I. Introductions were completed
II. Minutes were approved; if you were unable to open them, they are available as always on the DD Council website (www.manhattanddcouncil.org).
III. Announcements: October PFD of Announcements
Please pay Council dues for Fiscal Year July, 2013 – June, 2014, if your agency has not done so already. Invoice is attached.
Peggy Groce
There is a new exhibit in the lobby of the District 75 Office at 400 First Avenue. The students are thrilled and enjoying the exhibit. There are many videos, documentaries, professional development stories about the history of the disability movement, some of which is being used in colleges and universities. The video sharing site is: vimeo.com/d75, or at the District 75 Website schools.nyc.gov/offices/district75/. There are many resources on the website that are free.
Archcare at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center
See attached for openings in the Developmental Disabilities Clinic.
Excellent Home Care
See attached flyer for more information.
Camp Oakhurst
Currently accepting overnight applications. Serves individuals, ages 8 and up. Call (212) 533-4020 for more information.
YAI
The fall 2013 schedule of the Family Support Series for Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders is attached. Call YAI LINK at 212-273-6182 for referrals and any other information.
AHRC
See attached for vacancies.
Kennedy Child Study Center
Joan Dwyer announced a respite program for children ages 3 – 12. Will be on 12 Saturdays a year with transportation, lunch and will go on trips. See attached for more information.
UCP
See attached for vacancies as well as Free Workshops available for parents, professionals and caregivers.
Margaret Puddington made an announcement that Amy Bittinger is being honored by CPA State as employee of the year at their Conference in Saratoga.
Elly Rufer
Announcement was made regarding paying council dues on a timely basis, which would enable member agencies to list events on the council calendar on the website. Elly also mentioned that meeting dates and fliers can be sent to her to be posted or you can go on Facebook directly and post the information.
Presentations
Chris Treiber, Associate Executive Director for Children’s Services at IAC, explained that an Early Intervention bill, S5938, sponsored by Sen. Tkaczyk, addresses problematic billing and claiming issues: Since April 1st Early Intervention providers are responsible for the billing and claiming process and for seeking payment from private insurance and Medicaid. Under this new process Early Intervention providers receive payment directly from the private insurance company or Medicaid, and the State Fiscal Agent pays providers the balance of the established EI rate for the service. EI providers have had tremendous difficulty getting reimbursement from third-party insurance and have had cash flow issues as a result. This bill would require the State Fiscal Agent to be responsible for billing and claiming, pay providers within 30 days, and seek reimbursement from Medicaid and third-party insurance companies.
Chris then presented the IAC Education Action plan for preschool services. Chris said preschools are now in a perfect storm. There has been no rate increase in 5 years. The Office of the State Comptroller’s audits of 18 preschool providers identified criminal activity and malfeasance at a small handful of preschools. The resulting bad press has been harmful to the good preschools. IAC is creating an action plan to correct the negative climate created by these OSC audits. The IAC plan is for an Invite Your Legislator to School Month (November). Part of this plan includes inviting elected officials to visit our preschools to see the wonderful work they do and remind elected officials how important preschool special education is. We want the legislators to remember these visits and to carry a positive feeling about the children, staff, and programs back to Albany when they return during budget time. IAC plans to offer training for our preschools as to how to conduct these visits.
The State Education Department created new review and audit protocols for preschools. We need to reestablish the credibility and integrity of preschools. IAC is now collecting information on the financial and programmatic impact of 5 years without increases (can’t get bank loans; laid off staff; NYC preschools lost $24 million in 2010-11). IAC wants to act now to prevent closures, not wait until it is too late. IAC is also looking at outcome data for preschool graduates to document the importance and effectiveness of these services – where did the children come from and where did they go upon graduation.
Jeffrey Wise, Executive Director for the Justice Center.
See attached presentation for more information: Justice Center as presented at Council Mtg October 10 2013
IV. State News
OPWDD Associate Deputy Commissioner, Jill Gentile, has resigned. The position has been posted. Because of the federal government shut down, rate rationalization is not proceeding. It is not known yet whether the implementation will be retroactive to October 1.
