News

The Council, on behalf of more than a dozen of its members, sent a letter this week urging  the House and Senate Ways & Means Committees to support Competitive Integrated Employment Services. CIES is the state’s only welfare-to-work program; it helps individuals who are receiving state assistance transition off welfare. The Council wrote: Over the

We are pleased to share the March 2021 e-issue of The Provider. This month, we have a front-page feature on a new state report examining barriers to hiring people with disabilities, an update on TCF’s Essential Workers campaign, and news on the Council’s newly filed pro-workforce bills. In this edition you’ll also find: Commentary from Rep. Michlewitz

Recently, we saw the tragic and violent killings of members of the Asian community in Atlanta. Police say six women and two men were targeted and killed by a gunman who appears to be a white domestic terrorist. This comes after other recent attacks on members of the Asian community in New York, California and

The Council remembers Dick Hoyt, who inspired thousands of runners, fathers and athletes with disabilities by pushing his son, Rick, in a wheelchair in dozens of Boston Marathons and hundreds of other races. He died on Wednesday at age 80 at his home in Holland, Mass. of natural causes, his family said. Hoyt was the

This year the Providers’ Council will be hosting its Annual Membership & Business Meeting in an online format via Zoom on Wednesday, April 7. Registration for this members-only event closes April 5 and space is limited, so make sure you reserve your spot today. The Annual Membership & Business Meeting will take place from 10:30-11:30 a.m. and will be followed

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services has published a vaccine Q&A  following a Feb. 17, 2021 Town Hall for human services providers: Q: ­ Assistance to individuals who are high need behaviorally and refuse to go to a community vaccination site?  Can it be done at home?  Can DayHab staff bill for time

A great story from WBUR’s Callum Borchers: Jo Ann Simons, head of Council member Northeast Arc, and her 41-year-old son, Jonathan, were interviewed about how people with Down syndrome are particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. When Jonathan got sick, Simons said she became deeply concerned:  “I went into this really high alarm mode because

On Feb. 26, Council President & CEO Michael Weekes of Longmeadow was celebrated as a 2021 Black Excellence on the Hill honoree at a virtual ceremony hosted by the Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus in celebration of Black History Month. Weekes was nominated by Senator Eric P. Lesser as a Black leader, trailblazer and

The electronic copy of the February issue of The Provider is ready to read!  Download it here: Provider FEB_2021e-edition This month, we feature front-page features on Gov. Baker’s proposed FY ’22 state budget, an update on TCF’s Essential Workers campaign and the Council’s RDI work. In this edition you’ll also find: Commentary from Sen. Jamie

Thanks to the more than 100 Council members who got behind our efforts a few months ago to urge the Trump administration to withdraw  Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping. It has been revoked by President Biden, several weeks after a federal judge blocked it from being enacted by the Trump administration. Last