NYS Focuses on Mimimum Wage Hike

ALBANY, N.Y. — Low-wage workers from around New York state gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday to support Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, a proposal that continues to dominate the year's legislative work.Sandra Luke makes $9 as a wheelchair attendant at New York City'sLaGuardia Airport. She said it's barely enough to make ends meet, and forces her to sort her bills into two categories: ones she can pay and ones she must put off.

NYS $15 Minimum Wage Proposal & Impact on Non Profit Agencies

Not-for-profit agencies and workers are really nervous about the proposed minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.
These are agencies that try to help their communities in some way. They range from hospitals to research labs to social services. And they have a significant role in the North Country economy. An Adirondack Foundation study in 2013 found that 36 non-profits in the North Country generated more than $400 million in economic activity and provided roughly 10 percent of all the jobs in the region.

Cuomo Vetoes Reprieve for Center

Interesting developments and understand that some individuals and families are familiar only with developmental centers, it's the only environment they know. Proud that we are partnering with NYS and providing a home (very soon) for individuals from the Brooklyn Developmental Center. Check out the bill itself, interesting read.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed bipartisan legislation this past weekend that would have given a reprieve to the embattled Broome Developmental Center.

The bill would have required the state to keep its residences for people with severe developmental disabilities open if group homes and other facilities can’t provide the services requested by 

Agencies Wary of $15/Hour Minimum

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s push for a statewide $15 per hour minimum wage faces hurdles in the human services sector. Agencies serving mentally challenged or physically disabled populations are concerned in part about the competition they would face in the labor market. 

“I know my colleagues statewide are going crazy; how do we do this?” said Patrick Dollard, CEO of Center for Discovery in Harris. “The field is concerned because it’s tough to get people in the door now to work with very complex people … A lot of people might rather flip burgers at McDonald’s. The work we demand from people is so much more intense.”

Awaiting Word From Cuomo on Autism Bill

ALBANY -- Former Gov. David Paterson vetoed legislation last year that would have required health-care coverage for medically necessary autism treatment, saying it could cost the state and municipalities $70 million a year.
Now, a similar bill for screening, diagnosis and evidence-based treatment awaits action by Gov. Andrew Cuomo after passage by the Legislature.

Displaced Special Educator Speaks Up

The feeling of telling someone you lost your job is difficult task to undertake. I didn't really lose my job though; I had it taken from me by New York Governor Cuomo with his budget cuts to education and by NYSUT, the union I belong to, whose support of an inane "Last in, First out" rule has prevented me from continuing my work with my high school students.
I have been on a nine-year journey through two graduate schools, three one-year teaching positions between New York and Florida and countless days of substitute teaching in the hopes that I would be more marketable to a district in the process. The 'Last in, First out' rule cost me and thousands of others around the state this year and it is destroying the institution of teaching.
As a nation, we do not give support to teachers and educators: instead, politicians and parents alike condemn teachers when students do not succeed and decide to make drastic budget cuts that make educating the next generation less appealing as a career. Where are the priorities of this once great nation? Governor Cuomo says that districts should have better fiscal management: "Manage the school system. Reduce the waste. Reduce the fraud. Reduce the abuse."
Well, which one am I Governor Cuomo? A waste? A fraud? An abuse of the system? Was my hiring a poor choice for a resource room for students with Asperger's Syndrome despite my expertise with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders? Are you really in a position to make a call like that?