- Announcements
DD Council
Thursday, June 9, 2016, 9:30 am- noon
CP of NYS, 330 West 34th Street, 15th floor
Information: Marco Damiani (212) 947-5770 x 456; manhattanddcouncilchair@gmail.com
Family Support Services Committee
Tuesday, June 14, 2016, 10:00 am-noon
Sinergia, 2082 Lexington Ave., 4th floor
Information: Yesenia Estrella (212) 643-2840 x 349; yestrella@sinergiany.org
Transition Committee
Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 9:30 am – noon
AHRC, 83 Maiden Lane, 11th floor Board Room
Information: Kathy Kelly (212) 780-2724; Kathy.kelly@ahrcnyc.org
Legislative Committee
Next meeting to be announced.
Information: Jim Malley (212) 928-5810 x 101; Jmalley@esperanzacenter.net
Children’s Committee
Next meeting to be announced.
Information: Christina Muccioli (212) 780-2532; Christina.muccioli@ahrcnyc.org
- OPWDD’s Revised Residential Priority Categories
OPWDD has developed a draft of new residential priority categories, formerly called “priorities.” These are:
- Priority Category 1. People who are homeless, or with no safe, risk-free place to live: including those ready for discharge from hospital or psychiatric facility or jail, or those in shelter, hotel, or hospital emergency room. This category previously included young adults aging out from residential schools and Childrens Residential Programs, as well as individuals transitioning out of developmental centers or residing in skilled nursing facilities.
- Priority Category 2. Those at increasing risk of having no permanent place to live, including those living at home with family who are becoming unable to care for or manage the person’s needs including behavioral needs. This category also includes individual at increasing risk of harm (health or safety) to self or others. Category 2 now includes individuals previously in Priority 1: those subject to court or legislative mandates, those aging out of residential schools or Childrens Residential Programs, and those ready to move out of developmental centers or skilled nursing facilities.
- Priority Category 3. Those with a current need for residential services, but not substantial need. This category is same as previous Priority 3.
Elections could not be held at the June meeting because there were not enough eligible voters at the meeting. Elections are postponed until September. The slate of the Nominations Committee is:
Chairperson: Margaret Puddington
Executive Committee:
- Kate Bini
- Caroline Grant
- Michael Haas
- Linda Irby
- Adriana Maya
- Sunny ONeil
- Elly Rufer
- Ursula von Wartburg
- Susan Williams
- Speaker: Hope Levy, IAC, on the Justice Center
Hope Levy explained that she does not represent the Justice Center (JC). She works for IAC and acts as an intermediary and problem-solver between the non-profit providers and the JC.
The NYS JC was created on June 30, 2013, in response to a series of articles in the New York Times exposing serious cases of abuse and neglect that occurred in OPWDD services. The mission of the JC is to support and protect “the health, safety, and dignity of all people with special needs and disabilities through advocacy of their civil rights, prevention of mistreatment, and investigation of all allegations of abuse and neglect so that appropriate actions are taken.” The JC has jurisdiction over programs operated, certified, licensed, or funded by OPWDD, Office of Mental Health, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of Children and Family Services, and some Department of Health adult homes and State Education Department residential schools.
The JC maintains a 24/7 hotline number to receive reports of allegations of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment. The JC is NYS’s central reporting agency and maintains a database, called the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register, that accepts reports of all incidents, which it tracks to completion. Investigations are conducted of all allegations. The JC investigates the most egregious cases. Other OPWDD cases are investigated by the providers using independent investigators. All investigators must be trained by the JC and OPWDD.
Parents/guardians are permitted to be present during an interview of their child in an abuse or neglect investigation. However, the parents may be excluded to prevent someone else’s confidentiality from being compromised.
There are 4 categories of allegations: Category 1 is for serious or repeated acts of abuse or neglect by a custodian (person working for a certified provider who has regular and direct contact with individuals). A person found guilty of a Category 1 abuse is added to the Staff Exclusion List (SEL) and is thereby prohibited from being hired by any provider of services for vulnerable people.
Category 2 is for abuse or neglect which endangers health, safety, or welfare; if a person is guilty of two substantiated Category 2 incidents within three years, the second incident is elevated to a Category 1. Category 3 is abuse or neglect but without intent to harm. Category 4 is abuse or neglect that is the fault of the agency’s own policies or lack of oversight.
A staff person may appeal a guilty finding.
An agency must report to law enforcement any time a crime may have been committed against an individual by a custodian. The local District Attorney, not the JC, is responsible for prosecutions.
Mandated reporters: custodians and other human services professionals (e.g., social workers, psychologists, RNs) must report any incident to the JC; failure to do so has serious consequences.
The JC cannot mandate an agency’s policies regarding suspension or termination unless the guilty party has been placed on the SEL for a Category 1 offense. It was always an OPWDD policy, before the JC, to suspend targets of sexual abuse.
Prior to hiring staff, providers are required to: check the SEL; do a Criminal Background Check through fingerprinting; do an MHL 1634 search (to check the applicant’s work history prior to the establishment of the JC in 2013 for any guilty findings of abuse or neglect); check the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Mistreatment.
If families are dissatisfied with a JC investigation, they may contact the chief investigator of the JC. If families are dissatisfied with a provider’s investigation, they may contact the head of the agency’s compliance department and pursue that up the chain to the Executive Director. Additionally, the JC has an advisory group to which recommendations may be submitted.
For more information, please see the attached Justice Center Presentation of Hope’s presentation and check out the JC website: www.justicecenter.ny.gov.
Charles Gans, parent, recommended that a subcommittee of the FSSAC be formed to make recommendations concerning the JC. This recommendation will be taken up by the Executive Committee.
Have a Wonderful Summer!