Renee is the lead faculty member for the Human Services A.S. and A.A.S. degree programs. Renee is the recipient of the SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the YWCA of Northeastern New York’s Women of Achievement Award, the John and Susan Roche National Award for her work in the area of Applied Learning and the Schenectady Human Rights Commission Group Award for her role as the co-advisor of the SUNY Schenectady Student Volunteer Organization. Renee is responsible for the coordination and oversight of the internship program. This program has 35 sites in the Capital Region. Renee is the SUNY Schenectady representative on the SUNY Applied Learning committee as well as the Chairperson of the SUNY Schenectady Applied Learning Task Force. She has presented workshops on Applied Learning to the faculty and created the SUNY Schenectady Service Learning Website. Renee is a member of the Executive Committee of Schenectady County Embraces Diversity and a board member of Fostering Futures New York. Renee provides her students with the opportunity to apply social work theory through their participation in service learning community projects. Through service learning, Renee’s students have impacted the local community by conducting after school activities for youth, collecting supplies for various community agencies, and advocating with elected officials to improve social welfare programs.
Direct Support Professional certificate
The purpose of this certification to help individuals acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce as direct support professionals. Direct-care workers provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the paid hands-on long-term care and personal assistance received by Americans who are elderly or living with disabilities or other chronic conditions.
The certificate prepares graduates to:
Goal I: Demonstrate professional skills and abilities
Analyze the impact of social policies on individuals and systems
Apply major social work theories.;
Goal II: Demonstrate professional communication skills
Communicate effectively in oral and written form within professional environments.
Goal III: Identify and apply cultural competencies
Identify cultural barriers to societal integration;
Apply appropriate strategies in working with culturally diverse populations.
If any one is interested or would like more information, please contact Renee at
Today, in light of the significant and rapid rise in COVID-19 cases across New York, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) will enhance visitation screenings and requirements at all OPWDD certified and operated programs. All visitors to any OPWDD program site will now be asked to submit to a pre-screening and be required to schedule visits in advance as there will be limitations to the number of visitors allowed at any given time. At this time, OPWDD will continue to monitor the situation and amend our guidance as needed. The updated OPWDD visitation guidance can be found at: https://opwdd.ny.gov/coronavirus-guidance/updated-visitation-guidance-residential-facilities
An End of Year Message from Acting Commissioner Neifeld
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
For most of us, this time of year is one where we reflect on the year that is ending and look forward to the start of a new one. It is a time to reflect on what we have accomplished and been through, how we can do better, achieve more and improve our lives in the coming year and beyond. While it has only been two months that I’ve served as your acting Commissioner, I have had the privilege of meeting many of you as I have traveled around the state to see programs, visit homes, and most importantly, meet with the people we support and their family members, our DSPs in the field, and everyone involved in providing services to people with developmental disabilities. In 2022, I plan to do even more of that.
As all of you know, throughout this past year we have continued to be challenged by the ongoing pandemic, which gripped our state and nation for the second year in a row. COVID-19 has caused a significant workforce shortage affecting both our service providers and our state-operated homes and programs. Sadly, many of the people we support and their families have suffered as a result. It is impossible to discuss the future of OPWDD and its supports without addressing the workforce crisis that we face in our service system. It is part of the larger crisis being felt among human service sectors across the country and it will be OPWDD’s primary focus for the year ahead.
We have a great opportunity to turn things around as we enter the new year. A majority of OPWDD’s share of the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding from the federal government has been earmarked to help stabilize the not-for-profit direct support workforce. Incentives and bonuses are expected to be paid in the early part of 2022. And OPWDD will continue to advocate for a more permanent wage increase for this essential workforce within the New York State Budget.
And although our state workforce will not benefit from the ARPA investments, we have secured enhanced overtime funding for our state workforce and raised the starting rate of pay for new hires. We will continue to work with the state’s unions to provide additional support for our dedicated state operated direct support workers who have persevered throughout the pandemic, often working double and triple shifts to ensure the safety of the people we support.
I have said it before and I will say it again, our DSPs – both state operated and not-for-profit staff – are the heroes of the last two years. We are so grateful for all they have done and continue to do to support people with developmental disabilities.
OPWDD is looking at several initiatives to recruit and retain direct support professionals. New partnerships with BOCES, SUNY and CUNY will help us plant the seeds for a larger and more robust workforce in the future. These partnerships will help us recruit and train direct support staff on campuses across the state. The infusion of new DSPs will provide needed relief to our existing dedicated but exhausted workforce. Direct care work is a labor of love and those of us who work in this field know the many rewards that come with it. OPWDD will work in partnership with our stakeholder community to launch a media campaign to help recruit people into this field as a career. At a time when job seekers have many options, we want to show them why they should choose to work in our field. Additionally, we are also working towards professionalizing the workforce through credentialing.
As we endeavor to stabilize our system of supports, OPWDD will also focus on innovations in housing and employ technology and a fresh perspective to help modernize our approach to helping people achieve greater independence within their community. We will be looking to streamline our self-direction program and make it easier to access for more people. We will also be looking at our day program supports and how we can better incorporate employment, vocational and educational opportunities into what we do. We will be working to enhance our crisis support systems and looking to improve the ways we support children and adults with complex needs.
As we continue to drive toward true person-centered supports for the people we serve, we want no door to be closed and no goal to feel unattainable for those we support.
I am encouraged and energized by the commitment of Governor Hochul to ensure that people with developmental disabilities and their families are safe and have a voice and a seat at the table in New York State. Additionally, in my two months with OPWDD I have been struck by the dedication and commitment of the team here at the agency and that of our larger stakeholder community. While we have a lot of work ahead of us, and it will take time to make the needed progress, it is heartening to know that we are all working toward the same goals.
