Developmental disabilities caregiver Idris Idowu fears that a Moore administration proposal to slash $150 million from the state agency that oversees those services will not only hurt his clients — if could threaten his ability to support his family as well.
“I have a family of four depending on me. My children look to me to keep a roof over their heads or food on the table,” Idowu told rallygoers Wednesday in Annapolis. “Now you are proposing wage cuts — let me be clear about what that means for people like me. It means choosing between groceries and electricity.”
Idowu was referring to the budget offered by Gov. Wes Moore (D), which slashes funding to the state Developmental Disabilities Administration, with many of the cuts aimed at additional wages given to providers who care for people who need more intensive support.
“I chose this profession because I believe in helping people with disabilities care for themselves,” he said. “How can I pour from an empty cup? How can I give my best to the people I support when I am drowning myself? … We are essential and yet we are treated as expendable.”
He was one of hundreds of support staff who joined people with developmental disabilities and family members on Lawyers Mall Wednesday for the annual “DD Day,” where advocates lobby lawmakers on how they can help the developmental disabilities community.
It’s the second year that advocates have come to Annapolis with deep concerns about proposed cuts to the DDA.
Last year, Moore’s initial budget proposed more than $400 million in cuts to the DDA, as the state was struggling to close a $3 billion budget gap. That brought out hundreds with developmental disabilities, their families and caretakers to rally on a cold January evening. Subsequent lobbying and work with lawakers over the course of the legislative session brought the final cuts last year to about $164 million.
This year, with the state facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, Moore is proposing a cut of about $150 million in general funds, which advocates note will result in a total cut of $300 million with the loss of matching federal dollars under federal Medicaid waivers.
“Here we are again this year, trying to defend an inadequate budget,” said Laura Hatcher, whose son has developmental and intellectual disabilities and needs round-the-clock care.
“I still have fears — in many ways, it’s like déjà vu,” she said.
I chose this profession because I believe in helping people with disabilities care for themselves. How can I pour from an empty cup? How can I give my best to the people I support when I am drowning myself? … We are essential and yet we are treated as expendable.– Idris Idowu, a caregive for those with developmental disabilities
This year’s proposed cuts include a series of “cost containment” measures to help curtail what officials call “unsustainable” spending growth from the agency. Advocates say the proposed cuts threaten the wages for one-on-one support staff and other positions that help people with the highest needs.
“These cuts would be harmful to us, and they will hurt us and put our services at risk,” Tracy Wright, deputy director for People on the Go Maryland. “We understand that we have to be responsible … but this isn’t the way to do it.”
The DDA administers Medicaid waivers that let Marylanders with developmental disabilities receive a wide variety of services, from live-in caregiver support to transportation, respite care, employment services and more.
According to 2024 data, approximately 16,800 people received services from a community provider, an established organization that provides disability care, while another 3,600 people chose the self-directed care model, where the waiver recipient or their family hires individual employees for services.
The administration’s proposed cuts make reductions to both self-directed and community provider wages, and advocates fear that the cuts will lead to personnel leaving en masse. The cuts would also place a $500,000 cap on how much state funding a person with a DDA waiver can receive per year for their “personal budget,” which varies greatly depending on need.
Karen McDonough said that her son, Sean, saw “immense” improvements in his day-to-day life after he joined a community provider that oversees his day services, giving him “meaningful engagement, friendship and activities that enrich his life.”
“These supports are crucial to his sense of a safe, productive, independent social and enjoyable life – a life that is not confined to being at home with mom or dad,” she said.
“That peace of mind exists because of the supports funded through DDA and provided by a trusted community provider,” she said. “The proposed budget cuts threaten both his present stability and his future.”
by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
February 18, 2026
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.
In his last major speech, Vice President Hubert Humphrey recalled a definition of moral government. “It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”
Advocates who made their voices heard yesterday on Developmental Disabilities Day in Annapolis called on our leaders to live up to their moral responsibility to care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To do that, they must restore $150 million to the budget for the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) which administers services for our most vulnerable citizens.
Nearly 20,000 Maryland citizens depend upon those services. As Ms. Brown’s article points out, the federal government matches money the state appropriates, so a $150 million cut really means DDA loses $300 million dollars. No agency can lose that much funding without having to cut services people desperately need.
Cuts proposed this year will be particularly devastating for those who most need support. Even the most resourceful and caring families cannot provide the 24 hour a day care some people need. Others need help living as independently as possible and working if they are able. That kind of care costs money, and caregivers like Mr. Idowu who provide it need to earn enough to support their own families.
As Ms. Brown points out, people with developmental disabilities, their families and advocates fought the same battle last year. Our son is now 47, and to us, it feels as if the battle for services he needs now and will continue to need after we are gone, is never over. Every year, we need to make our case yet again that our sons and daughters need the help they get from our service providers or from people we hire on our own.
We hope that our representatives in Annapolis will hear ourvoices and work to restore the money needed to care for our family members. It’s the right thing to do.