Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,TCN-Deerpark) met with members of the Rockland Chapter of NYSARC on Wednesday in Albany. Brabenec held a local forum last year as part of the Assembly Minority grassroots statewide Task Force on Protecting the Rights of People with Developmental Disabilities. The needs and concerns of residents from across the state were presented at a press conference earlier this month as part of a push for the C.A.R.E.S. Plan, crafted to provide additional support and services to those with developmental disabilities.

“I was glad to run into my friends from the Rockland ARC who do so much for the developmentally disabled in the Hudson Valley,” Brabenec said. “It is imperative that we continue to protect the most vulnerable in our area and that starts with making education, professional development and employment opportunities more readily available at the local level, as well as assisting our direct care workers with their financial challenges due to the recent minimum wage increase.”

The Assembly Minority famously fought and succeeded in restoring $90 million from the Office of Persons with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) in 2013 when it was set to be slashed by the governor and downstate Politicians.