A Journal News editorial

Key Senate and Assembly members, several Editorial Boards (including this one) and many New Yorkers have called for the governor to provide $45 million to ensure a living wage for workers who take care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to include that increased Medicaid reimbursement funding in his 2017-2018 executive budget plan. He had a chance to add this key funding when he issued his 30-day budget amendments on Thursday night.

He didn't.

What are the governor's priorities? His recent investment pledges include some $28 million for fancifying skiing facilities upstate, including souped-up gondolas for impatient Catskills skiers. And don't forget the state has spent more than $8 million in the last few years to create unreadable and federally noncompliant "I Love NY" highway signs.

We get that you love New York, governor. But where's the love for disabled New Yorkers and those who care for them 24/7?

In defense of the neglected $45 million investment in quality care, the governor's office has cited additional funding for nonprofit agencies to help cover the state's increased minimum wage, which will reach $15 by 2020. The governor, intentionally or not, misses the point.

EDITORIAL: Raise wages for workers who help most vulnerable

VENTURE PRESIDENT: Raise direct-care workers' wages

ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Use #bFair2DirectCare to share your support

Ensuring only a minimum wage for "Direct Service Professionals" means that those who care for the disabled end up earning what they could make at a fast-food joint or a big-box store. But their job is demanding. DSPs must undergo intense training and thorough background checks — necessary and non-negotiable. The work requires an emotional intelligence to help people who may not be able to articulate their own needs; behavior challenges can also pose physical dangers for a care provider.

Organizations that serve the I/DD population already face a growing worker shortage. They provide services that receive Medicaid reimbursements that determine worker pay. The state sets the Medicaid rate of payment, and has frozen increases for salaries in seven of the last eight years. If employers cannot pay a competitive, decent wage for this valuable work, the worker gap will grow, and nonprofits won't be able to fulfill their missions. Many could go out of business.

But people with disabilities will still need care. What would be the cost to the state then?

Now we call on Assembly and Senate leaders to ensure the state's upcoming budget includes money to increase Medicaid reimbursements for direct-care workers, and ensures a living wage for those who ensure a quality-of-life for the most vulnerable among us. Cuomo, then, has another chance to redeem this glaring oversight, and ensure the state makes the proper investment in fulfilling its promise to protect all New Yorkers.