Our Next Step: Help Document the Impact of DDA’s Cuts!
We’re all concerned about the second round of DDA mandated wage cuts scheduled for October 1, 2026. It’s important we let our legislators know exactly how SDS participants will be impacted.
To do this, Concerned Citizens of Self Direction Maryland has created an easy-to-use Estimator to show how both Cut #1 (7/1/25) and Cut #2 (10/1/26) impact SDS participants and their families.
We encourage each SDS participant (or their family member/other support) to complete our new SDS Cuts Estimator. Please fill it out only once or the data will be skewed. It should take less than ten minutes to do.
The instructions on the Estimator are clear, with these helpful hints:
· You can fill out one or both sections (Cut #1 and/or Cut #2).
· You must indicate any Family as Staff in Cut #2 to adjust for the potential 60/40 cap.
· For each support staff listed, indicate if they provide Personal Supports, Personal Supports-Enhanced, or Community Development Services (these are the options under “Service”).
After you’ve filled out all the information, the Estimator will indicate how many hours of support staff and how much support staff pay your participant has lost/will lose due to the DDA cuts.
The final step is to anonymously add your results to the statewide tally so we can show the cumulative impact of these changes on Maryland’s SDS population.
Simply copy and paste the results from the estimator into the submission form and follow the instructions to submit them. This will allow us to build an accurate statewide picture of the financial impact across Maryland.
Once you’ve completed the statewide tally, it’s time to contact your legislators! You can share the data on the impact of the wage cuts with them. Please do so using our sample email below.
We encourage you to fill out the Estimator and write your legislators by September 6, 2026. We plan to share the collected information at our Pre-Labor Day Virtual Press Conference and other Labor Day Events.
Upcoming September Activities:
September 6: Pre-Labor Day Virtual Press Conference – Cost of the DDA Cuts
September 7: Labor Day
Deal Island Skipjack Race and Festival, Labor Day Weekend
Gaithersburg Labor Day Parade, 10am
Grasonville Labor Day Parade, noon
Greenbelt Festival and Parade, 10am
Kensington Labor Day Parade and Festival, 10am
Maryland State Fair, Timonium
Sept 13–19 — National DSP Recognition Week
Late Sept — Countdown to Oct 1
Oct 1 – Scheduled Date for the Cuts to Become Effective
If you have other suggestions or questions, please send us an email at [email protected]. We appreciate your support, great or small, to help move the community forward. We are better, together!