I. Introductions were completed.
II. Minutes from October were accepted.
III. Announcements
AHRC NYC
Program vacancy list is attached. Free psychological and psychosocial evals can be done for individuals who are DD and do not have Medicaid; call Cathie Shannon at 212-229-3250 to make a referral for people who live in Manhattan.
FEGS
Opportunities in: Day Hab – call Anne Wolff, 212-366-8257; MSC – call Monique Clark, 718-741-7364; Residential and the waiting list – call Wanda Acosta Matos, 212-366-8246; Saturday recreation, Diane Santiago Rodriguez, 718-741-7231/7204.
Ramapo for Children
Ramapo Training provides staff workshops and program support for educational and recreational programs, especially those that serve at-risk children and children with special needs. They will provide training for inclusive and out of school programs for your agencies to help build your capacity. Call 212-754-7003 for more information.
UCP/NYC
Vacancies are attached, along with upcoming family education workshops.
Kennedy Child Study Center
Saturday respite in Manhattan for children ages 3-12. Transportation, event fees, and lunch provided. Contact Julia Gomez (bilingual/Spanish) for more information at 212-988-9500 x255.
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.
Intensive Education Advocacy is also available for families in Manhattan with children ages 5-21. Staff are available to go to impartial hearings, and to participate in many different aspects of the process. Call Miguel Salazar at 212-677-4650.
There is a wide variety of trainings and presentations available, see attached for details. Call 212-677-4650 or email info@resourcesnyc.org. Or go to www.resourcesnyc.org for more information, and register online at www.resourcesnyc.org/trainings.
YAI
The fall schedule of the Family Support Series for Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders is attached, as is the vacancy list.
Project GROW is a group parent training program that offers positive behavior management training. If you are interested, please call 212-273-6259.
Call YAI LINK at 212-273-6182 for referrals and any other information.
Elahi Yoga
Provides yoga for special needs and typically developing children. There are ballet/yoga classes, and they will start a sport/yoga class soon. There are also family yoga classes, where the parents can work with their child. Most classes are geared towards children under 9, but they will work with you to get your child of any age involved. The center is located on 65th and Lexington. Go to www.elahiyoga.com for more details.
IV. Guest Speaker: Winifred Schiff, Associate Executive Director for Legislative Affairs, IAC
Wini came to talk to the Council about the advocacy training that was done during the Educate the Candidates efforts as well as future advocacy efforts. See attached for what was discussed and what was given to the candidates during the face to face meetings. There will be a letter writing campaign, family advocacy day, and other advocacy efforts in the months leading up to and following the release of the State budget.
V. State News
The State offices were closed for Veteran’s Day, but Marco Damiani updated the Council on the Metro DDSO’s search for a Deputy Director.
There were Family Support hearings in Albany a few weeks ago, held by the Assembly Mental Hygiene Committee, and called by Assembly Member Felix Ortiz. Marco gave testimony, as did Margaret Puddington and other families, IAC, NYSARC, and many other OPWDD agencies. There was also good representation from MH agencies. The message seemed to be received that these are valuable services, and there needs to be more of them. Felix Ortiz gave repeated assurances that there will be no cuts to these services.
VI. City News
City offices were also closed for the holiday.
VII. IAC/Federation Report
IAC: The new website has been unveiled – go to www.iacny.org to see it.
The State DOH EI training grant expired at the end of September, and an RFP was issued, but there has been no response as of yet. One is expected shortly. IAC used to conduct the trainings in the NYC area. The old grant was by region; NYC was one region, and upstate, Westchester, and Long island was the other. The new RFP is one award per state.
IAC is working on the Liability Regulations for people who receive OPWDD services but do not have Medicaid. OPWDD will be sending letters to agencies asking for details of their efforts to bill families and collect the monies owed for services. The responses will be due in mid January. The agency will have to show their attempts and then OPWDD will take further action on a case by case basis.
In terms of the MSC changes, the OMIG and OPWDD are still coming to an agreement on billing standards.
Lobbying Day will be on March 1, 2011, in collaboration with other associations.
Federation: The next meeting of the Borough chairs will be in January.
VIII. Committee Reports
Family Support – The 2010 Family and Professional Resource Fair will be held on Thursday 12/2. The Committee met on 11/9 and mostly planned for the Fair. There will be an advocacy workshop for families and self advocates where they can sign up to meet with Legislators at their offices. Items are needed for the gift bags. If you have any contacts or ideas, contact ABittinger@ucpnyc.org. Volunteers are also needed for the information and referral table, but they must be knowledgeable about the field and the agencies. Translators (Spanish and Chinese) are needed for workshops and the information and referral booth.
Starting in January, the Committee will hold informational in-depth discussions about each aspect of getting enrolled in the Waiver. In January, there will be a presentation on eligibility and LOCs with Lois Gillman and Ron Gagliardi from the Metro DDSO. Following that will be presentations including MSC enrollment, DDP1 and DDP2 forms, waiver enrollment, and Medicaid enrollment. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 1/11, at 10am at UCP/NYC, 120 East 23rd Street, 5th floor. Call 212-979-9700, ext. 708 for more information.
Legislative – The tentative date for the 2011 Manhattan Legislative Breakfast is Friday, March 11. The Committee will start meeting soon. To join, email Judith.deiasi@ahrcnyc.org.
Transition – The November meeting featured guest speaker Dr. Carole Gothelf from AHRC NYC, talking about the Home Builders initiative. This is for people who want their own home or to live independently. Many members of the Transition Committee have been going to open school nights and meeting with parents with children who are transitioning into adult programs this summer. The next meeting will be on TUESDAY 12/7 at 9:30 at UCP/NYC, 122 East 23rd Street, 1st floor boardroom. Call Kathy Kelly at 212-780-2724 for more information.
Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council – The October meeting was the morning and evening technology presentations co-sponsored by the MFSSAC and the DD Council. Both sessions went very well. There were fewer people in the evening, but they got more individualized information from the presenters. The November meeting will be on 11/16 at 10 am at 75 Morton Street, and will feature a film about self-advocates, “We Have Choices.” Call Margaret Puddington for more information, 212-799-2042.
Service Coordination – The Committee will meet on 11/17 at 10am at UCP/NYC (120 East 23rd Street, 5th floor), to talk about the changes that were made in MSC, and how it is affecting agencies. They will also start brainstorming for this spring’s MSC Forum. If you are interested in participating, please email irina.tuchina@yai.org.
Children’s Committee – The Committee met and talked about the future of the Committee and the direction it should take. The Committee would like to include more families, but it’s hard to find a time and a place where families with young children can meet. Kami from Elahi Yoga volunteered her space, since it is safe for children to be there during meetings if there is someone to watch them. There were some suggestions of having experienced parent advocates mentor a new generation of family advocates. Agencies should be able to identify some potential families, and the Council can connect them with families who have been in the field for a long time. This discussion will continue.
The next meeting will be announced when a date is set. For more information about the Committee, contact Christina Muccioli at Christina.Muccioli@ahrcnyc.org.
IX. Updated By Laws
The vote on the By Laws was held. Marco Damiani made a motion to approve the draft that was distributed in September. Margaret Puddington seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously.
X. Website
Please continue to look at the Council website – www.manhattanddcouncil.org and forward any suggestions or input to erufer2000@yahoo.com.
Next meeting: Thursday, December 9 at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, enter on the 11th floor, meeting on the 12th floor in room H-H1.