Life’s WORC is a private not-for-profit agency that serves individuals with special needs, including intellectual challenges, developmental
disabilities and special needs. We maintain 45 homes, multiple non-residential programs and a Family Center for Achievement. Our agency
is one of the oldest in New York, established 54 years ago by Schneps Media Publisher Victoria Schneps with help from broadcast journalist
icon Geraldo Rivera.
After the Willowbrook scandal on Staten Island, which caused public outrage and scrutiny, New York’s leaders worked to develop one of the finest support systems for this population compared to most states in the nation.
Sadly, since committing to a progressive and supportive safety net for the people agencies, such as ours, support, this safety net is becoming worn and frayed with dangerous holes. If the current policies do not receive a major overhaul with positive improvements, this system will continue to deteriorate with potentially dire consequences
Although our front-line Direct Support Professional staff have received modest wage increases in recent years, the wages of other entry-level positions in other industries have increased at a much higher rate, making it very difficult to recruit and keep entry-level workers.
The inequity in pay for DSP workers in private non-profits is glaring. It is made even more disturbing by the fact that at our agency, 90% of the entry-level workforce is minority, and 74% are female.
They do the same work (changing adult diapers, administering medication, restraining a behaviorally challenged individual, helping a person into a specialized Arjo Tub, etc) as OPWDD state-operated agencies for less. And they perform much more challenging tasks than entry-level workers in the retail industry for far less compensation.
At present, we are confronted with a staffing crisis due to the low pay we offer for the very demanding tasks required to do the job. If we
do not adjust this unfair pay scale, there will be a mass exodus of front-line workers, posing a danger to the individuals in our homes and programs.
In short, the cost of fairly compensating private, non-profit entry-level staff pales compared to the cost of not doing so. We are not looking for anything more than equity and fairness
We are requesting state officials:
-Recognize the financial commitments New York State must make to address the rapidly approaching aging issues of the people we serve.
-Bring about an aggressive crash recruitment strategy to turn around the severe, crippling deficit of direct services providers, DSP staff.
We must work together to avoid a tragedy. We need solutions that will restore the state’s commitment to supporting this most vulnerable
population. The time to act is now!
Matthew P. Zebatto
Life’s WORC CEO
