Over the past month, the Providers' Council has been advocating for a version of the Ethics & Lobbying Bill that includes a provision for executive or legislative "specialists" or revision of the definition of lobbying.

Out of Conference Committee, the bill did not include a provision for specialists nor did it include a more appropriate defintion of lobbying. The Council continued its advocacy on June 29, asking Gov. Deval Patrick to send the bill back to the legislature for revisions.

Read the letter the Council and other human services membership organizations sent to the governor, and see our other advocacy past the jump.

The Providers' Council delivered testimony on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 on three different bills.

Providers' Council President & CEO Michael Weekes (right), Nosayaba Izedonmwen (center) from Vinfen, and Dennis Mungai from Bay Cove Human Services testify on June 24, 2009 on Providers' Council testimony that would expand the Tuition Remission program.

In the morning, the Council delivered testimony on expanding the Tuition Remission program and on creating a Loan Repayment program for credentialed direct care human service workers.

In the afternoon, the Council delivered testimony on allowing human service providers to join the state's GIC.

Click past the jump for full copies of the testimony.

On June 11, 2009, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a ruling in the case of Electronic Data Systems v. Attorney General holding that, under the provisions of the Massachusetts Wage Act (Massachusetts General Laws chapter 149 § 148) employers must compensate any involuntarily discharged employee for unused accrued vacation time.

The Providers' Council is working with national partner the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network to help human service organizations educate their members and clients about the importance of the 2010 census. For fact sheets, hard-to-count maps and other information, please see the below links and return to our site often for the latest updates.

You can also e-mail us at census@providers.org.

June 18: Fill out the webform of the Census 2010 Partnership Agreement to help out the Providers' Council and the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network. When you click send, the Providers' Council will receive your agreement and work with you on Census 2010.

Looking for a hard copy of the Census 2010 Partnership Agreement Form? Download it here and mail it to us at:

Providers' Council
Michael Ripple
250 Summer St., Ste. 237
Boston, MA 02210

June 4: We have added fact sheets to the website! You can check out the fact sheets here. These will help you get all the information you and your organization need about the Nonprofits Count 2010 program.

We have also added maps of the Boston and Massachusetts Hard-to-Count areas for the 2010 census. The Hard-to-Count areas are determined based on a ranking of different items, including percentage of vacant housing units, percentage of multi-family housing units and percentage of renter-occupied units.

The Providers' Council sent the following letter to the six legislators on a conference committee discussing the Ethics & Lobbying Bill, asking them to support the Senate's version.

To read the letter, please click here.

The State House News Service published a brief about the Council sending the letter to legislators. Please read their story here.

For more information or media inquiries, e-mail Bill Yelenak at the Providers' Council. Click read more for a full list of legislators who received the letter.

Update, June 8: There are now 940 total confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Massachusetts. As always, you can see below for past updates or for links to the DPH, WHO and CDC.

For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Department of Public Health's blog.

The Arc of Massachusetts and the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, joined by members of the Providers' Council and other organizations held a rally on the steps of the State House on May 19 to tell legislators that "increased revenue saves lives!" and to protest the Senate Ways & Means budget.

More than one thousand clients/consumers, advocates, human service providers, and supporters came out to urge the Senate to protect the 23,000 lives that will be directly affected by the Senate's proposed cuts.  The overwhelming crowd eventually spread from the State House steps, spilling into the Boston Common and forcing the temporary close of Beacon Street.

The Salary Reserve, a $23 million fund distributed to the 30,000 direct care staff making under $40,000 (who average less than $12/hour), is under attack and in danger of being left out of the FY 2010 state budget.

Join the Providers' Council, human service organizations, disability advocates, and other associations for a rally on the State House steps on Tuesday, May 19 at 11 a.m. to restore funding to human service programs in the FY 2010 state budget and to tell the legislature and governor that “increased revenue saves lives.”

The event will feature disability providers and human services advocates calling for increased funding in next year’s state budget so the cuts to essential human services programs can be restored. Peter and Paul from Peter, Paul & Mary will also attend and lend their music to the rally.

To see our flyer on the rally, please click here.  For more information, contact Bill Yelenak byelenak@providers.org or 617-428-3637 x122.