';
Policy Areas

Message from ANCOR:

As you may have heard, the Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act was reintroduced in Congress! This Act would direct the Office of Management and Budget to establish a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for direct support professionals (DSP). With a SOC for DSPs, we can begin to capture more accurate employment and wage data, which helps in developing more precise payment rates. We need your support to ensure that this crucial bipartisan legislation is supported by your congressional members and passed this Congress!

ANCOR members and our allies have already been doing an amazing job in just the past two days — Over 3,500 messages have been sent to Members of Congress! In case you have a competitive streak and are curious which states are leading the pack, members from New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Massachusetts have sent the most messages to Congress this week! Let’s keep the momentum going!

Take action and contact your legislators today to support DSPs and share it with your friends and family. Remember, you can take the action alert every day! Let’s make a difference for our Direct Support Professional Workforce.

Join the National Council on Aging (NCOA) for Part 2 of their Public Policy webinar series to learn about the ongoing efforts in Congress to tackle the direct care workforce crisis. As the pandemic has shown, the demand for direct care far exceeds the available supply of workers across the nation, creating a significant challenge for care recipients and direct care workers alike. Without a robust direct care workforce, families and caregivers face additional pressure to provide care that is often inadequate for the complex health needs of older adults and persons with disabilities. In this webinar, attendees will discover how NCOA is taking action to address this issue, as well as hear from members of Congress.

This webinar will take place on Thursday, May 25 at 2:00 pm ET.

Visit here to register.

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) announced more than $6 million in grant funding for organizations to establish or expand substance use disorder (SUD) services, community outreach, and education to underrepresented communities struggling with the opioid overdose crisis.

In 2020, overdose death rates increased 39 percent for Black Pennsylvanians, compared to 2019. In 2021, Black Pennsylvanians died from an overdose at a rate that was nearly two times higher than white Pennsylvanians.

Those eligible for this funding included organizations that provide services, outreach, and/or education to communities of color and promote access to harm reduction services, low-barrier SUD and medication-assisted treatment (MAT), recovery and peer supports, and/or offender reentry supports.

Through this funding award, 19 organizations are receiving grants up to $400,000 for a 12-month period beginning July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. Funds shall be applied toward a range of activities, including construction and building infrastructure, staffing, and evidence-based programming.

Read the full press release.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

RCPA held a golf fundraiser for the RCPA Political Action Committee (RCPA PAC) on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. This successful event raised much-needed funds for our legislative activities, and we would like to thank all the generous golfers who participated and contributed. Congratulations to our winners! In addition, we would like to thank our sponsors:

  • Associated Production Services, Inc.;
  • Brier Dlugolecki Strategies;
  • Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy;
  • Christopher S. Lucas & Associates;
  • Corporate Benefits Consultants;
  • Erie County Care Management;
  • Morgan Stanley Wealth Management;
  • Novak Strategic Advisors; and
  • Threshold Rehabilitation Services, Inc.

Your support is always appreciated, and we encourage you to make a personal contribution to the RCPA PAC. For your convenience, you can now make an online contribution.

Thank you again for your participation and support. We look forward to holding another golf outing in October, in conjunction with the RCPA Annual Conference.

Your participation in the RCPA-PAC is completely voluntary, and you may contribute as much or as little as you choose. Donations are not tax-deductible and will be used for political purposes. You may choose not to participate without fear of reprisal. You will not be favored or disadvantaged by reason of the amount of your contribution or decision not to contribute.