professional  workforce  in  New  York
State.  According to recent surveys, 73 percent of direct care staff are
women and 56.5 percent are either African-American, black or of Hispanic
and Latino origin. It is critically important  that  these  skilled  and
dedicated professionals receive the fair wage they deserve, for the work
they do.
  The  Legislature further finds that in his April 2012 Report to Gover-
nor Cuomo, Clarence Sundram, the Governor's Special Advisor  on  Vulner-
able  Persons,  found  that "a strong, well trained and committed direct
support staff" is essential to safeguard and care for  vulnerable  indi-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD15398-01-6

S. 7677                             2

viduals.  In order to attract and retain such a workforce, and to ensure
appropriate recruitment, job  training,  coaching,  motivation  and  the
inculcating of core agency mission values in these front line workers by
agency supervisors and managers as envisioned by the Sundram report, the
Legislature  finds  not  for profit agencies must be given the resources
needed in order to pay these workers and front-line managers and  super-
visors a fair wage consistent with the responsibilities and duties these
individuals perform.
  The  Legislature further finds that as a result of fiscal difficulties
the state faced beginning in 2009,  the  State  has  failed  to  provide
appropriate  funding  to  allow not for profit providers to pay the fair
wages these dedicated and skilled professionals  deserve  for  the  work
they do.
  The  Legislature  further  finds that in order to begin to address the
wage losses sustained by these dedicated professionals, and in order  to
ensure  these  workers  receive a fair wage commensurate to their skill,
training and heightened responsibilities, and to address the  unaccepta-
bly high vacancy and turnover rates, which disrupts care-giving, lessens
the  quality  of  the lives of those with intellectual and 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.
  The Legislature further finds it is necessary to quantify the  factors
having  an  adverse  impact  on the ability of providers of supports and
services for people  with  developmental  disabilities  to  recruit  and
retain  qualified staff and on their ability to provide the supports and
services necessary for their health, safety and happiness and  an  iden-
tification of the resources necessary.
  S 2. The commissioner of health and the commissioner of the office for
people  with developmental disabilities shall develop and issue a report
enumerating the causes of the high and increasing turnover  and  vacancy
rates  of  Direct  Support Professionals (DSPs) working with people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities. Such report  shall  include
an  assessment of all factors which are causing the vacancy and turnover
rates of providers of supports and services for individuals with  intel-
lectual and developmental disabilities to raise.
  S 3. The report shall include identification of resources necessary to
attract  and retain a quality workforce, and the fiscal resources neces-
sary to maintain a quality workforce in sufficient number to assure  the
health  and safety of individuals with developmental disabilities and to
reverse the unacceptably high vacancy and turnover rates.
  S 4. On or before November 1, 2016, the commissioner of health and the
commissioner of the office for people  with  developmental  disabilities
shall complete the study conducted pursuant to sections two and three of
this  act  and  shall  thereafter  deliver a copy of the findings of the
study and any legislative recommendations they deem to be necessary,  to
the  governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of
the assembly.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

co-Sponsors

2015-S7677A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10409
Law Section:: Health

2015-S7677A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S7677A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7677A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to direct the commissioner of the office for
people with developmental 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 experiences by non-profit providers of
supports and services for individuals with intellectual and
developmental 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 disabilities.

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
professionals serving individuals with intellectual and developmental
disabilities 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
professional workforce in New York State. According to recent surveys,
73 percent of direct care staff are women and 56.5 percent are either
African-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 sufficient state funds to support these
individuals as part of the FY18 State budget process.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately

2015-S7677A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 7677--A

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 12, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
  mental Disabilities -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

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:

  Section 1. Legislative findings. The  Legislature  hereby  finds  that
Direct  Support  Professionals  (DSPs) are the lynchpin of the system of
supports for people with developmental disabilities. These dedicated and
skilled direct support professionals allow more than 100,000 New Yorkers
to lead safe, fulfilling lives.  More than 90% of all funding to support
the salaries of these highly trained professionals comes  from  Medicaid
or other state funds.
  The  Legislature  further  finds  the current funding for these highly
trained professionals is insufficient to pay a fair wage  for  the  work
these skilled professionals do, leaving these dedicated workers in short
supply.    Recent  surveys  by voluntary agencies employing these valued
professionals indicate a high and  increasing  statewide  vacancy  rate,
high  and  increasing  staff  turnover  rates  and increasing difficulty
recruiting and retaining these valuable employees.
  The Legislature further  finds  that  women  and  minorities  are  the
cornerstone  of  the  direct  support professional workforce in New York
State. According to recent surveys, 73 percent of direct care staff  are
women and 56.5 percent are either African-American, black or of Hispanic
and  Latino  origin.  It  is critically important that these skilled and
dedicated professionals receive the fair wage they deserve, for the work
they do.
  The Legislature further finds that in his April 2012 Report to  Gover-
nor  Cuomo,  Clarence Sundram, the Governor's Special Advisor on Vulner-
able Persons, found that "a strong, well trained  and  committed  direct

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD15398-02-6

S. 7677--A                          2

support  staff"  is essential to safeguard and care for vulnerable indi-
viduals. In order to attract and retain such a workforce, and to  ensure
appropriate  recruitment,  job  training,  coaching,  motivation and the
inculcating of core agency mission values in these front line workers by
agency supervisors and managers as envisioned by the Sundram report, the
Legislature  finds  not  for profit agencies must be given the resources
needed in order to pay these workers and front-line managers and  super-
visors a fair wage consistent with the responsibilities and duties these
individuals perform.
  The  Legislature further finds that as a result of fiscal difficulties
the state faced beginning in 2009,  the  state  has  failed  to  provide
appropriate  funding  to  allow not for profit providers to pay the fair
wages these dedicated and skilled professionals  deserve  for  the  work
they do.
  The  Legislature  further  finds that in order to begin to address the
wage losses sustained by these dedicated professionals, and in order  to
ensure  these  workers  receive a fair wage commensurate to their skill,
training and heightened responsibilities, and to address the  unaccepta-
bly high vacancy and turnover rates, which disrupts care-giving, lessens
the  quality  of  the lives of those with intellectual and 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.
  The Legislature further finds it is necessary to quantify the  factors
having  an  adverse  impact  on the ability of providers of supports and
services for people  with  developmental  disabilities  to  recruit  and
retain  qualified staff and on their ability to provide the supports and
services necessary for their health, safety and happiness and  an  iden-
tification of the resources necessary.
  S  2.  The  commissioner  of  the office for people with developmental
disabilities shall develop and issue a report enumerating the causes  of
the  high  and  increasing  turnover and vacancy rates of Direct Support
Professionals (DSPs) working with people with intellectual and  develop-
mental  disabilities.  Such  report  shall  include an assessment of all
factors which are causing the vacancy and turnover rates of providers of
supports and services for individuals  with  intellectual  and  develop-
mental disabilities to raise.
  S 3. The report shall include identification of resources necessary to
attract  and retain a quality workforce, and the fiscal resources neces-
sary to maintain a quality workforce in sufficient number to assure  the
health  and safety of individuals with developmental disabilities and to
reverse the unacceptably high vacancy and turnover rates.
  S 4. On or before November 1, 2016, the commissioner of the office for
people  with  developmental  disabilities  shall  complete   the   study
conducted pursuant to sections two and three of this act and shall ther-
eafter  deliver  a copy of the findings of the study and any legislative
recommendations he or she deems to be necessary, to  the  governor,  the
temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.