Middletown’s REM Connecticut Community Services said it will lay off 342 employees across the state by the end of the year because contract negotiations soured with the state Department of Development Services.
REM has offered home and community-based programs for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities and youth with emotional and behavioral problems since 1998.
In an Aug. 19 letter to the Department of Labor, Executive Director Paul Cataldo wrote that DDS decided not to increase REM’s “level of need” funding for the majority of the people it serves. That calculation directly impacts funding levels.
The state also decided to decrease reimbursement rates for clients deemed “high need,” and demanded a change in accounting practices related to allocations that REM said it had been using for nearly 15 years.
Cataldo said in the letter that he hopes laid off employees — including 44 supervisors and 298 direct support professionals — will find work with another care provider selected by the state.
DDS said in a statement released Friday morning that it intends to engage multiple providers to take over REM’s work, and that it expects REM employees to be involved in that transition.
DDS said REM notified state officials on Aug. 22 that it would end its contract. The notice came after “several lengthy discussions” between the two sides regarding state audit findings as well as “issues with the quality of supports provided,” the agency said.
The layoffs will take place in 35 locations across the state, including East Hartford, Manchester, Mansfield, Meriden, Middletown, North Granby, Somers, Tolland, Wallingford and Windsor.
The workers are represented by SEIU District 1199 NE, based in Hartford.
