Washington's supported living caregivers desperately need raises from the legislature
Since 1969, Community Living has been supporting individuals with developmental disabilities to live in their own homes within their own communities across Washington. We provide supported living services, including individualized support and training in all aspects of daily living for our clients.
At its most basic level, our job is to be consistent in our caregiving. For the 99.9% of our clients who can only access our services through state-funded Medicaid, Washington's investment is what allows them to receive the support they need to bathe, dress, shop, cook, eat, socialize, work and take part in the community.
As the state legislature enters its budget negotiation process, I urge them to protect resources for supported living services and include a 3% Medicaid provider rate increase in their final budget as proposed by House lawmakers. While the House budget proposal did include this essential rate increase, the Senate's proposal fell short of providing the most basic of maintenance investments for one of our state's most vulnerable populations.
Fortunately, both proposals had the foresight to invest in housing for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities by including a minimum of $50 million for the Housing Trust Fund. Now, in addition to providing housing, we must also provide the services that would allow people with disabilities to live independently in those homes.
The legislature has already seen the benefits that come from investing in supported living. In 2021, there was a 74% turnover rate among the staff who provide direct caregiving to clients, also known as direct support professionals. That meant that about three out of every four people hired into the job would leave it within the year. But, after the legislature committed to a provider rate increase in 2022, we saw turnover slashed in half to 37% in 2023.
Without an investment in this year's budget, we will only prolong the wage stagnation of the direct support professionals who care for the 4,600 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive services.
In our work, consistency is everything. Community Living has been continuously providing supported living services in southern King County since 1981, and we currently support 25 clients who live independently in the community. Every single person we serve has a different set of support needs, a different way of communicating and a different range of preferences. They are as unique as anyone, which means that the quality of their care is often dependent on the quality of their ongoing relationships with caregivers. Lower turnover simply means better care.
When we have more consistent staff, it also means that clients and service providers are not constantly on the precipice of crisis. We are the proud employer of 129 direct support professionals across our homes in Auburn, Issaquah and Kent. As any manager knows, turnover is costly to both the budget and the culture. When staff are paid a livable wage and feel like they can invest in a career, we are also able to provide more services to more clients. After the 2022 rate increase went into effect, the state was able to serve 130 more clients over a period of 18 months. Fewer clients waiting for care means more people receiving the consistency that supported living services can provide.
There is a growing need for community-based models of care for our neighbors with developmental disabilities. Our state is working to transition away from state-run institutions, and supported living is one of the ways we can do that while centering the individual choice and dignity of our clients. I urge the legislature to retain the 3% Medicaid provider rate increase for supported living and the Housing Trust Fund investment in their final budget in order to stay aligned with our state's goals.
During this challenging budget and political climate, the state has a fundamental moral obligation to protect essential services for our most vulnerable community members. People with developmental and intellectual disabilities deserve the support they need to live a whole and happy life. If we do nothing else, we can at least be consistent in that.
Randy Hauck is the executive director of Community Living, a non-profit that supports individuals with developmental disabilities to live in their own homes and in their own communities of Auburn, Bellevue, Clarkston, Grandview, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Redmond, Selah, Sunnyside and Yakima
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