In the News - 2009

December 4 - Administration retreats from Medicaid cuts (State House News Service)

Human services advocates are cheering a move by Gov. Deval Patrick to retreat from the administration’s proposal to cut $100 million from state Medicaid, or MassHealth.

“We were obviously relieved that they had reversed their decision on these MassHealth cuts which were absolutely dreadful,” said Michael Weekes, president of the Providers Council, which represents thousands of human service workers.

Administration officials confirmed the decision late Friday afternoon after placing calls to human services groups informing them that the programs would remain intact thanks to an $82 million settlement in a tax case in favor of the state. [Read more]

December 3 - State officials hear impact of human services cuts (State House News Service)

At the outset of the four-hour hearing, Bigby requested that testimony include not only pleas to spare programs but also suggestions about where to cut or find efficiencies, a prospect that had some disability advocates worrying they were being asked to target each other. Midway through the hearing, Bigby clarified her request, saying "we don't believe in pitting vulnerable populations against each other."

One disability advocate suggested the state look the cut Commonwealth Care programs, which connect low-income residents with subsidized private health insurance. Michael Weekes, president of the Providers Council, told the News Service he hadn't heard much of a groundswell of support for reducing the program, the centerpiece of the state's landmark health reform law, particularly because many people who require safety net services are also members of Commonwealth Care. [Read more]

November 24 - Governor Patrick hosts human services summit (New England Cable News)

More than 300 human service providers from across Massachusetts, many of them Providers' Council members, gathered at the University of Massachusetts-Boston for a human service summit with Governor Deval Patrick to address critical issues facing the sector.

Below is a broadcast courtesy of NECN, which features an interview with Providers' Council Board Member & President/CEO of Work, Inc., Jim Cassetta and Council President/CEO Michael Weekes, who highlighted the need for more support for innovations like the work of the Pine Street Inn's Abundant Table social enterprise.

June 27 - New Mass. ethics bill concerns human service agencies (Springfield Republican)

Michael D. Weekes of Longmeadow, president of the Providers Council in Boston, a trade association of 300 mostly private, nonprofit organizations, said the bill will cover people who shouldn't be considered lobbyists.

The overwhelming majority of executive directors or presidents of the 300 organizations are currently not registered as lobbyists but might be captured by the bill. He said the public wasn't crying out for more registered lobbyists as part of overhauling ethics.

Weekes said the bill could stifle political work by human service agencies if employees need to limit their advocacy to avoid registering as lobbyists.

"This bill was intended to clean up Beacon Hill, but the reality is this legislation may also eliminate the ability of thousands of human services employees to advocate for some of the most vulnerable residents in the commonwealth," said Weekes, who is a registered lobbyist. [Read more]

June 4 - Human service providers press for Senate version of ethics bill (State House News Service)

Human service providers on Thursday said the Senate’s version of an ethics law overhaul would protect their ability to advocate without having to register as lobbyists, and they urged a conference committee to adopt the Senate proposal.

Under other proposals, “It would be difficult for [providers] to advocate on important social issues, such as leading last year’s campaign to defeat Question 1 or – more recently – pushing for revenue raising activities to adequately fund programs,” said Providers Council President Michael Weekes, in a letter to members of the conference committee. “These hard-working individuals must be allowed to advocate on behalf of individuals with disabilities and the entire human services sector.” [Read more]

May 12 - Budget panel vice calls bid to keep facilities open a last-minute deal (State House News Service)

A division among House members exposed itself
Tuesday during a hearing on the fate of several of the state's institutions for the severely mentally disabled, marked for closure by the Patrick administration.

Last month, the House voted to postpone closing the facilities - the Fernald Center in Waltham, the Glavin Regional Center in Shrewsbury, the Monson Developmental Center in Palmer, and the Templeton Developmental Center in Baldwinville - until a cost-benefit analysis is done to determine the effect of moving the institutions' 870 residents into community settings. ...

