Please contact Governor Maura Healey today to share our community’s priorities for the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) state budget: Click here to take ACTION!

Each year, the Governor proposes a state budget in January. That proposal, which is being shaped and drafted now, serves as the basis for months of debate over the multibillion-dollar state budget. Given the current challenges due to federal changes, our advocacy is needed now more than ever to safeguard the state budget from significant cuts.

The Arc of Massachusetts continues to express our community’s priorities to the Governor and state legislators. Now, we need your help to amplify and share the following priorities.

• Given the federal policies and funding cuts that will constrict the state budget, we are focusing on supporting the human services workforce by ensuring that no cuts are made to Chapter 257, which funds the rates for direct care workers’ salaries. Though we know that increases are needed in the long term, given this year’s fiscal uncertainty, we must ensure that Chapter 257 is maintained. Cuts of any size would be devastating to programs, individuals, and families. There are already thousands of people who are underserved or unserved, and we must focus on reducing those waitlists.

• We also must ensure that the state budget protects from the worst impacts of federal cuts and subsequent state budget tightening on Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports (LTSS). This is particularly crucial for the services that support the most vulnerable in our communities: day habilitation programs, Adult Foster Care (AFC), and Personal Care Attendant (PCA) programs.

• We must also ensure that people with IDD and autism do not lose eligibility for services through more frequent redeterminations and work requirements that make accessing services even more challenging.

All of these priorities are critically important, particularly for those with complex medical and behavioral challenges. The Governor and state legislature have our community’s back, but in these challenging times, our voices need to be strong.

First: please contact the Governor’s office today to ensure that we adequately fund state programs and appropriately support the workforce. 

Then: please share this action alert widely, and please stay engaged in advocacy throughout the entire state budget process.