Area Agencies Plead For More State Funding

The directors of eight area agencies who serve people with mental retardation and their families say it is time that the gap be closed between the salaries of persons who work in state-run group homes and those in group homes run by private agencies.

Salaries in state-run homes are nearly 25 percent higher than those in private agencies, creating a turnover rate approaching 40 percent in some cases, the directors said in “A Time to Choose,” a letter sent to news media this week.

The agencies included The Kennedy Center, which operates two facilities in Newtown; Datahr Rehabilitation Institute in Brookfield; ARC Greenwich; ARI of Connecticut, Inc., in Stamford; STAR, Inc., in Norwalk; St Vincent’s Special Needs Services in Trumbull; CLASP Homes, Inc., in Westport, and Marrakech, Inc., in Woodbridge.

“While the state directly serves over 700 clients in its group homes, Connecticut’s not-for-profit providers serve more than three times that number – at slightly more than half the cost per client than those served by the state, according to reports published by the state itself,” the letter said.

The problem, the directors said, is funding. Private providers have been on a “waiting list” for 10 years to bring the salaries of their staffs into parity with those of state employees.

“Last year, the state provided a 5 percent increase in salaries for its employees in state-run group homes,” the directors said. “At the same time, private providers received a 11/2  percent increase which had to cover everything.”

The directors urged the state to provide an additional $25 million to close the gap and to put into place a formula so that it does not occur again.