11 South Main Street #200, Concord, NH 03301, USA
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
11 South Main Street #200, Concord, NH 03301, USA
The Association for New Hampshire's Ten Area Agencies
2025 Legislative Session
2025 Legislative Advocacy
2025's Legislative Session is shaping up to be extremely active. CSNI is tracking over 30 bills that are anticipated to significantly impact individuals who receive Home and Community Based Care waiver services. Each area agency employs a Legislative Liaison, who brings centralized messaging to and from the larger association of Area Agencies at CSNI. We partner with other community advocacy organizations and provider agencies as well to ensure everyone has an opportunity to be heard.
This year is a budget year, meaning the biennial state budget is being developed. While CSNI supports the agency-level budget and the DHHS prioritized needs as related to our population, many of these prioritized needs were not included in the Governor's proposed budget. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Governor Ayotte to include waitlist funding and funding for the efficiency budget. However, families and providers continue to struggle to hire Direct Support professionals. Without rate increases, there is no long-term mechanism to increase rates and subsequently wages for DSPs. Additional funds for residential services are also needed, to ensure there are adequate numbers of staffed residences to meet the current and projected residential support needs.
We invite you to wear pink and join CSNI at the NH State House to advocate for continued DD/ABD Funding on March 12th, 2025 from 1:30-5:30!
CSNI, alongside numerous other organizations, will be at the NH State House on Wednesday, March 12th from 1:30-5:30 for the public hearing on the Governor's budget. We want to show legislators how important it is to keep funding DD/ABD services. Whether you'd like to share your story through written testimony, spoken testimony, or simply be there in pink to show your support - please join us!
2024-2025 Recreation Funding
UPDATE AS OF APRIL 2025: All Recreational Services funds have been expended for this fiscal year. Thank you for your partnership in advocating for this valuable resource!
These funds are not projected to be included in the 2026-2027 state budget. If you disagree with this decision - please contact your Senator using the instructions above!
Previous CSNI Advocacy Highlights
2019, HB 1 and HB 2: Budget
Every two years the state of New Hampshire votes on a new budget. In the 2019 legislative session, the budget that was being worked on was for Fiscal Years 2020-2021. The House had three separate public hearings and the Senate had two public hearings. Together, hundreds of people attended more than 15+ hours of public testimony. more than seventy people spoke on the impacts of the budget to the developmental disability system of supports and services. In addition, more than ninety people testified on the work force challenges that are impacting our state.
The NH House and Senate passed a budget to send to the Governor after hours of work through the Committee of Conference. The budget was vetoed by the Governor in June. NH is operating on a continuing resolution budget for the months of July, August and September. We are continuing to work closely with our elected officials to share the impact on the individuals that we support with no budget signed into law.
Learn More
To stay up to date on where the budget is, you can visit the general court website below.
2019, SB 86: A Study Commission on Dual Diagnoses
SB 86 was signed into law in the 2019 legislative session. This bill established a commission to study programs for serving individuals with psychiatric diagnoses and/or high risk behaviors; including criminal behaviors, who are served by New Hampshire's developmental services system. This was an opportunity to bring professionals together to discuss the programs available for individuals with certain developmental and mental health disabilities and identify gaps or challenges with serving their needs. The commission was charged with identifying programs available, reviewing data including how many people are served by the developmental services system that have a psychiatric diagnosis and/or high risk or criminal behaviors and identify additional supports and services that are needed.
2019, SB 308: Relative to the health care workforce and making appropriations therefor
SB 308 was a bill that addressed many issues including a rate increase to Medicaid providers and allowing for electronic background checks to take place. This bill asked for a 5% rate increase in the first fiscal year and a 7% rate increase in the second fiscal year. The bill was "laid on the table" by the Senate, however, the advocacy efforts did not stop there. A Health Care Work Force Coalition was formed and the need for a rate increase has been advocated through press conferences, op-eds, letters to the editor and coalition meetings. The Senate, House and the Governor recognize the need for a rate increase to developmental services and are committed to providing it. The plan is to incorporate it into the budget, when the budget is passed. The committee of conference budget included a Medicaid rate increase of 3.1% in the first year and an additional 3.1% in the second.
2019, HB 692: Relative to dental care for Medicaid recipients
The NH Medicaid program does not require managed care organizations to offer a preventative oral health care benefit for adults on Medicaid. There were many people who attended, testified, wrote letters or called their legislators urging them to support this critical bill. This bill removes the language that prohibits the Medicaid managed care organizations from offering a dental benefit to recipients, but currently does not mandate them to offer such benefit. In addition, the bill requires the Commissioner of DHHS to establish a work group that will develop a value-based dental benefit for Medicaid recipients.