Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In keeping with the goals outlined in our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, I am pleased to announce the launch of our Care Coordination Program Evaluation, one of several evaluations being conducted to identify opportunities for improvement and to respond to concerns raised by our stakeholders.

OPWDD is partnering with the American Institutes for Research^®  (AIR) to evaluate the effectiveness of Care Coordination practices. AIR was chosen through a competitive procurement process based on the strength of their application and their extensive experience conducting similar program evaluations for other state and federal entities, organizations, and agencies.

The evaluation will include a review of current procedures, identification of opportunities to streamline processes, research on promising practices, and submission of recommendations to improve the quality of care-managers and the care management model. It will also include opportunities for stakeholders to share their experiences and stories engaging CCO’s.

More information on the progress of the evaluation and opportunities to engage will be shared throughout the duration of the project as part of our ongoing strategic plan updates. In the meantime, if you would like to provide feedback, you can email ARPA.Inquiry@opwdd.ny.gov.

I encourage you to follow along, participate, and to share your thoughts with AIR and OPWDD in the coming months, as we work together to reach health and quality-of-life outcomes.

Sincerely,

Kerri E. Neifeld
Commissioner

In-Person and Virtual Forums on OPWDD’s Strategic Plan Update

Dear Friends and Colleagues,This summer OPWDD has several stakeholder engagement opportunities underway to honor our commitment to work in partnership with you to move our system forward.Today, I am inviting everyone to participate in an opportunity related to our ongoing strategic planning activities. We are hosting in-person and virtual forums to share updates on the progress we are making toward reaching our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan goals and objectives and hearing your feedback.Below you will find the full schedule and registration information for the forums.The forums are open to everyone so I hope you will consider joining us at a forum in your area or an online forum from your own location to listen or to speak.Your voice continues to be important to our work and collaborative efforts to transform our system.Sincerely, Kerri Neifeld Commissioner Date and TimeIn-Person or VirtualLocation 7/28, 1-3 pm In- PersonUpstate Caring Partners 1601 Armory Drive Building C Utica, NY  13501 7/31, 2-4 pm In-Person OPWDD Regional Office 1021 Broadway Street Buffalo, NY  14212 8/3, 5:30-7:30 pm In-Person Westchester Institute for Human Development 20 Plaza West Valhalla, NY  10595 8/9, 6-8 pm In-Person Metro NY DDSO 25 Beaver Street New York, NY  10004  8/10, 10 am-12 pm In-Person Long Island DDRO 415 Oser Ave. Hauppauge, NY  11788 8/11, 2-4 pm VirtualOnline 8/14, 2-4 pm In-Person The ARC Jefferson/St. Lawrence 420 Gaffney Drive Watertown, NY  13601 8/15, 6-8 pm Virtual Online  Register for an In-Person ForumRegister for August 11, 2023 Virtual Forum Register for August 15, 2023 Virtual Forum To review the full 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, visit the strategic planning page Strategic Planning | Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (ny.gov) of the OPWDD website To view this announcement in another language, visit  We Want to Hear From You! Sign Up for In-Person and Virtual Forums on OPWDD’s Strategic Plan Update | Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (ny.gov)

Hello Friends!

The Chatham Square Library will be hosting another great Online Workshop presented by INCLUDEnyc on Monday, February 27, from 4:30-6:00pm. The title of the program is “Promoting Positive Behavior in Young Children.” The program will be presented in English, with Mandarin interpretation provided for Mandarin speakers. Registration is required. Please use the registration link provided below to register.

Promoting Positive Behavior in Young Children
Date: February 27, 2023
Time: 4:30 pm- 6:00 pm
Host: Chatham Square Library

Host Contact: Jeffrey Katz (212-964-6598, jeffreykatz@nypl.org) 
Location / Address: Online Workshop
Educator(s): Melinda Burke
Zoom Support: TBD
Language: English (with Mandarin interpretation)
Registration Link: https://includenyc.org/events/promoting-positive-behavior-in-young-children-7/

[After you register, you will be sent a link and a private password which will permit you to attend each Zoom webinar.]

For your information, here is the link to the program listing on the Chatham Square Library website:

https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2023/02/27/includenyc-online-promoting-positive-behavior-young-children

Thank you so much for your support and for all that you do every day.  We look forward to seeing and working with you again in the days and weeks to come!  

Flyers in English and Chinese are attached to this message.

If you have any questions, please either reach out to Kylie Balogh of INCLUDEnyc (212-677-4650, x21) or to me (contact information below).

All the best,

Jeff

—

Jeff Katz

Senior Teen/Young Adult Librarian

Chatham Square Branch

The New York Public Library

33 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002

212.964-6598

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Today, OPWDD is pleased to announce the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for development of a statewide direct support professional marketing and recruitment campaign. As OPWDD and our non-profit service provider partners face ongoing staffing challenges, and New Yorkers with developmental disabilities feel the impact, OPWDD is mounting several initiatives to reverse the trend and ensure a strong, stable and high-quality workforce. 

The competitive opportunity announced today will identify an experienced and qualified party to bring current market research to bear on our service system’s staffing challenges and develop an effective, attractive and recognizable statewide recruitment campaign. The campaign goals will be twofold – to promote the field of direct care for people with developmental disabilities as a rewarding and vital profession and to help all of New York’s developmental disabilities service providers to recruit quality candidates for their positions.

In today’s market, it is essential we reach new candidate pools with the information they need to understand the value of the OPWDD mission and the tremendous opportunity it presents for them to have a successful and fulfilling career. The statewide campaign will spotlight the kinds of programs and positions available within our service system and attract workers from new places in effective new ways.

