The Illinois FY25 state budget has been passed by the Illinois General Assembly, marking another consecutive year of investment into I/DD services. Thanks to your efforts, the Direct Support Professional (DSP) wage rate will increase by $1.00/hour wage effective January 1, 2025. 75 cents of this will be passed through to increase each DSPs base wage. The other 25 cents will be used for DSP wages, but with flexibility to address each agency’s individual staffing needs. 100% of these funds will go towards DSP wages, but every provider faces unique challenges, and flexibility will allow providers to address the most urgent staffing needs within their organizations.
This budget had very limited funds available for investments, as federal COVID funds are no longer abundant, but our advocacy efforts helped highlight the urgent need for these long-overdue investments. While this is well-below the fully requested amount of $3.00/hour, in such a tight budget landscape, coming away with another consecutive year of investment should be seen as a big win.
Many legislators in both the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle have championed this issue and taken a stand to support individuals with I/DD and the dedicated frontline DSP workers who support them. This is a result of the persistent advocacy and education on these issues. Our legislative champions remain committed to improving I/DD services in Illinois, and we will continue to advocate for the needs of this community which has waited far too long for adequate resources and supports for individuals with disabilities.
While it is important to highlight the unprecedented investments into our system over the past several years, we still have plenty of work to do. So please take some time to thank your legislators for investing in the DSP workforce yet again, but also to remind them that the DSP staffing crisis requires further support and investment in FY26.
Moving Forward
Although the General Assembly has adjourned and the state budget has passed, our fight to continue raising DSP wages and improving disability services in Illinois is far from over. Our advocacy efforts have continued to expand and become more impactful, legislative awareness of these issues is at an all-time high, and we continue to gain more legislative champions willing to take a stand to support individuals with I/DD. None of this would be possible without you, our dedicated grassroots advocates.
Moving forward we will continue fighting to provide adequate resources to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the dedicated professionals who support them. We are growing stronger and more influential every year, and it is essential that we continue advocating for individuals with disabilities. Keep on the lookout for advocacy updates and new campaigns to take action on, but until then thank you for your efforts supporting individuals with disabilities. We could not do this without you.