First-In-The-Nation Legislation—Named for a One of a Kind Man
For more than a decade, funding for intellectual/developmental (I/DD) disabilities services in Delaware remained stagnant. Without any measurable investments into the system, providers and families became concerned over growing service needs with fewer and fewer resources.
In the spring of 2018, The Michael McNesby Full Funding for Adults with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Act was introduced and ultimately passed unanimously. A large advocacy campaign led by the Ability Network of Delaware along with providers, families and other stakeholders in the disability community rallied in Dover to see this first-in-the-nation piece of legislation become law.
While the legislation and a new comprehensive rate study written into the Fiscal Year 2019 budget was groundbreaking, it would take an additional 4 legislative sessions to fulfill the promise made when Governor John Carney signed the McNesby Act into law on September 4, 2018.
Competing human service needs, a global pandemic and other administrative priorities would all prove to be additional hurdles to jump before I/DD services would be funded at 100% of the 2019 rate study. In May 2022, Joint Finance Committee Chair, Senator Trey Paradee announced that the committee would be adding the last of the millions in state funding necessary to fulfill the promise made by the Delaware General Assembly in 2018.
But something this significant doesn’t happen without a great deal of effort. The provider community, family, self-advocates along with many stakeholders and elected officials fought long and hard to make this happen.
The Road to Fully Funding the McNesby Act
2018 – House Bill 104, sponsored by Representative Melanie George Smith (retired) and Senator Bryan Townsend passes unanimously in both houses of the Delaware General Assembly.
The Joint Finance Committee adds $4.67M to FY19 budget. On September 4, 2018, Governor John Carney signs the McNesby Act into law with Michael’s family in attendance.
2019 – The Joint Finance Committee adds $4 million.
2020 – The fiscal challenges and shifting priorities caused by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency create funding challenges. No additional investments in I/DD services are made.
2021 – Ability Network of Delaware launches campaign highlighting the Direct Support Professional Workforce Crisis. Provider community and families push Delaware legislators to fulfill the promise when the McNesby Act was passed 3 years earlier.
Multiple news articles and opinion pieces written by those in the provider community as well as family members are published.
In May 2021, the Joint Finance Committee adds an astounding $16.4 million to the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, bringing it to 85% of the benchmark.
2022 – The McNesby advocacy community grows and additional Op-Ed pieces by prominent Delawareans and elected officials are published in multiple Delaware newspapers, leading to growing demands to “fully fund” The McNesby Act.
On May 24, 2022 Joint Finance Committee Chair, Senator Trey Paradee announces the committee will be adding the remaining $17.2 million in state funding to bring services to 100% of the benchmark set by the 2019 rate study.
This incredible accomplishment happened because a diverse and dedicated group of professionals, families, self-advocates, and elected officials worked tirelessly to educate those at all levels of government on the realities they were facing after so many years of the I/DD service system suffering from chronically underfunded.
But more than anyone else, this could not have happened without the McNesby family and Michael himself. We thank them for their support and incredible contributions.
BREAKING NEWS:
McNesby Act will be fully funded this year!
The Ability Network of Delaware (A.N.D.) thanks the members of the General Assembly and Governor Carney for fully funding the McNesby Act, which was passed in 2018. The state's FY 2023 budget increases funding for I/DD services by $16.4 million, which will draw down another $27.5 million in Medicaid matching funds. This funding is on top of the $17.2 million increase for I/DD services included in the FY 2022 budget, for a total of $42 million in state funds that have been invested in I/DD services since 2018.
And finally, thank you to the McNesby family for your support and meaningful contributions that has made this accomplishment possible. The Michael McNesby Full Funding for Adults with I/DD Act’s goal was always to help adults with I/DD to live a life as rewarding as Michael McNesby lived and we are incredibly excited what full funding means for that goal.
#FullFundingBecause …
Delaware’s services for intellectual and developmental disabilities are chronically underfunded. Without this necessary funding, Delaware faces a workforce crisis for I/DD service providers and a social crisis for the people who receive these services.
The Ability Network of Delaware and the stakeholders in the I/DD service system thank the General Assembly and Governor Carney for the $17.2 million funding increase that was granted to DDDS in the FY 2022 state budget.
Even with this significant increase, the I/DD service system still faces a growing workforce crisis. With increasing DSP vacancy rates and high staff turnover it is more important than ever to fully fund services. We urge Governor Carney to bring funding for I/DD services in the FY 2023 budget up to 100% of the benchmark recommended in the 2019 rate rebasing study that the McNesby Act required.
How will full funding impact Delaware?
More Economic Activity in Local Communities: An independent study published in November 2019 showed that every dollar invested by Delaware in disability services was matched by $1.38 in federal Medicaid dollars at that time. For example, an additional $10 million investment by the state in these services would create 460 jobs outside the social service system, resulting in $20 million in earnings by those job holders, which would bring in $1.4 million more in state tax revenue.
New Federal Funds Can Assist in Rebuilding the Human Services Infrastructure: A substantial investment in rebuilding the crumbling human services infrastructure now would bring even more federal funds into the Delaware economy. That’s because if the state brings funding for I/DD services to 100% of the benchmarks set in the 2019 rate study, which would require $16.51 million in state funds, the federal government will provide an additional $21.89 million in matching funds.
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