State Budget Report
R Freynman | Director of Advocacy | February 3, 2025It has been a rough couple of weeks. I personally have been taking comfort in the fact that my job is advocacy, and specifically on the state level, where I feel more capable of effecting change. When things get so overwhelming, I find it helpful to focus on one small part of the problem.
Last week, Governor Healey released her version of the state budget. This kicks off a 5-month (or longer) budgeting process which happens every year. The House and the Senate will make significant changes before it returns to her. The Governor’s budget helps advocates see where we need to focus our energy in the coming months. This year, the state budget is especially important, because of all of the uncertainty around federal funding – if federal money is discontinued, we’ll be relying on state-level resources for the programs we all rely on.
The state budget is huge, and covers literally thousands of line items. I’m going to focus on a few priorities that we have here at the DPC.
Housing: The Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) provides mobile housing vouchers to low-income individuals with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 60. The governor suggested a $3 million dollar increase for AHVP, bringing it to $19.2 million total. We are glad that the importance of this program is being recognized with this increase, but the funding is only enough to maintain the vouchers that currently exist. That means, if the program only gets $19.2 million, no one new will be taken off the waitlist or issued a voucher for the whole year. In a time of widely-recognized housing emergency, we need a large enough increase to grow, rather than simply maintain, this vital housing support. Our goal is $30 million, enough to fund significant growth.
Personal Care Attendants: The Personal Care Attendant (PCA) program enables over 40,000 people with disabilities and elderly people to live in the community with dignity and independence. You might remember that last year, we fought tooth and nail to maintain funding for the program and prevent changes to eligibility that would kick thousands of people off this program. This year, there wasn’t a cut, but there is language that promises cuts in the future. We will be advocating to remove that language.
The Mass Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides vital access services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. Increased funding can create recruitment, training and mentorship opportunities for ASL interpreters and CART transcriptionists, addressing the severe shortage of these professionals in Massachusetts.
Stay tuned for how you can get involved with our advocacy. We’re stronger together.