About the McNesby Act
The Michael McNesby Full Funding for Adults with I/DD Act will ensure that funding for services is brought up to levels recommended by the Department of Health and Social Services.
$4.67 million in State funding was allocated in Fiscal Year 2019 budget, which increases the Division of Developmental Disabilities budget for adult services by 6.6 percent.
However, not all Direct Support Professionals (DSP) received wage increases because of the way the funds were distributed. Although residential services received a healthy increase, day programs actually lost ground against inflation, which has resulted in increased staff turnover. The State of Delaware needs to include the “Whole 9” in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget to shore up services until the rest of the funding becomes available in subsequent years
Breaking New Ground Requires Funding
The McNesby Act is the first legislation in the country to make an important commitment to fully fund services to adults with I/DD. However, it was not an appropriation bill, so there was no funding attached to it. Delaware’s Governor, Budget Director, the Joint Finance Committee, and Leadership of the General Assembly must make decisions to put money into the state budget each year until the goal is reached.
Click here to read the bill and why we need to keep advocating to keep the commitment made in the McNesby Act.
