Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh joined advocates from The Arc of Indiana County for a roundtable discussion on the successes to-date of the Shapiro Administration’s multi-year growth strategy for intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) services and the importance of continued funding in Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal for this community and the workforce that supports them.

The 2024-25 bipartisan budget made historic new investments in Pennsylvanians with ID/A and the direct support professionals (DSPs) who care for them by securing $354.8 million in federal and state funding to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers. The funding included:

-$280 million to help raise wages for DSPs, ensuring better retention and quality of care
-This investment in provider rates supported recruitment, retention, and wages for DSPs who make inclusive, enriching lives possible for people with intellectual disabilities and autism.
-$74.8 million to begin the process of eliminating the years-long emergency waiting list for services.

In less than one year, DHS has reduced the adult emergency waiting list for services by just under 20 percent. This is a remarkable shift given that the emergency waiting list had been growing for years. During the Shapiro Administration, more than 3,000 additional individuals have been enrolled in services, and that number will continue to rise. For the first time ever, more than 40,000 individuals are receiving ID/A services through the Department of Human Services. Funding in Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 proposed budget will continue this rate of progress, which includes 1,300 people newly receiving services since July 2024.

The Shapiro Administration believes every Pennsylvanian with intellectual disabilities and autism deserves the supports they need to achieve an everyday life with dignity and the opportunity to live and work among their families and peers. While home- and community-based services have been offered in Pennsylvania for decades, the way the program was structured limited capacity and did not allow flexibility that could help individuals access the services they needed when they needed them. Historically, individuals may have waited for years to be enrolled in services even if they have immediate needs. 

Through the multi-year growth strategy, DHS has shifted away from setting capacity in programs by numbers or “slots” and instead sets capacity by an overall budget-based system. This will allow counties flexibility to make decisions based on local needs and will help establish Pennsylvania as a national leader in eliminating its emergency waiting list for home- and community-based services.