An actor who is learning their lines for an upcoming play. A student who graduated from high school and accepted their diploma alongside their peers. A community member who gives their time to volunteer.

Such stories are common in nearly every community across Pennsylvania — and when I heard them during a recent visit to Vision for Equality, I thought about all of the neighbors, children, parents, and friends who are part of the intellectual disabilities and autism, or ID/A, community in cities and towns throughout our commonwealth.

During that visit, we talked about their lives, their passions, and how important it is that they receive the right support so they can live, work, and celebrate major life events with family and friends — where, when, and how they choose.

For too long, Pennsylvania has had a system that results in years-long waiting lists for services instead of providing the right supports at the right time. Lack of access to these services means our neighbors with ID/A cannot live as independently or thrive as fully as they would if those supports were readily available. Parents and caregivers from across Pennsylvania spoke with love, compassion, and strength but shared feelings of heartache and exhaustion because of how hard they’ve had to fight to get their child or loved one the services they need.

I vividly remember phone calls I received as a Montgomery County commissioner when a community member desperately needed ID/A services. A common story I heard from families would involve one spouse experiencing a health emergency and the other partner suddenly finding themselves as the only caregiver for their spouse and their adult child with disabilities. These families deserved support, but there was often nothing I could do because of how the system was structured and the limitations in funding.

This is unacceptable and needs to change. Every Pennsylvanian with ID/A deserves to receive the support they need to achieve an everyday life with dignity and opportunity. We can do more, and we must not lose this chance.

Pennsylvania is taking bold steps to support our neighbors and loved ones with ID/A. This year Gov. Josh Shapiro directed the Department of Human Services to immediately release additional program capacity to counties, which will provide services to an additional 1,650 Pennsylvanians this year. Service providers also will receive a one-time supplemental payment this spring to assist with workforce recruitment and retention for direct support professionals, front line supervisors or supports coordinators and their staffing-related expenses.

I spoke with families at Vision for Equality who have already benefited from this expanded capacity. In just the last few months, they have had tangible changes to their quality of life, both because their loved ones are receiving support and because they are not under the same pressure and stress that comes with caring for someone 24/7.

But we can’t stop there.

The governor’s budget proposal includes a multi-year strategy to change the way Pennsylvania administers ID/A services. It sets a transformative course to eliminate the emergency waiting list for services for adults and reduce barriers to care for thousands of Pennsylvanians over the next several years. The proposal calls for investing $483 million in federal and state funding to support rate increases to service providers, which will fund recruitment, retention and wages for direct support professionals across this field who make inclusive, enriching lives possible for people with ID/A. It will invest $78 million in federal and state funds to serve an additional 1,500 Pennsylvanians over the next year.

We cannot wait. The time to invest in these services and supports is now so that we can help individuals, families and even entire communities grow, be healthy,and thrive. Providers across the state want to do more, and the direct support workforce needs our help to make this possible. I urge the General Assembly to heed this call and support our fellow Pennsylvanians in the ID/A communities — and the dedicated workforce that serves them — by supporting this funding in the governor’s proposed budget.

This is an investment in individual dignity and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians. It’s time to do more and do right for people with disabilities.