Middleton, Lawrence honored by MACS

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton recently received the Maryland Association of Community Services Lifetime Achievement Award from MACS board President Vicki Callahan and MACS executive director Laura Howell. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton was honored May 11 for his longtime work on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and the direct support staff who provide day-to-day support.

The Maryland Association of Community Services, a statewide association of more than 100 agencies providing developmental disability services, honored Middleton (D) with a MACS Lifetime Achievement Award.

Middleton has been a champion for people with disabilities, their families and the staff and agencies who provide support since becoming a member of the Maryland Senate in 1995, according to a press release from Spring Dell Center in La Plata.

Despite the many significant health care issues he tackles, Middleton always has had a deep and abiding commitment to people with disabilities.  

"Senator Middleton has always been there for us and the people we support," Donna Retzlaff, executive director of Spring Dell Center and a member of the MACS board of directors, said in the release. "We could not do what we do without him as our champion in Annapolis."

Middleton's leadership has lead to passage of landmark legislation to address the chronic underfunding of developmental disability services.

He is a passionate advocate, particularly for the direct support staff who are the backbone of services, according to the release. Middleton's undying belief that people working in developmental disability services need to earn a fair and decent wage has driven his work for years.

In 2001, Middleton served as the lead sponsor of legislation to address the low pay of direct support staff. As a result, over a five-year period, the "wage initiative" provided $80 million to increase the wages and benefits of direct support staff who provide daily support to people with disabilities.

This year, as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Middleton sponsored and lead the effort to gain passage of SB 633, the legislation to provide ongoing inflation funding for services equivalent to the state's own budgeted inflation.

In a year dominated by budget-cutting, Middleton shepherded the bill to passage through both the finance committee and the budget and taxation committee, and to unanimous passage in the Senate.

In the release, Laura Howell, executive director of MACS, said, "Senator Middleton is a true champion for people who, so often do not have a voice in the political process."

In addition to Middleton's honor, his legislative aide, Susan Lawrence, was recognized by MACS for her work behind the scenes.

While it is usually elected officials who receive accolades for success in Annapolis, legislative staff play a critically important role that often goes without public commendation.

Lawrence has spent years working behind the scenes to help advance legislative policies that have benefited thousands of Marylanders with developmental disabilities, their families and the agencies that provide support.