I. Introductions were completed.
II. Minutes from May were accepted.
III. Announcements
Resources for Children with Special Needs Please see attached flyers YAI The vacancy list is attached. The Autism Parent Support Series is in progress. Please see attached for more information. Call YAI LINK at 212.273.6182 for referrals and any other information. Terence Cardinal Cooke Please see attached flyer for openings AHRC The vacancy list is attached. There are also camp openings. QSAC There are many openings that are available. Please see attached flyer. Call (718) 728-8476 for more information. Esperanza Funds are available for reimbursement for family transportation expenses related to the person with DD. Some restrictions apply. Contact Jazmith Jovine at 212.928-5810 x 102. It was decided that on July 12th at 9:30 AM, there will be a full Council meeting at YAI. There will be a discussion on how to get more involvement in Council. [Subsequently, it was decided to review the current by-laws as well at the July meeting].IV. State News
Janet Zampella reported that OPWDD has decided to implement the People First waiver as a 1915b/c combination Medicaid waiver, not an 1115 Medicaid waiver. OPWDD already provides services under the 1915c. The 1915b will authorize OPWDD to provide managed care. The goals of the People First waiver remain unchanged. The case studies will begin once OPWDD gets authorization to proceed with the 1915 b/c waiver. OPWDD is in the process of hiring MSCs to do the assessments for the case studies. OPWDD is holding a videoconference on innovative ideas 6/26, 9:00am-3:15pm. To register, contact Jenine Kirschner at 212-229-3142. The OPWDD website will post a video of the conference. Additional videoconferences will be held in July and September.
Lois Gillman is retiring. Jenine Kirschner will fill in until a replacement for Lois is hired.
In July, OPWDD will begin its reorganization, separating state from voluntary administrative functions. Donna Limiti will be the NYC regional director for voluntary services for all 5 boroughs. Sheryl Minter Brooks will be director of state-operations for Metro, Staten Island, and Brooklyn. Jill Gentile will be Associate Commissioner for all NYS voluntary services. Back office (human resources, fiscal, forensic, maintenance, safety, etc.) functions will report to OPWDD’s central office. OPWDD is recruiting for unfilled positions. An organizational chart is available on the OPWDD website.
On June 27, 10am-noon, OPWDD will host a meeting for providers who might be interested in serving some individuals now residing in the Judge Rotenberg Center. Jill Pettinger will present on the clinical needs of those individuals. Very enriched funding will be available to support their high clinical needs as well as those of individuals who are aging out of out-of-state residential schools and adults on emergency funding. For more information, contact Ricia Pellner at 212-229-3260 or Nina Baumbach at 212-229-3275.
OPWDD is inviting voluntary MSC providers to accept transfers of Willowbrook class member cases, where the caseload must be 1:20.
The Office of Fire Prevention will accompany OPWDD surveyors.
The Commissioner’s one-year progress report has been released. It is available on the OPWDD website.
75 Morton Street has been sold to the Department of Education. The DDSO must relocate by April of 2013.
Events in support of the Justice Center have been well attended.
Roberta Mueller of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest discussed some of her concerns about the current version of the Justice Center legislation; for example, that the funding for the Justice Center will drain resources from state agencies such as OPWDD, will create a huge new bureaucracy, and will throw the incident management system into disarray. She voiced other concerns as well, and recommended that legislators take a closer look at this bill and not rush it through.
V. City News
No report for today.
VI. IAC / Federation Report
IAC
IAC is endorsing the creation of the Justice Center and offering suggestions about amending the legislation. They are also working on the arms-length preschool issue, particularly a dispute regarding how many children were evaluated by the same agency to which they were referred for services. IAC is holding their first conference on June 14 & 15 at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Federation
The borough chairs met 6/11. No additional reductions have been announced yet, but this year will be the first full annualization of last year’s cuts. The DDPC grant, addressing collaboration between OPWDD and OASAS, is being considered for a fourth year. It’s receiving good reviews. The Local Government Plan is now called the Local Services Plan. It includes five tier 1 priorities, including all of Manhattan’s priorities. There are a smaller number of tier 2 priorities. The Bureau is engaged in changing its name: dropping MR. The next Federation meeting is 6/20.
VII. Committee Reports
Family Support – Gary Shulman presented at the June meeting. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 11th at 10 AM at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor. Planning for the Fair will take place. The Fair is tentatively scheduled for November 29th. Please contact Amy or Jennifer with ideas for workshops at the Fair. Call Amy Bittinger at 718-859-5420 x 234 for more information.
Legislative – no report available. The next meeting will be determined. Call Jim Malley at 212-928-5810 x 101 for more information.
Transition – Most graduates have a place to go post-graduation. Also noted, that significantly more individuals have chosen to pursue employment related services than in the past years. There was discussion about possibly doing a 6-month follow-up with the graduates to learn what works and what needs to be improved about the transition process. The next meeting is on Wednesday, September 12th at 9:30 AM at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor. Call Kathy Kelly at 212-780-2724 for more information.
Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council – At the June meeting a presentation on PROMOTE was given by Jill Pettinger. The next meeting will be in September. The date will be determined. Call Margaret Puddington at 212-799-2042 for more information.
Service Coordination – The next meeting will be announced. Call Irina Tuchina for more information. She can be reached at 212-273-6100 ext. 2418.
Children’s Committee – The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 9th. The time and place will be announced. For more information, contact Christina Muccioli at 212-780-2532.
Nominations Committee – Elections for DD Council officers took place at the June meeting. The newly elected officers are as follows: Marco Damiani, chair; Marilyn Rubinstein, professional vice chair, Susan Williams, parent vice chair; Elly Rufer, secretary.
Next meeting: Thursday, July 12th, at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor.