Gov. Josh Shapiro Celebrates PA's Support For The Intellectual Disability And Autism Community
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) held a ceremonial bill signing to highlight investments for the intellectual disability and autism community.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In that role, I get to lift up the voices of individuals with disabilities and those
00:10who care for them.
00:11And we're here today to celebrate a pretty significant win, $354.8 million in state and
00:19federal funding to provide more resources for home and community-based services.
00:30This will help both raise the wages of DSPs and begin the process of addressing the long
00:36emergency waiting list.
00:38It has been a priority of the IDA community to fight for this additional funding for quite
00:42some time, and it has been wonderful to stand alongside Governor Shapiro in that same fight
00:48through the legislative process.
00:50I've been energized by the enthusiasm of so many who I see here today, without whom this
00:56would not have been possible.
00:58Folks who believe in the fundamental truth that no matter who you are, you should have
01:02the supports and services you need to live a successful life here in Pennsylvania.
01:08And that care work is valuable work, and so DSPs should be compensated accordingly.
01:14Freedom for people with disabilities is an illusion.
01:18If we don't have those supports that allow us to access our communities, to work jobs,
01:24to worship, to enjoy recreation.
01:27And with the passage of this year's budget, we have made significant progress to what
01:32our governor likes to call real freedom.
01:40And while we still have further to go, both for individuals with disabilities and for
01:45senior citizens, I'm proud of the wins we've accomplished so far, and look forward to continuing
01:50to work with the Shapiro administration to accomplish many more.
01:54And with that, I'm honored to introduce Mary Sautter, the Executive Director of BARC Developmental
01:59Services.
02:06Thank you so much, Representative, appreciate that.
02:08My name is Mary Sautter, and I am the Executive Director of BARC Developmental Services, and
02:13we are a nonprofit organization in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and we provide services
02:18and supports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism.
02:23And we were grateful and very happy to welcome the governor and Secretary Arcoosh and Deputy
02:29Secretary Arons to one of our facilities in April to sort of kick off the advocacy effort
02:36to get this budget passed.
02:38And it's great to be back here to see it come to fruition.
02:41And we appreciate the governor's support, the legislator's support for this historic
02:47times.
02:48We, you know, how we'll see it at BARC Developmental Services is assisting with our workforce crisis,
02:53because we need to hire more direct care staff, as you were mentioning.
02:57And we want to make sure that we can support every Pennsylvanian and everybody in Bucks
03:02County and other IDA providers want to do the same, who have the funding, and we need
03:07the staff to do it.
03:09I'm very proud to have a couple of our DSPs here with us, standing here with us today.
03:13We need to recruit and retain more DSP staffs.
03:16And this will make a big difference, that we can bring on more staff, we can bring more
03:20of our individuals back to our facilities, get them out into the community and provide
03:24that care that's so desperately needed for this vulnerable population.
03:28The other part of the bill that will really help is the waiting list.
03:32It will address so many Pennsylvanians who need the services and need the funding.
03:36And we're so excited that we can start welcoming them into services by providing funding for
03:40them.
03:41So, very short message, thanking the governor, thanking the legislator for this funding.
03:46It will make a big difference, and we know there's more work to come, as you mentioned,
03:52and we look forward to standing and doing whatever we can as a provider agency to help
03:56it.
03:57But we're so grateful for it.
03:58It's going to make an impact to a lot of Pennsylvanians.
04:00So we thank you again.
04:02And I'm very excited to introduce one of the folks that we support at BARC Developmental
04:06Services, who'd love to tell you just a few things about what he likes about BARC and
04:10what his staff mean to him.
04:12And without further ado, I'd like to introduce Matt Beckman.
04:15Hi, Matt.
04:16Hi, Matt.
04:17Congratulations, buddy.
04:18John, Matt.
04:21This is a big, big, big darn honor for me to be around a lot of people today.
04:27So Governor Shapiro, thank you for what you have done for the USA.
04:31Keep going.
04:32Keep fighting for us.
04:33And keep this going, man.
04:34We need it.
04:35And I also want to thank all the Special Olympians, especially the people from Philadelphia County,
04:43because without Governor Shapiro, none of us would be here.
04:47So please clap for Governor Shapiro and tell him that we all are happy to be here, man.
04:52We all are happy to be here.
04:55I'm proud.
04:56I'm proud to be here, man.
04:59Thanks, dude.
05:00Thanks, Matt.
05:01Thank you, Matt.
05:02You're welcome.
05:03Great job.
05:04Hey, everybody!
05:05Hey!
05:06Woo!
05:07This is a good day.
05:09I want to say I'm so happy that Matt is here, and I'm so happy that all the Special Olympians
05:16are here, the athletes are here, their parents are here, the coaches are here, and I am thrilled
05:23to welcome all of you to the Governor's residence.
05:25I want to begin by sending special and warm and loving regards from my wife, our First
05:32Lady, Lori Shapiro.
05:34So sorry she couldn't be here today, but is just a huge advocate for the Special Olympics
05:39and for all of you.
05:41So Lori wanted me to send her love to everyone here, and I want to say a special thanks to
05:46Representative Jess Benham, who is with us today.
05:50She has been a stalwart advocate.
05:53She has broken down barriers just by virtue of her presence in a room, and then she smashed
05:59through the next barrier by virtue of just how extraordinarily talented and dedicated
06:04she is in the House, and we would not be here today but for the leadership of Representative
06:09Benham.
06:11Truly.
06:14And I know our Special Olympians will understand this.
06:19It takes a team to get anything done, right?
06:22But I'm blessed to work with the best team in America when it comes to public service.
06:27Three of our Cabinet Secretaries joined me here today.
06:31The real short one is Dr. Khalid Mumine, who is behind us, our great Education Secretary.
06:37We're thankful he is here.
06:39We're thankful that Secretary Val Arcus is here from the Department of Human Services.
06:46And we are grateful for Secretary Nancy Walker at the Department of LNI, where OVR sits,
06:52one of the amazing agencies here in the Commonwealth.
06:57You know, I am blessed to get the chance to travel all around Pennsylvania every day.
07:03I'm going to, by the way, do my best not to get emotional during this here.
07:08I'm blessed to be able to go around to communities all across Pennsylvania and to meet people
07:12where they are, in rural, urban, suburban communities.
07:16People in the southeast, the northwest, all throughout Pennsylvania.
07:21And when I listen to Pennsylvanians, most folks just kind of want the same basic things
07:25in life, right?
07:26They want good schools for their kids and grandkids.
07:30They want economic opportunity.
07:31They want safe communities.
07:33And they want the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.
07:38And they get frustrated, rightfully so.
07:40And they feel like barriers have been erected to that opportunity, to that real freedom,
07:46as Representative Benham referenced before.
07:49And let's face it, for too long, we've had powerful interests, or sometimes even government,
07:55erect those barriers and make it harder for people like Matt to be the amazing, wonderful
07:59person that he is and to be his wonderful self.
08:03Well, I believe in real freedom, and I believe in creating real opportunity.
08:09And for too long, the wonderful people in the IDA community all across Pennsylvania,
08:13they haven't had that opportunity.
08:16They haven't had it sometimes because we haven't funded things.
08:19They haven't had it sometimes because we've set them aside, not said, you're part of the
08:24crew, let's do this together.
08:27We've tried very hard to change that.
08:29And this budget is an incredibly important step in that process.
08:34I want you to know that this has been a personal journey for me over two decades.
08:48I remember sitting where Representative Benham sits today in the House of Representatives.
08:52And I remember year after year after year, leaders in the IDA community would show up
08:58in the Capitol, typically in June around budget time.
09:03Some would walk into my office, some would wheel their way into my office, and they would
09:08ask for the basic services that they should have been guaranteed and afforded.
09:14They shouldn't have had to come to the Capitol and ask for help.
09:18But yet they did, because they were brave and tough and strong, and they were looking
09:23out for others in the community.
09:26And every year, when those decisions were made at the table, the IDA community was left
09:32behind.
09:33Their voices maybe weren't loud enough.
09:36They didn't maybe have the fancy lobbyists and powerful forces behind them that they
09:42had in the – that others maybe had in those conversations.
09:46And every year, I'd vote on a budget, and there'd be a little piece of me that felt
09:51like, you know, we didn't do right by these folks.
09:54We should have done better.
09:56And I made a point in my own brain to say that if I was ever in a position where I could
10:01do something really significant to change the trajectory for the IDA community, I would
10:06do that.
10:08My first year as governor, I asked Secretary Arkush to go and study this issue really carefully
10:14and understand what was needed.
10:16We learned very quickly that a whole lot more resources were needed, and we needed to make
10:21sure that we did something about this waiting list that just seemingly kept increasing year
10:26after year after year.
10:28We also said that this time, we were going to lock arms with the advocates that have
10:33been fighting this battle for decades, and we were going to help be their voice, and
10:38we were going to be their powerful force to get this done.
10:42For me, a whole lot changed about nine or ten months ago, though, when the Jennings
10:50family came to visit me.
10:52They're here right now, a mom, a grandmom, and their son.
10:57They came to tell me the story of so many in Pennsylvania about how an adult child needed
11:03more and more supports that the Commonwealth wasn't able to provide, and it was falling
11:09to the family, a family where mom was doing her best but was hit with cancer and had her
11:16own battle to deal with, and thank God she's doing well, where grandmom was doing her best
11:21but her best year after year after year was just getting a little harder each time.
11:27The Jennings family, to me, is indicative of the broader challenges in Pennsylvania.
11:33I walked out of that meeting that day, walked into my office, wiped the tears out of my
11:38eyes, grabbed my right hand, Dana Fritz, our chief of staff, and our deputy chief of staff,
11:44Lindsey Malden, and said, we are not going to go home next year from this budget until
11:49we do right by the Jennings and by other families all across Pennsylvania.
