COVID-19 Relief CARES Act Funding Advocacy Toolkit

Check out the data brief prepared by PAR and our partners to share the results of 3 studies that gathered data on the impact of COVID-19 on Direct Support Professionals and Providers.

Pennsylvania's legislature and Governor Wolf are currently in discussions about how to distribute around $1 Billion in the second round of CARES Act funding for COVID-19 relief. PAR and our partners advocated for funding in May from the first round of CARES Act funding. While we were successful in securing funding to keep providers afloat during the first few months of the pandemic, it is critical that the Intellectual Disability/Autism system receive another infusion of funding in our to remain secure for the last few months of the year.

Pennsylvania ID/A providers are experiencing a loss of revenue and increased costs of approximately $90Million per month due to COVID-19. In order to stay afloat through the last three months of 2020, we are requesting $270Million in COVID-19 Relief Funding from the second round of CARES Act Funding. The decisions on COVID-19 Relief Funding Distribution will be made by the end of the month so the time to act is now.

We need your help! We need all PAR members to reach out to your Executive staff, Direct Support Professionals, and especially the family members of the individuals you support to help advocate for this critical funding. Here is a draft letter for providers to send to families with the information below - please feel free to customize the letter and the following information with everyone in your network!

1. Send an email to your legislators and Governor Wolf
Click here to send an email! Simply enter your mailing address and email address and your message will automatically be sent to your Senator and Representative and Governor Wolf. 

2. Call your legislators!
Click here to look up your legislators and here to view our advocacy talking points. The message is simple: We need this critical CARES Act Funding in order to keep Intellectual Disability/Autism services afloat through the end of the year!

3. Post on social media
If you have stories about how important Intellectual Disability/Autism services and Direct Support Professionals are, please share them on social media using the hashtag #SupportMeSupportDSPs and tag your legislators! We are just out of Direct Support Professional Recognition Week, what stories can you share on social media to help advocate for DSPs and the individuals they support?

As a reminder, here is a bulleted list of the materials: