Category Archives: Manhattan

PETITION: ADVOCACY IN ACTION: “KEEP THE PROMISE”

Please share with  EVERYONE

ADVOCATE TODAY

NYS Senator Bill Perkins and Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez are  circulating a petition to urge Governor Cuomo to make certain that people with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities and the people who care for them, Direct Support Professionals, get quality service that they require.

Please get signatures on as many petitions as you can!

Download & Print out the attached petition.

REVISED:  Perkins Rodriguez Petition New

Mail petitions ASAP to:

Senator Bill Perkins

Harlem State Office Building

163 West 125th Street

Suite 912

New York, N.Y. 10027

Attn: Phillipe Marius

People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Invisible no more!

Concerned about the many changes to services for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, family groups from throughout New York State announce the formation of a new coalition to advocate for their their loved ones.- SWAN-NY.

Please see attached PDF for press release, and suggested article pasted in below (and in attached WORD document).

Yours, 

SWAN of New York State

Invisible no more 
Families across State band together

Parents and family members of individuals with developmental disabilities have come together from across New York State to form a new coalition dedicated to advocating for their loved ones.  “Developmental Disabilities affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. We might be the largest invisible group in the state.” said Brad Pivar, an Albany parent.  To raise visibility, family advocacy groups from across the state have created SWAN, the Statewide Advocacy Network of NYS for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (www.swannys.org).
Family Advocacy has been vital to the development of services in New York State. The level of care in NYS under OPWDD (Office of People with Developmental Disabilities) has been hailed as a model, nationally and globally. Now, say advocates, there is a quiet transformation aimed at reducing costs regardless of the outcome—and family members have a front-row seat to the negative results.
“We have thousands people who have spent years on the waiting list for housing,” says Barbara Delong, a Buffalo parent and member of DDAWNY Family Committee, “but there is little development of new housing opportunities. And housing isn’t the only issue.  There are waiting lists for all types of services and more people are entering the system every day.”
Advocacy efforts have been going on all across New York State, but there has been little coordination until now.  To change that, parents from four organizations in different parts of the state started a dialogue in September, to figure out how they could all work together.  “We welcome all advocates,” says Jim Karpe, a Queens parent and member of NYC FAIR, “including self-advocates, parents, relatives and friends.  Our aim is to create a vision which people across the state can endorse.”
“Our group has always wanted to connect with other parents around the state,” said Will Mayerik, a Westchester parent and GROW member.  Mr. Mayerik expressed his hope that the network continues to expand.  He added, “We know there are many families across the state who share our concerns.”
For information on SWAN and to have your local group join in, visit the website atwww.swannys.org.  Or, contact one of the four founding groups:  DDAWNY Family Committee in Western New York, ENYDDA in Albany Region, GROW in Westchester and Hudson Valley, and NYC FAIR in New York City.

Announcement of State-wide coalition- final Article on SWAN- final

Article on SWAN- final

Transformation Panel Draft Recommendations Released

.pdf: panel_report (1)

FYI: The MEAT of the report is in the  Appendix (pg17 – 19). No methods for implementation are reveled.

Below is the announcement of the publication on the report on Friday, January 8th, 2016 at 6:38pm

The Transformation Panel Report lays out the process, vision and recommendations of the Transformation Panel, a diverse group of people brought together by Acting Commissioner Kerry A. Delaney to re-imagine the OPWDD system. This collaborative document takes into account the voices of individuals and their family members, which were heard through a series of public forums held by the panel and Acting Commissioner Delaney.

Now, we are again asking our valued stakeholders—people with developmental disabilities, their family members and caregivers, provider agency representatives and government partners—to share their opinions. After reading the Transformation Panel’s draft report, please feel free to send your comments on it to transformation.panel@opwdd.ny.gov

The time for public comment will continue through January 22. Please be sure to send your comments to transformation.panel@opwdd.ny.gov by January 22 for them to be considered.

You may also submit comments in writing to:
NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities
Commissioner’s Office: Recommendations Feedback
44 Holland Avenue, 3rd Floor
Albany, NY 12229

After the public comment period has ended, revisions will be made to the report based on the feedback we receive and a final draft will be ready by mid-February. Work on implementing some of the recommendations has already begun, and will proceed to accomplish both short- and long-term goals.

On behalf of the Panel, we hope you find this report to be a statement on the vision, ideas and sense of collaboration that will guide the evolution of our system.

We look forward to your feedback.

HCBS Waiver Renewal WebEx Announced – Register Now!

HCBS Waiver Renewal WebEx Announced – Register Now!
 
On Wednesday, January 13th, 2016, OPWDD will be hosting two WebEx sessions to provide an overview of the draft 1915 (c) Comprehensive HCBS Waiver Renewal 2014 agreement posted to our website on December 23rd, 2015.  The WebEx sessions will provide an overview of the draft renewal agreement and will outline the proposed changes.  The WebEx sessions are open to the public and we welcome all interested parties to participate.

Please register for one of the two WebEx sessions at the following OPWDD link:  http://www.opwdd.ny.gov/opwdd_services_supports/people_first_waiver/HCBS_waiver_services.

Additional sessions will be scheduled if needed.

For your reference, WebEx instructions are attached.

WebEx Instructions