I. Introductions were completed.
II. Minutes from April were accepted.
III. Announcements ( FLYERS & ATTACHMENTS on Provider Information Page)
Resources for Children with Special Needs
Please see attached for a Symposium and Workshop
UCP
The vacancy list is attached. May family workshops are currently available. Please see attached flyer. Please call 212.979.9700 ext.70 for more information.
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.
Hawthorne Foundation
Free Behavior Management Strategies Workshops. Please see attached flyer.
AHRC
The vacancy list is attached. There are also camp openings.
Lower East Side Family Union
Openings are available. Please see attached flyer.
CUNY School of Professional Studies
Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Disability Studies, see attached.
Presentation
Pet Partners – Nancy George, Coordinator of Manhattan Program. Please see attached handouts.
IV. State News
Lois Gillman will be retiring in June.
Marco reported that OPWDD is exploring whether to utilize the 1115 Medicaid waiver or a 1915b-c waiver combination. Either way, services would be under managed care and would be capitated. OPWDD is striving to maximize flexibility in whichever waiver is used. The safety net monies are being negotiated between OPWDD and CMS.
V. City News
June is developmental disabilities awareness month. June 1st at Fordham University in the Pope Auditorium there is the annual conference sponsored by the City at which the theme will be recreation and afterschool programs. The local government plan is complete.
The DD Council chairs met with Councilmember Koppel to advocate for restoring some city funding for DD services.
VI. IAC / Federation Report
IAC
Wini Schiff reported on the Governor’s proposed legislation regarding the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, explaining that last week the Governor held a briefing and press conference for Clarence Sundram’s final report and accompanying legislation. The Legislation is 160 pages long. Governor Cuomo, Speaker Silver and Majority Leader Skelos want the legislation to be passed by the end of this session.
The Governor’s intent is to provide consistency across 6 State agencies, OPWDD, Office of Mental Health, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of Children and Family Services, Department of Health adult care facilities, and State Education Department residential programs. There will be a new agency, the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs and 4 new abuse classifications:
Category 1:
Serious physical and sexual abuse by employees which warrants criminal prosecution, and other serious offenses warranting termination of employment. Upon a determination that an employee has committed a category one offense, the employee would be placed on a permanent registry that would bar the hiring of persons with a record of similar offenses in any of the six agencies.
Category 2:
Lesser misconduct including abuse and neglect by employees, consultants and others who have regular and substantial contact with the residents of a facility. These would be subject to progressive discipline and, in the state system, addressed by the Table of Penalties developed pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement. The table of penalties would also serve as a guide to the application of fair and proportional consequences for employee misconduct in these settings operated by the voluntary non-profit providers, consistent with any existing collective bargaining agreements. Repeated misconduct in this category would elevate severity to category one for placement on the abuse registry and a ban on future employment.
The notion of “restorative justice” will also be employed where there is reason to believe in the potential for rehabilitation of the employee.
Category 3:
Conduct between service recipients that results in harm. These cases should be investigated as they may be indicators of staff neglect or systemic problems (see category 4 below). If it is determined by investigation to be neither, but the allegation is substantiated, service recipients would not be eligible for inclusion in the register but the incident may require plans of prevention and correction to avoid recurrence.
Category 4:
“Systemic problems” to deal with cases of harm to individuals where any staff culpability is substantially lessened by program deficiencies such as inadequate staff, training, supervision, etc. For such cases, the supervising state agency would have responsibility to ensure prompt remediating of the deficient condition. Providers should be held responsible for repeated systemic problems at their sites and subject to aggressive enforcement of standards, including termination of operating certificates for prolonged or repeated failures to correct identified problems. In some cases, systemic problems may also support a finding of neglect of duty by supervisors and managers.
The Justice Center will employ 400 people and will host a 24-hour hotline and the abuse registry. There will be an Executive Director, Special Prosecutor, and an
Inspector General. $15 million has been included in the budget to set up the hotline; it is assumed that many of these employees will come from existing state agencies. The Commission on Quality of Care will be dissolved. The Center will directly investigate all Category 1 cases of abuse. When an incident is called in to the hotline, a determination will be made as to which category applies.
A Training Academy will be established which will develop a common core
curriculum for direct support staff and supervisors with a system for credentialing. In addition, there will be a code of conduct applicable to all employees in human service agencies and a common clearinghouse for background checks.
Also, State agencies will require their private contractors to be subject to the same FOIL disclosure requirements as state providers regarding the reports and investigations of allegations of abuse and neglect.
Information: www.governor.ny.gov/Justice4SpecialNeeds/home
Jim Malley reported that IAC is closely following the morphing of the 1115 waiver into the 1915b-c waiver and speculating as to its implications.
A revised administrative order reflected success in advocating for individuals’ right to smoke in their own apartments if the building allows it.
IAC generally agrees with most of Clarence Sundram’s report and will support the legislation to be introduced as a result of it. IAC will oppose most other legislative initiatives.
The residential committee is considering alternative residential options.
OPWDD has agreed to support previously issued building and development costs.
The training sessions leading to a certificate in incident investigation have proven to be extremely popular.
IAC is holding a conference on June 14 & 15 at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Federation
There were no meetings.
VII. Committee Reports
Family Support – Marco Damiani gave a presentation on the 1115 Waiver. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, June 12th at 10 AM at YAI, 460 West 34th Street. 11th floor. 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 – About one-half of those students requesting OPWDD services have placements secured for post-graduation. The remaining are still in process with the exception of 1 or 2 where the student’s family has not followed-up on the necessary process. Also noted, that significantly more individuals have chosen to pursue employment related services than in the past years. The next meeting is on Wednesday, June 13th at 9:30 AM at Life Adjustment Center, 1430 Broadway (at 40th Street), Suite 503. Call Kathy Kelly at 212-780-2724 for more information.
Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council – At the April meeting, Judy DeIasi presented on the incident review process. In May Marco Damiani will present at both morning and evening sessions on the OPWDD People First Waiver. The June meeting is on Monday, June 11th at 10 AM. A presentation on PROMOTE will be given by Jill Pettinger. Call Margaret Puddington at 212-799-2042 for more information.
Service Coordination – The MSC Forum was a huge success. One of the best turnouts to date. 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 will be announced. For more information, contact Christina Muccioli at 212-780-2532.
Nominations Committee – There will be elections for DD Council officers at the June meeting. The current officers are: Marco Damiani, chair; Judy DeIasi, agency vice chair, Susan Williams, parent vice chair; Elly Rufer, secretary. The nominations slate for June elections is as follows: Marco Damiani, Chair, Marilyn Rubenstein, Vice Chair, Susan Williams, Parent Vice Chair and Elly Rufer, Secretary. Please contact the Nominations Committee with any questions or to nominate yourself or someone else: Margaret Puddington 212-799-2042; Amy Bittinger 718-859-5420 x 234; Jennifer Shaoul 212-273-6289.
Next meeting: Thursday, June 14th, at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor.