Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 12, 2012, 10:00 AM – 12 Noon
Location: YAI, 460 West 34th Street – 11th Floor, (corner of 10th Avenue
For More Information:
Jennifer Shaoul @ 212.273.6869 / Jennifer.Shaoul@yai.org
Amy Bittinger @ 718-859-5420 ext. 234 / or abittinger@ucpnyc.org
Topic: Presentation on Outreach by Jennifer Shaoul, Family Support Co-Chair and Senior Coordinator, YAI Link
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Luis Nieves & Kaleena Teoh of Lower East Side Family Union announced that they have only 2 vacancies left for Non-Medicaid Service Coordination. Chinese or Spanish. Call 212-260-0040 x208 (Luis) or x222 Kaleena
- Samantha Schwendeman of Sprout announced availability of their School Holiday Travel Program. They will be going to DC in February and PA Dutch area for the Spring break. She also distributed the January calendar of events. Call 212-222-9575.
- Jay Kleinman of Lifespire announced that there is now a waiting list for their behavior management program. Call 718-454-6940.
- Margaret Puddington announced that there will be a very important Family Services Advisory Council on 1/24 at the DDRO. Gerry Huber, Assoc. Commissioner, OPWDD will present on ICS Services. He will also update families on the new Waiver. Call 212-799-2042.
- Jeannine Schmelzkopf of Hawthorne Foundation announced that there is availability in their behavior management program. Approx. 4 spaces. Call 646-675-5957.
- Michelle Lang of YAI LINK announced:
- Save the Date for YAI’s Health Education Workshops – Free Trainings for professionals beginning in February. Call 212-273-6182 for a brochure.
- Private pay Ballet/ Yoga classes in Manhattan for children. Sliding scale available for children on the autism spectrum. Call 212-273-6182.
- Autism Parent Support Group Series. New schedule coming out for Winter/Spring. Currently doing a 3 part series on behavior management. Call 212-273-6182.
- Pat Liu of GHO announced that they have availability of Reimbursement funds and Family Support Case Management for Manhattan. Please call 718-307-6563.
- Yolanda from UCP distributed flyers on several District 75 events.
PRESENTATIONS
HRA ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES
FAMILY TYPE HOMES FOR ADULTS
Jerry Victor and Camille Tomlinson-Kerr presented on this program. It is run in collaboration with OCFS. It operates like foster care but it is for adults. They have a requirement that the person attend a Day Program. They have some people in the program from OPWDD but have had some issues in the past with the Day Programs. They are checking with Albany to clarify what the issues were and if they can be resolved. They don’t have many placements in Manhattan but can place a Manhattan resident in other boroughs. The host family can remind a person to take medication, but can’t administer meds. The person must be relatively independent with ADLs. Can use a CHHA if necessary. Must be ambulatory. The host families don’t receive a lot of training and are not clinicians but many have worked or still work in the health care field. They get a lot of cases that have psychiatric issues. When a host family has more than one person living there, they try to keep psychiatric separate from DD. Look at placement based on diagnosis. Different forms for someone who primarily has a physical disability vs. someone who has mental health or cognitive disability.
Once a referral is received, they schedule a visit. If appropriate, they have a second interview in a prospective home. They match on culture, religion, sex. Placement is totally voluntary. Individual must keep with the rules of the program and household. There is a curfew and there is no smoking. Usually there is a placement within a month. Sometimes it’s harder to place someone with allergies or someone with a preference for no children in the house.
Individual must be over 18 years old. If there is a history of violence, it’s not likely they’ll be placed. They must be 5 years clean of drugs outside of an institution. There should be no history of arrests, but they will discuss special cases.
A fire safety inspection is done on the home and they must comply with Housing Code. Payment for room and board usually comes from SSI or SSDI. Individual usually keeps an allowance of $135/ month. The host provides laundry and housekeeping services. The individual is not given a key to the front door and the host sets the curfew. They are allowed visitors in a common area. They can stay overnight elsewhere but they must leave a contact number. This can also be provided private pay. Some individuals are eligible for a clothing grant (around $145 every 6 months). The host gets $500 to hire substitute care when needed
Retention is usually high. They have some situations that have lasted 20-25 years. If the host has an emergency, they use other homes as respite. There is a background check done in Albany but there is no fingerprinting. However, most providers work and many work in systems where they’ve already been fingerprinted.
Most providers are African American or Caribbean. Only a few Latinos. Most homes are in Brooklyn and Queens. Brooklyn and the Bronx have the most vacancies. Not a lot available in Manhattan and Staten Island, but individuals can be placed throughout the City.
This program exists in every county in NYS. It is much more limited elsewhere and often private pay.
For referrals, call Camille Kerr at 212-971-2615.
HOMESHARING PROGRAM
Stephanie Walters presented on the Homesharing program. Similar program to above except for individuals who are more independent and host is not responsible for care. Roommate situation. There’s a program for DD and for Seniors. They have 35 homes in all counties. Applicants should be age 18+. Host is age 55+. Applicant should have a psychological, psychosocial and medical. Must have a case manager. Can have community hab and/or home attendant. Match based on application/ preferences. Individuals must have their own room. The rest of the home is community space. They can offer a stipend towards rent – usually between $50 and $200 (10 people with DD are eligible for a stipend). The average actual rent is between $450 and $650. The host can’t charge more than ½ their rent and often charge less. After 1 year, the program usually applies for an ISS with OPWDD to continue services. The host is not required to provide meals. Utilities are included in the rent. Rooms are usually furnished. NYFSC does a background check for them if the referral source requests it at a charge of $25. There can be no more than 3 people sharing a bathroom.
They do a similar screening of hosts as the above APS program. Homesharing also pays security deposit. They have no availability in Manhattan but have availability in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. They have the same issues with finding ethnically and culturally diverse providers. They have a much larger program for Seniors. Only one person (host or applicant) needs to be 55+. Can call 212-962-7559 x285 to make a referral.
NEXT MONTH:
The Committee reviewed previous requested topics. Jennifer Shaoul, Family Support Co-Chair, will give a presentation on Outreach.