Our state Legislature has failed to fund attendant caregiver wages for people who provide care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Despite Texas having a $33 billion budget surplus, despite Governor Greg Abbott saying that addressing low attendant wages was among the most important legislative goals of the session, despite provider agencies only receiving less than 1 percent of an adjustment to their fundamental rates over the last 12 years or six sessions, our legislators allocated only $10.60 per hour for provider agencies to hire staff who then provide comprehensive, necessary, and life-sustaining support to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This rate of pay is $5 per hour less than the starting pay of a new Dairy Queen employee in Austin.

Due to inadequate wage rates, several provider agencies at a recent hearing in Austin told Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) officials that they are experiencing 30 percent of their group home shifts being unstaffed while administrators are working in the direct attendant gaps to ensure clients’ needs are met. One provider agency testified that, while covering an unstaffed shift in a group home, their administrator had a finger bitten off. While surprising to the average Texan, it is par for the course for those who work in the industry.

Our legislators, presumably, believe that people who are supposed to ensure intellectually disabled individuals receive their...

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