Advocacy at csg

Advocating for Access to Care and Support for all

We stand for IDD & mental health care for everyone.

We believe that essential funding for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and for mental health services, whether from private or public sources, creates better lives for all Pennsylvanians.

Right now someone you know is likely, quietly struggling with a mental health issue and doesn’t know how to find or to afford help. Many people wait months for an appointment when help is needed immediately. This can lead to worsening symptoms, unhealthy coping strategies or even suicidal thoughts.

When a person with IDD does not receive the support they need, the impact can be profound—both for the individual and the community. Their missed potential can have a ripple effect that affects their families, friends and colleagues.

Supporting individuals with mental health and IDD needs is essential—not only to improve their quality of life and independence, but also to build healthier, more inclusive, and resilient communities for everyone.

TAKE ACTION

What’s at stake.

Our collective wellbeing lies in the balance. Take a look at some of the numbers representing the reality of those living with IDD diagnosis and mental health challenges:

One in four adults in PA lives with mental illness. 65 percent of the youth in PA with major depression receive no treatment.

Mental health systems and support services for people with IDD are seriously underfunded. In 2024 there were 13,000 adults in Pennsylvania with IDD on Medicaid waiver waitlists. The median wait time for these waivers is approximately 2.6 years.

There are critical shortages of mental health workers in both cities and rural areas. Pennsylvania needs an estimated 1,200+ new mental health professionals to meet baseline needs. Plus, turnover rates for direct support professionals (DSP) average 35-45 percent annually because of low wages for their important work.

The IDD emergency waitlist crisis list was over 6,000 individuals as of June 2024. An additional 7,800 people remain on the broader residential services waitlist.

These waitlists are a result of a lack of State funding for IDD adults. Only 17% of working-age individuals with IDD in Pennsylvania hold paying jobs.

These numbers, combined with high turnover and low pay for DSPs, create unstable care and high incidents of hospitalizations, ER visits, deaths and suspected abuses involving tens of thousands of IDD individuals on Medicaid in Pennsylvania each year.

Sources: Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services, Office of Inspector General

CSG is advocating for increased and adequate funding, and is committed to work environments that attract and keep employees providing critical services to people with mental health or intellectual & developmental disabilities.

As we move forward with uncertainty in State and Federal resources, CSG is doing all it can to support:

  • Stabilizing its workforce with open communication and research to provide a safe, fairly compensated and rewarding work environment for its employees. This includes training, benefits and career paths to stabilize DSP recruitment and retention.
  • Providing high quality, evidenced based services to the people in our programs, assisting them to reach their full potential.
  • Training employees, first responders and students on Mental Health First Aid, teaching youth and adults how to identify, understand and respond to an individual who may be experiencing a mental health or substance abuse challenge. 

Your voice matters. Take action today.

Your vote helps shape the policies and funding that impact mental health and IDD services in your community. If you’re not registered, now is a great time!

REGISTER NOW

There are a number of additional ways you can take action and advocate for these vital community services.

To call any representative of Congress to express your feelings about Federal funding of Medicaid, and in particular mental health and IDD resources, call the Capitol Switchboard at (202)-224-3121. You will be able to speak with an aid or you may leave a voicemail.  To find your representatives, go to: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member.

To advocate for mental health and IDD funding and resources in Pennsylvania, contact your state representative. To find your state legislators, go to https://www.palegis.us/find-my-legislator