Thank you to everyone for welcoming me as your new Acting Commissioner these past two months. The warm welcomes I received and the dedicated people I have met only reinforce my commitment to this agency and to the people and families we serve and support.
In 2022, we encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine if you haven’t already done so and to get the booster if you are eligible. It will take all of us working together to end this pandemic.
Best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy 2022! I very much look forward to our continued partnership as we move the system forward, together, in the new year and beyond.
Budget would increase special education providers’ annual funding by $240 million
Albany
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced plans for a $240 million increase in funding for schools serving children with disabilities in her upcoming 2022-2023 executive budget.
Hochul also signed a package of legislation to increase resources and support for students with disabilities, their families and social services providers.
“This historic investment in schools serving students with disabilities, along with four bills I am signing into law, will make a huge difference in the lives of students, families and schools in every corner of New York,” Hochul said. “Throughout my time in office, I’ve made it a priority to listen to the disability community and provide the resources and support they need to thrive. People with disabilities have my commitment: as your governor, I’ll always stand by your side and fight for you.”
Following the 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment approved for the 2021-2022 school year tuition rates, the state Division of the Budget will authorize an additional cost-of-living adjustment of 11 percent for the 2022-2023 school year — a total increase of more than 15 percent over two years.
The adjustment would increase preschool and school-age special education providers’ annual funding by more than $240 million, with the state ultimately reimbursing school districts and counties for roughly 60 percent of the cost.
Bills signed Thursday to support students with disabilities include one that establishes that the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board. Hochul also signed legislation that ensures the timely appointment of an impartial hearing officer to address due process complaints for students with disabilities, a bill that makes standards for issuing behavior analyst licenses in New York consistent with other states and legislation that provides funding to early intervention education for toddlers with disabilities.
The Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board will deliver a report on autism detection, education, and mapping. This report will evaluate and review factors on the causes of autism in children as well as assist health care providers and educators with ways to better help those diagnosed with autism, state officials said.
Rachel.Silberstein@- timesunion.com A 518-454-5449 A @RachelSilby
Message From New Acting Commissioner Kerri Neifeld
Today is my first day serving as Acting Commissioner of OPWDD. I want to take a moment to introduce myself and to thank you for welcoming me into this role. I have received many warm wishes since being nominated by Governor Kathy Hochul. Although I already know many family members, self-advocates, service providers and advocacy organizations through my prior work in the Governor’s office, there are many people I have yet to meet and know. I look forward to making my way across the state to meet and talk to as many of you as possible. I especially look forward to meeting the people that OPWDD supports and their families, as well as the Direct Support Professionals (DSP) who are the backbone of our system.
I am truly honored and humbled to be serving as your Acting Commissioner and I want you to know that as of today, day one, I plan to focus my full attention and energy on addressing the most pressing issue facing our service system right now – the growing workforce challenges. These challenges were significant before the pandemic and have steadily worsened since the onset of COVID-19. I know many people OPWDD supports, and their families, live in fear of losing the supports that you rely on every day, while others have already had to give up necessary and vital services. And I know that many of our DSPs work hard, day in and day out, but may feel undervalued and unappreciated. I am committed to working closely with the OPWDD stakeholder community to find solutions to this issue, so that the people OPWDD serves can access the supports and services they need and our DSPs can continue to do the work they love.
There are many other challenges facing our system today, such as increases in the number of people seeking services, the steadily growing cost of providing services, and the increasing complexity of individual support needs. Additionally, the old model for serving people is no longer working for everyone and we need to bring new and innovative ways to support and serve people into being. I know that staff at all levels are battle-weary after 18+ months of the pandemic. These are truly difficult times, but we can and will address these and all other challenges by working together.
Governor Hochul has committed to restoring faith in government. To that end, I am committed to building OPWDD’s relationships with the people we support, their families, providers, advocates and our state and legislative leaders. I know OPWDD cannot solve these issues alone and that we must work together as a community. We must step forward and think creatively to forge a new path in the wake of COVID’s damaging effects on our system. We can do more, we can do better – and I know we will.
Despite the challenges that we face as a community, I feel hopeful for the future of our system. I pledge to work tirelessly alongside you to turn adversity into opportunity. I am confident that together, we will continue to provide quality supports and services and restore New York as a national leader in supporting people with developmental disabilities as they pursue their life goals and aspirations.
In the days and months ahead, I will be engaging with as many of you as I can to hear about your lives, challenges and hopes for the future, and to partner with you to find solutions to the problems we face. I look forward to working with all of you.
TIMES UNION | ALBANY, NEW YORK THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
Families across the state are counting on their state and federal elected representatives to remember the legally established human rights of the developmentally disabled throughout the coming budget negotiations (“Cuts ‘icing on the cake’ for homes,” Dec. 21). New York and the federal government must give nonprofit programs and services for the intellectually and developmentally disabled its highest priority in the face of threats to statewide funding. The nonprofit workforce serving our most vulnerable citizens with disabilities has been underfunded for years. Without sustained and adequate funding, life-supporting services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities may be on the brink of collapse.
Nonprofit services for such individuals face serious and consequential adaptive challenges that require additional resources to provide services safely during this pandemic. Their work is threatened further by workforce shortages, discriminatory budget cuts and delayed payment for services rendered. Whether at home with families, living independently or in congregate settings, our most vulnerable citizens, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, deserve the life supports necessary without discrimination or abandonment. Budget decisions must reflect the rights of individuals with disabilities at a time when they most need therapeutic supports and services.
Rachel.Silberstein@- 
ENYDDA 