AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Parents, providers and people with developmental disabilities packed the Maine State House, hoping to pressure legislators to take action on a bill to continue current pay levels for direct care workers.
There are several thousands of those workers statewide.
The budget that passed last year gave them a 12 percent raise to reach the new minimum wage level, but only funded it for one year. Now, the bill to continue the higher pay is caught in legislative limbo, because of a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Supporters say, if the bill doesn’t pass, the direct care workers’ pay will be reduced, and they fear many will leave those jobs, making care harder to obtain.
