I can't thank you enough for all your efforts to ensure that funding was included in the New Jersey FY 2020 budget to raise the wages of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who work with people with I/DD.

Every call, every letter, every email, every face-to-face conversation took effort but it made an enormous difference. Your voice was heard!

From day one, the grassroots responded to our Action Alerts and ensured that the Legislature and the Governor heard our call for help. When Governor Murphy announced his proposed budget for FY 20 in March he included funding to continue the $20 million DSP wage increase from last year. When the Legislature passed their proposed budget bill on June 20th, they included an additional $20 million for DSP wages. And when Governor Murphy made his final decisions for the FY 20 spending plan, he chose to keep the $20 million of new funds in the final bill he signed on June 30th.

With a large portion of these funds matched by federal dollars, we can once again - for the third year in a row - give our hard-working DSPs an increase.

We couldn't do it without you - your voices, your passion and your perseverance all added up to this significant accomplishment. On behalf of our dedicated DSPs, and all the individuals with I/DD and their families they serve, THANK YOU for all your efforts.