I. Introductions were completed.
II. Minutes from December were accepted.
III. Announcements
UCP/NYC
“Doorways to Independence” and “Access to Home” are programs that provide home modifications to people with disabilities and seniors with physical limitations. It allows them greater mobility within their own homes. People from all five boroughs are now eligible. The “Housing Assistance” program offers assistance with housing and accessibility rights issues.
Overnight respite is available in the Bronx for individuals in all five boroughs living with their families.
The GHI Augmentative Communication Center on East 23rd Street is open to people in all five boroughs, and provides a wide range of services for families and professionals. They are an approved provider for Medicaid, EI and the DOE.
For information about all these programs, please call 877-UCP CONNECT.
There will be a free family education workshop on 1/25 at 10am, and the topic is “Helpful Strategies for the Home Environment.” To register, call 212-979-9700, x707.
DD Council Website
The “Ask the Council” function has been activated. Questions will be answered by Council members, and maybe sometimes topics for future meetings will come out of these questions.
It was also suggested that the site include more links to sites not funded by OPWDD. If you know of any sites that people might find helpful, please send them to Elly Rufer, web master, at erufer2000@yahoo.com.
Please continue to visit www.manhattanddcouncil.org and provide feedback to Elly.
YAI
The vacancy list is attached. The winter schedule of the Family Support Series for Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders is also attached, and there are additional workshops available in Cantonese. The free Health Education Workshops for professionals are starting again in January (MSC’s receive credit for attending). Call YAI LINK at 212-273-6182 for referrals and any other information.
District 75 Office of Travel Training
This past December marked the 40th anniversary of the New York City public school travel training program. Peggy Groce is collecting reminiscences of past travel trainees; if you know a student who would like to submit a memory or story of their experience, please email her at MGroce@schools.nyc.gov.
AHRC NYC
Program vacancy list is attached.
Resources for Children with Special Needs
The Camp Fair will be held on 1/29/11 from 11-3 at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. The Camp Directory will be available for free at this event. After the Fair, people will have to pay for a copy.
IAC
There will be a presentation on “Epilepsy and Developmental Disabilities” on 2/22. There is a charge for IAC members and non-members. You can register online at www.iacny.org.
Other
Let All the Children Play is having a pre-game youth sports clinic for children with and without disabilities, ages 7-12, on 2/19 at 4:45, followed by a Columbia University basketball game. For more information, email HeidiL@latcp.org, or go to www.latcp.org.
IV. Guest Speaker, Michael Attwell, the YAI Network – “NY State’s Executive Budget Process”
Mr. Attwell is a former Chief Budget Examiner of NY State, and he gave an overview of NY State’s Executive Budget Process, a brief history of the department, and the current structure of the Division of Budget. See attached for his presentation.
V. State News
Lois Gillman stressed again that the field is still adjusting to the restructuring of MSC. There are rumors that MSC is being capped, but there is no cap on MSC enrollment.
VI. City News
The FY 10 and FY 11 City Tax Levy (CTL) cuts were announced by the Mayor in November. In FY 10, $5.4 million was cut in OPWDD State Local Assistance (SLA) funding for DD clinics receiving net deficit funding. An additional $1.3million reduction was applied in FY11 as part of the State’s Deficit Reduction Plan. With the reduction in CTL funding, DOHMH made a decision to address the CTL reduction by eliminating funding for the DD clinics in order to maintain the remainder of the current MRDD contract portfolio. Currently there are no options available to continue funding for the three remaining DD clinics in NYC in FY 12 (July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012). The City Council did restore the FY 11 cuts to three voluntary clinics for this year, so the money will remain until July. The cuts will go back into effect in July, unless there is another restoration. The clinics have other revenue sources (e.g. Medicaid) and it is important to note the CTL net deficit funding represented a small percentage of the revenues generated by the clinics. Other DOHMH funded programs, such as children and adult recreation, weekend respite, counseling, information and referral, summer camp, transitional employment and work readiness have not been cut so far, and DOHMH has not imposed cuts to these programs at present. There is significant concern that the individuals served in these programs might not be eligible for OPWDD Waiver and/or eligibility for services therefore these DOHMH funded programs are important to maintain.
It is unclear whether there will be further reductions in SLA and CTL funding in FY12. The FY12 State budget has not been presented. Once the details are available, DOHMH will be able to assess possible OPWDD SLA reductions and its impact on MRDD contracts. In addition, significant SLA cuts might also cause further reductions in CTL funding for FY12. The City is required to present a balanced budget on time by 7/1.
The City Council Autism Initiative continues with support to twenty-five providers. DOHMH, along with the City Council funded Autism providers, are gauging the need for more direct services for families and individuals, some of whom might not be eligible for OPWDD services. A survey, developed by the providers, is currently being disseminated to the families served in these programs to ascertain the gaps and challenges families face, and to see what else they need. DOHMH is sponsoring an Autism family panel/focus group which will; provide DMH Executive Deputy Commissioner Dr. Karpati and DOHMH a more concrete picture of the service gaps and needs, especially for families with children transitioning out of the DOE, or who need afterschool and other support programs.
