Chris Palega

As a dedicated father, Chris has spent decades advocating for his daughter across the educational, medical, and legal systems — gaining deep insights and experience along the way. He firmly believes that any sustainable model of care for the developmental disability community must rely on the essential role of family caregivers who support their loved ones at home.

He is passionate about the idea that the extraordinary commitment and strength of families can be harnessed to help mitigate the severe impact of the current housing shortage and Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce crisis. This belief has driven his focus on Family Support Services (FSS) — the only OPWDD program specifically designed to support families caring for developmentally disabled loved ones at home.

He serves on the Committee on Family Support Services, where he leads Stakeholder Engagement efforts. As a member of the C4SD Steering Committee, he is also committed to supporting choice for self-directing families and is actively exploring how FSS and Self-Direction can align to deliver higher-value outcomes and help build a more sustainable system of care.