By the Daily Post staff
Two mid-Peninsula-based nonprofits that help people with developmental disabilities, Gatepath and Abilities United, have begun merger talks to reduce administrative costs.
“This decision is designed to address the challenges posed by the increasing costs of doing business in California over the last decade while the funding for California’s disabilities system has been reduced by more than $1.1 billion,” Gatepath said in a statement issued on Friday (Feb. 22). “The resulting economic pressures have created a systemwide crisis seriously impacting some of California’s most vulnerable residents.”
Gatepath has 11 program sites from Daly City to Sunnyvale, and Abilities United has two locations in Palo Alto.
“We believe the merger will provide an opportunity to scale our administrative functions, allowing additional resources to be dedicated to direct care staff and the important programs they provide,” said Bryan Neider, Gatepath’s chief executive officer.
“We have strategically and proactively addressed the financial challenges brought about by California’s underfunding of the developmental disabilities systems,” said Jennifer Wagstaff-Hinton, Abilities United board president. “We explored many options, all aimed at ensuring the individuals and families we serve would continue to receive the services they have counted on from us.”