"Let us stop the battles and move on," said Michael Weekes, president of the Providers' Council, according to prepared testimony. "We are the only remaining New England state with multiple monuments to an era that declared that people with mental disabilities should be segregated." [Read more]

March 13 - Mass. nonprofits wary of charitable cap (Boston Business Journal)

A proposal by President Barack Obama to lower the cap on charitable deductions has nonprofit leaders in Massachusetts on alert, worried the plan could turn an already difficult economic situation into quicksand for struggling organizations.

Sensing fresh financial pressure, local nonprofit leaders were noticeably sober as they absorbed the Obama Administration’s tax proposal, crafted by a president who was elected with a gush of goodwill from the nonprofit sector. The plan would increase the tax rate for the nation’s highest income earners and lower the rate at which certain itemized deductions, including charitable giving, could be taken to offset tax liability.

Support for Obama aside, and promising to give him more time to work through the details, leaders of the state’s nonprofit sector generally agreed that his plan would hinder fundraising, no matter how committed the donors.

“With economic uncertainty greatly affecting the social service sector, we should be thinking of incentives so these organizations will get more help instead of disincentives so they get less,” said Michael Weekes, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers Inc. [Read more]

February 13 - The advocate (Boston Business Journal)

In a different life, Michael Weekes might have been a pro baseball pitcher — at least, that would be his dream. Instead, he has become one of the strongest advocates in human services in Massachusetts.

For years, Weekes has been an advocate for children and families. Growing into his role as a formidable defender for human service initiatives, his path took him into politics for four years as the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Social Services under then Gov. William Weld.

For the past decade, Weekes has been president of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, a statewide association of health and human service agencies. Weekes discussed his advocacy for the sector with reporter Mary Moore. [Read more]

February 10 - Massachusetts Nonprofits Could Benefit from Federal Stimulus Bill (Massnonprofit.org)

February 10, 2009 — If provisions of the House version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, popularly known as the stimulus bill, now being negotiated with the Senate in Washington, D.C., become law , Massachusetts nonprofits could see donations increase, gain access to credit, and
improve the ability of volunteers to use their own vehicles to deliver services.

Michael Weekes, president and CEO of the Providers Council, the state’s leading organization of human services nonprofits, said, “We continue to hope that the economic stimulus package will fully recognize the importance of the nonprofit and human services sectors. We need the federal government to designate funding for nonprofits and human services, as these are the sectors that often help people in times of great crisis.” [Read more]

January 28 - Patrick's recession budget relies on taxes,
fees, spending cuts, reserve use (Belmont Citizen-Herald)

Patrick cut a $23 million salary reserve account that provided a cost-of-living adjustment for almost 30,000 human service workers.

“These lowest-paid individuals have already sacrificed their salary adjustment this year,” said Providers’ Council CEO Michael Weekes in a statement. “This will result in two years with level funded salary levels. Many of them make less than $12 per hour to do increasingly complex tasks for those who have a physical or mental disability.” [Read more]

January 26 - State budget cuts will hurt Swampscott, cause layoffs, school and otherwise (Swampscott Reporter)

Michael Weekes, president of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, said the governor should be wary of further cuts to safety net programs that help the most vulnerable members of society — the sick and elderly. In a round of budget cuts in October, Patrick cut deeply into human service accounts, forcing the closure of some day programs for the mentally ill and sending shock waves through a community of providers already struggling with low wages and minimal rates. [Read more]

January 23 - Patrick announces planned local aid cuts, tax hike options (State House News Service)

“It seems to me there should be some serious consideration toward preserving the safety net that we have here in Massachusetts,” Weekes said. “We already have made significant layoffs, program cuts and people who are no longer receiving services from the first round of cuts. I’ve got to believe that the governor is going to be seriously weighing that.” [Read more]

January 1 - Human service providers to receive raises (State House News Service)

The Patrick administration has begun the process of releasing $23 million to boost the salaries of workers who care for the sick, disabled and elderly, after a delay that had some human service providers fretting over whether they'd see raises at all. Michael Weekes, president of the Massachusetts Council of Human Services Providers was as jubilant Wednesday as he was dismayed earlier this month when the raises were in doubt. [Read more]