ST. PAUL — Hundreds of disability rights advocates gathered at the Minnesota Capitol on Tuesday, March 24, to highlight the importance of budgetary decisions this session that would affect providers and disabled people in their ability to get the care they need.
“It’s just really important that we protect the investments that have already been made and look to expand that into the future so that we can continue to support those roles,” said Anna Heglund, the president of the board of directors of the Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota, or ARRM.
This comes after Gov. Tim Walz proposed limiting the number of days the state will pay for residential disability service to 351 per year, leaving the other 14 days to be paid by the resident or provider. The governor says the change is needed to help balance the state’s budget.
But the change could affect services and make placements more difficult for people with complex needs, Heglund said.
Heglund said it is important for direct support professionals to earn a living wage for their work, which is one of the many reasons they gathered.
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
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Contributed/Minnesota Senate Media Services via YouTubeDistricts with fewer than a thousand students could ask voters to approve reducing board membership from six to five. Small districts often struggle to fill out their boards.
