COLA Coalition

Key Points

The coalition urged a 3% increase for community providers in FY 2001

The State of Connecticut depends on private agencies to provide services in the community for people with disabilities.

• For many years the state has worked in partnership with private agencies to provide services to people with disabilities

• The state has made an investment in developing a private infrastructure to assist it in the delivery of services

• The U.S. Supreme Court in the Olmstead case recently ruled that the state must provide services in the community to individuals who want them and would benefit from them

• The state needs the private infrastructure to serve people with disabilities in community programs

Private agencies need an increased COLA to insure that they can continue to maintain current levels of service.

• Agencies need a well-trained and consistent staff to provide quality programs that insure the health and safety of participants

• Agencies need an increased COLA to recruit and retain that qualified staff

• Private agencies are consistently losing staff to employment with the state after they have trained them

• State workers will receive a 5% salary increase this year

• Agencies need an increased COLA to meet other budget obligations

• Health insurance costs have increased by more than 10%

• Energy costs have increased by 100%

[home]