FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July, 29, 2024
Contact: Blaise Bryant, (518) 572-7555
Lindsay Miller, (646) 641-8930
On Monday, July 29th, Governor Kathy Hochul will be holding a Disability Pride event at the Governor’s Mansion at 4.00 p.m.
Independent Living Centers (ILCs) plan to protest today’s event because of the Governor’s inaccurate, gross misrepresentation of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) as a “racket” during a recent Bloomberg interview.
Citing social media rather than the facts, the Governor discussed a months-old TikTok video referencing “babysitting Grandma” for $37 per hour as her source. This is obviously an uninformed and misguided perception of home care.
The actual facts are that these home health aides are grossly underpaid for the services and compassion they bring to thousands of elderly and disabled New Yorkers in their homes to keep them out of institutions. The wages homecare workers earn in the CDPAP program are only $17.55 per hour for the rest of the state and $18.55 downstate, the minimum allowed under law.
By referring to the CDPAP as a “racket” Governor Hochul is insulting the people with disabilities who rely on the program, homecare workers, and the Fiscal Intermediaries who administer the program, ironically during Disability Pride Month. The term “racket” is a serious allegation, because it implies organized criminal behavior, which is far from the truth . Our member Independent Living Centers, along with long-standing Fiscal Intermediaries, have been operating the CDPAP ethically and legally with a consumer-first approach for decades under the watchful eyes of Federal and State government regulators.
Governor Hochul must apologize, correct the record, and allow us as a disability-lead network to help preserve and protect the CDPAP. Nothing about us without us!
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