11:59They deserve better than what they've gotten, and as a result of us being able to build
12:04a bipartisan coalition, thanks to the voices of so many here who were willing to put in
12:10that work, notwithstanding the fact that the door had been shut on them for years in the
12:14past, they still were willing to do this hard work.
12:18Thanks to that coalition we built, bipartisan, all across Pennsylvania, with leaders like
12:23Representative Benham and others, we were able to pass historic funding in this year's
12:28budget and, most importantly, put us on a path to continuing that for years to come
12:34so the IDA community is no longer left behind, no longer forgotten, but they are at the front
12:40of the line when it comes to services here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
12:49This funding, this historic funding, is going to allow us to take 1,500 people off the waiting
12:55list and we're going to do even more next year.
12:58This allows us to increase funding so direct support professionals who are doing amazing
13:03work at BARC and elsewhere are going to have more dollars in their pockets so they can
13:09do the work that they love.
13:12We've been telling people who love to support people like Matt that they can't make a living
13:16doing that.
13:18That has changed as a result of this budget.
13:21There's more resources available for them to do this work.
13:24Folks, this is an incredibly meaningful day for me.
13:29This is an incredibly meaningful day for our team.
13:32I know for Representative Benham and other leaders in the legislature.
13:36I wanted today to thank all of you.
13:39Thank all of you for fighting this fight for so many years, for doing the hard work that
13:44allowed us to reach this point here today.
13:47You know, you all are incredible people and you were able to bring together a coalition
13:52of people who are now in a position to fight for you for years to come.
13:57I'm the only governor in the whole country with a divided legislature.
14:01Think about that for a minute.
14:03In these hyper-polarized times, we have a legislature, the only one in the country where
14:08one side is led by Republicans and the other side led by Democrats.
14:12And yet on this issue, Republicans and Democrats alike came together to say we value the IDA
14:19community and we're here to invest in the IDA community.
14:23And I want you to know that you matter.
14:25I want you to know that you have been heard.
14:27And I want you to know that you will always be in the front of the line when we go forward
14:32in our work here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
14:35Thank you for teaching me so much over the years.
14:37Thank you for being here for us.
14:39I'm proud to stand with all of you.
14:41And with that, I want to sign this into law.
15:03How you doing?
15:13How you doing?
15:17How you doing, pal?
15:19You good?
15:21We should name this after you.
15:23Do you need a chair?
15:25We're going to move that away.
15:27Oh man, I'm glad you're here.
15:29I remember seeing you at the bar.
15:31How you doing?
15:35Thank you very much.
15:39You ready?
15:41No?
15:43I got to sign this.
15:45Is it okay if I sign it, man?
15:49So if I sign this, it's going to be law and we're going to make sure we help a whole lot of good folks in Pennsylvania.
15:55Does that sound good?
15:58Here we go.
16:00Do you want to sign it?
16:02Matt wants to sign it.
16:04Okay.
16:16Good job, Matt.
16:18Can I do this real quick?
16:24There we go.
16:32Let's hold this up, Matt.
16:34Matt and I signed this, so now it's law.
16:36Here we go.
16:44Here we go.
16:46I'm going to give this to represent Benham, okay?
16:48Is that alright?
16:50She's done awesome work on this.
16:54Thank you very much.
16:57There we go.
17:01Can I answer questions from here, guys?
17:03Go ahead.
17:05Anything from the media?
17:07No.
17:09That's fine with me.
17:11Good job.
17:13Anybody?
17:17Governor, you greeted everybody here, even on the budget for today, saying how happy you are that they're here.
17:23How important is it for them to know that you're here and you're going to continue to be there for them?
17:27Look, I love these folks.
17:29And this is a two-way street.
17:31They've taught me a lot over the years.
17:33They've challenged me a lot over the years.
17:35And I'm in a position now to stand up and fight for them and give them a voice and make sure that they have the resources that they need.
17:41And I'm going to continue to do that work for years to come.
17:43This is a beginning.
17:45It's a huge beginning.
17:47This is a beginning, and we've got a lot more work to do in years to come.
17:49And I'll be doing it alongside them.
17:52It's an off-topic question.
17:54So, certainly, we've been hearing a lot of pressure being put on President Biden to drop out of the race.
18:01And just wondering, you know, we yesterday heard Adam Schiff come forward.
18:07Just wondering what you have to say about that.
18:10And, you know, your name is certainly out there as a vice presidential candidate.
18:17Could Pennsylvania be a better place for you?
18:20candidate. Could Pennsylvania be at risk of losing our governor?
18:24Yeah, I love serving as governor and I've made clear where I stand on the
18:28presidential race. It's the president's decision to make. He's made it and I
18:32think today is a day to celebrate what we accomplished here in Pennsylvania.
18:35We're showing the nation that here in Pennsylvania, we know how to get stuff
18:39done for everybody and that's what we're doing.
18:41All right, thanks everybody.