OPWDD will hold a hearing on the 5.07 plan on the Transformation Agenda. [Subsequently, the hearing date was rescheduled to November 22, 2013, 9:30am-1:00pm at 75 Morton St.] Registration on the OPWDD website is required.
OPWDD is sending out a survey to families about their experience with the Front Door. OPWDD is trying to resolve Front Door issues and would like to be apprised of problems.
The Money Follows the Person demonstration will be ongoing. Peer-Based Outreach will also continue where self-advocates will speak to people in ICFs and nursing home about the benefits of community living.
VI. City News
The City Bureau of Developmental Disabilities will fund DD Council activities up to $3,000.
VII. IAC/Federation Report
IAC/Federation:
Rate rationalization, a requirement by CMS, has taken center stage in all meetings and discussions.
Our issues are being introduced in Albany: rate increases are primary. But the federal issue of taking back $15 billion in a single swipe is still in play.
In the children’s world, the focus is on financial concerns preschools have not had a rate increase in 5 years.
In the adult world, the phase out and shut down of workshops is currently receiving the most attention.
IAC is monitoring the effects of the Front Door monthly.
The Direct Support Professional recognition at City Hall was a success.
The annual Technology Conference will be held January 14, 2014.
A statewide public relations initiative is taking place on October 24th. Participating agencies will identify families to be trained on how to deal with media, keeping on message.
The Federation met on September 30th. There is interest in working with the Department of Health on a publication on how to support individuals with autism at medical appointments.
VIII. Committee Reports
Family Support – The Family and Professional Resource Fair will be on December 11th at Hotel Penn, a new venue. It is located at 401 7th Avenue. Volunteers are needed. The Directory is in the process of being updated. Agencies should return their updated entries to Jennifer Shaoul promptly. Donations are still needed for the gift bags. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 11/12, at 10am at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor. Call Amy Bittinger at 718-859-5420, ext. 234 for more information.
Legislative – The summer legislative advocacy campaign to begin a year-round relationship was successful. All but 3 Manhattan state legislators either made program visits or received visits in their offices. We also visited one federal legislator. We did not ask for any favors, but left that door open. We learned that summer is not the best time to make appointments since the legislators often go on vacation. But they are seldom in session during the fall, so future efforts such as this should be scheduled for the fall. If you are interested in being involved, please contact jmalley@esperanzacenter.net or Margaret Puddington at 212-799-2042 or Margaret.puddington@gmail.com. The next meeting will be announced.
Transition – The committee has brand new transition staff from every single school. Focus at of the September meeting was the Front Door, and the October meeting focused on OPWDD services. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 11/13, at 9:30 at Metro DDRO, 75 Morton Street, 1st Floor Conference Room. Call Kathy Kelly at 212-780-2724 for more information.
Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council – In September an evening meeting with Kathy Broderick on updates on issues affecting services was very well attended. An evening meeting featuring Grazyna Kusmierska, on Anger Management will take place on Thursday, 10/24, at 5:30 PM at 75 Morton Street. Call Margaret Puddington for more information, 212-799-2042.
Service Coordination – The next meeting is on Friday, November 5 h at 10 AM at UCP, 80 Maiden Lane, 2nd Floor. Liz Cambra, Deputy Director of OPWDD will be presenting on the Front Door. On December 5, 10 AM, at UCP at 80 Maiden Lane, 2nd floor, Eden Ruiz will present on housing issues. The annual MSC Forum will be May 15, 2014 at PACE. To participate on the Committee or to become involved in any capacity, please contact Carol Lincoln at clincoln@ucpnyc.org.
Children’s Committee – The meeting on October 4th was well attended, most by parents. There was a panel discussion on identifying delays and coping strategies for children from age’s birth – 7. The panel consisted of people from the Kennedy Child Study Center and AHRC. For information about the Committee, contact Christina Muccioli at, 212.780.2532 or Christina.Muccioli@ahrcnyc.org.
Next DD Council meeting: Thursday, November 14th at 9:30 AM at FEGS, 315 Hudson Street, 9th Floor. Enter at 80 Van Dam Street.