Regarding the DDPC funded DD/Substance Abuse initiative, William Lopez is participating in a conference call with Jill Gentile from OPWDD and with staff from OASAS. They are looking at a possible development of a small housing option for DD individuals with substance abuse who have completed their 28 days of voluntary residential treatment at an OASAS Addiction Treatment Center (ATC), and need alternate housing that will provide support and not return to their previous environment. OASAS has the funding mechanism for supportive housing, and it would be targeted to individuals who are DD with substance abuse issues. This pilot housing program will be a collaborative effort by OASAS and OPWDD which would be providing ongoing support including MSC.
The pilot program would be available City-wide and may be located on Staten Island. So far six individuals have completed the ATC program since it started.
The DOHMH is moving in April from Worth Street to Two Gotham Plaza in Long Island City.
The Borough Chairs will meet with Dr. Karpati on 1/19.
VII. IAC/Federation Report
IAC: Manhattan Family Advocacy Day will be 2/11. The new Senate Committee Chair for MH/DD is Roy McDonald, for Health it is Kemp Hannon, and Education remains John Flanagan.
OPWDD realized that due to cuts and layoffs, they can’t continue to provide training on new regulations and the core MSC curriculum. They are looking to create a training consortium with other agencies to implement the training. The MSC curriculum will be finalized in February so it can be implemented. By the end of February, there should be an OPWDD certified MSC training that can be conducted by agencies other than OPWDD.
IAC conducted a survey of 35 agencies of recent budget and job reductions. So far 26 agencies responded: 170 jobs have been permanently lost.
IAC is hosting a meeting with Acting Commissioner Max Chmura on 1/20.
Committees are reviewing eMods, the recent changes in MSC, and TB regulations.
IAC is also waiting for the budget to formulate their positions. Lobby day will be 3/1, coordinated with other state associations.
Federation: The Federation met on 12/10, and there was one representative from each discipline. Each gave a report on their department. A state grant will allow some city agencies to participate in an electronic health record system.
The Borough chairs will meet in January.
VIII. Committee Reports
Family Support – The January meeting was very well attended. The evals from the Family Support Fair were reviewed. People really want more workshops. Staff from OPWDD also talked about the eligibility and LOC processes. Many areas were clarified for people. The topic at the February meeting will either be the MSC enrollment process or a review of DDP (developmental disabilities profile) forms. Upcoming topics at meetings through June will also include waiver and Medicaid enrollment. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 2/8, at 10am at UCP/NYC, 120 East 23rd Street, 5th floor. Call 212-979-9700, ext. 708 for more information.
Legislative – The date for the 2011 Manhattan Legislative Breakfast is Friday, March 11. The Committee will meet on Friday, 2/4 at 9am at AHRC NYC, 83 Maiden Lane on the 11th floor. To join the Committee, email Judith.deiasi@ahrcnyc.org.
Transition – The next meeting will be the Student Information Exchange on Wednesday 1/19 at 9:30 at Metro DDSO, 75 Morton Street, 1st floor activity center. Call Kathy Kelly at 212-780-2724 for more information.
Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council – At the next meeting, Alden Kaplan, formerly of OPWDD and the Division of the Budget, will speak about the State Budget Process. The January meeting will be on 1/20 at 10 am at 75 Morton Street. Call Margaret Puddington for more information, 212-799-2042.
Service Coordination –The Committee will bring Manhattan MSCs together on a regular basis to encourage ongoing discussions and will eventually have presentations. The first gathering will be 1/24 at 2:30 at UCP/NYC (120 East 23rd Street, 5th floor, room 525). Agencies should send their MSC Supervisors and MSC staff. If you are interested in participating, please email irina.tuchina@yai.org.
Children’s Committee – The next meeting will be 1/28 at 9:30, with a presentation on “Dealing with Challenging Behaviors” and is geared for both interested parents and providers.
In addition, Hope Levy, Director of the Interagency Council (IAC) Workforce Development, will provide an update of current issues and topics as they relate to early intervention, preschool and school age programs. Wini Schiff, IAC’s Associate Executive Director for Legislative Affairs, will provide an overview of the current political climate in Albany, and the New York State Budget. She will be discussing the importance of advocacy and how families and educators must develop a “collective voice” in the legislative process. She will explain that essential services for individuals with developmental disabilities could be dismantled if this “collective voice” is not heard.
The meeting will be held at 15 West 65th Street, in the first floor auditorium. For information about the Committee, contact Christina Muccioli at Christina.Muccioli@ahrcnyc.org.
Next meeting: Thursday, February 10 at IAC, 150 West 30th Street, 15th floo