I am excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to watching New Yorkers from Long Island to Buffalo learn about and respond to opportunities in what we know is a truly fulfilling field of work. As we advance statewide educational and training programs, establish pathways for DSPs to attain recognized credentials and continue to advocate for wages that reflect the value of the work, the recruitment and marketing campaign will provide marketing materials and a recognizable online hub to connect eager and interested people – the mission-focused people we need – to providers of supports and services.

The interactive website established as part of this marketing campaign will provide a central location where all service providers across the state can promote their organizations and employment opportunities free of charge. This one-stop website will allow job candidates to learn about the value and benefits of direct support employment and identify potential employers they can contact directly to learn about employment opportunities.

This initiative is one of many projects we have underway to strengthen our service system’s workforce. Our workforce initiatives, in turn, are a central part of OPWDD’s broad effort to enhance, improve and transform key aspects of the OPWDD service system as described in our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. I hope you will read about our strategic goals and objectives, and I encourage you to follow our progress on all of these efforts and dialogue with us as together we work to make these important goals a reality for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.

Sincerely,

Kerri E. Neifeld
Commissioner 

SAVE THE DATES   April 18 – 19 and 25 – 26

NYC FAIR FAMILY ADVOCACY & INFORMATION RESOURCES

HCBS Settings Rules are set to begin on March 17, 2023 (Home and Community Based Services) The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires all states receiving Medicaid waiver funding to implement these rules. Medicaid funds help pay for these services  CMS’s goal is to increase community integration and the settings rules will help get that accomplished  OPWDD Information: https://opwdd.ny.gov/providers/hcbs-settings-toolkit   OPWDD Power Point* from 12/15/22 Webinar for providers: Click Here   Note: OPWDD is preparing a Plain Language VersionJoin Us January 26th, 7pm Panelists: Katherine Marlay, OPWDD Deputy Commissioner of Policy & Program Development Megan O’Connor-Hebert, OPWDD Deputy Commissioner of Quality Improvement Beth Haroules, Senior Staff Attorney of the New York Civil Liberties Union  This Town Hall is a chance to learn about the changes: what they mean for people with Intellectual and Developmental disabilities, if they match the needs of the individual, what to do if they don’t and what can you do to protect your loved one

REGISTER TODAY To Register Open Camera Scan QR Code  Or Click Here: https://forms.gle/aYQyYdNQ39BMpEUL8 Ask Your Questions on the Form  REGISTRATION REQUIRED Confirmation will be emailed If you do not receive an email, please email info@nycfair.org to verify your email address ZOOM Link will be emailed beginning 1/23/23 STAY CONNECTED: LIKE NYC FAIR ON FACEBOOK JOIN THE NYC FAIR FACEBOOK GROUP FOLLOW NYC FAIR ON TWITTERContact info@nycfair.org with questionsTo ensure you remain on our email list, use the Icons Below to Forward and Post to Social MediaShareForwardVisit Our Website: www.nycfair.orgView this email in your browserFacebookTwitterWebsite Stay Connected  Thank You For Your Support  Copyright ©  2022 NYC Fair, All rights reserved. Know anything we don’t? Send Us an Email: info@nycfair.org unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences   REGISTER TODAY To Register Open Camera Scan QR Code  Or Click Here: https://forms.gle/aYQyYdNQ39BMpEUL8 Ask Your Questions on the Form  REGISTRATION REQUIRED Confirmation will be emailed If you do not receive an email, please email info@nycfair.org to verify your email address ZOOM Link will be emailed beginning 1/23/23

Public Comment Period Open on New Integrated Community-Based Housing Opportunity

Public Comment Open Until December 29, 2022 Dear Friends and Colleagues: I am very pleased to announce that the draft OPWDD Funding Opportunity for Independent Living Letters of Support (FOFILLS) is now available for public comment. This funding round is being offered in response to many families and providers seeking an opportunity to be innovative in their approaches to integrated, community-based housing and to explore opportunities outside of established traditional paths. As this is a brand-new opportunity for our community and a new process for interested parties, we are seeking your review and input into the concept and the process. Attached to this memo you will find a draft Request for Applications for the FOFILLS program. We are seeking public comment on this draft to help us refine our concept and process. This is not an actual opportunity to apply for support. The public comment period will be open for 30 days, closing on December 29, 2022 and comments should be submitted to housing.initiatives@opwdd.ny.gov for review and consideration. After comments have been compiled, OPWDD will be releasing a response to public comments and an explanation of what changes we plan to make in response to the comments received. This funding opportunity, referenced in the Administrative Memorandum ADM 2022-03, is a new process for reviewing long term funding requests under the OPWDD Housing Subsidy program for housing proposals that do not include State or New York City capital funding.  It is expected that the final application for these funds will be released in the late spring of 2023 (see timeline summary). The FOFILLS application will be used to request groups of housing subsidies funded by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities whose living arrangement would be inclusive of four (4) or more individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities where the proposed project is the development of an apartment complex, apartment style living, large single family home, or a group of collocated houses by an OPWDD approved provider.  A family or group of families/people with intellectual/developmental disabilities can apply only if they are affiliated with an OPWDD approved provider. Although this funding has broad applicability, it cannot be used for the following: Use of OPWDD’s housing subsidies through this program cannot be used to supplant existing funding for housing units with other rental subsidy funding, such as Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) units or HUD Section 8 funded units. This application cannot be used to request Housing Subsidies for proposed projects that receive any other form of state or federal supportive housing capital subsidy such as those funded by NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). There will be two funding rounds through our Integrated Supportive Housing program (ISH) in the next year to support these projects (see timeline summary below). Timeline SummaryFollowing is the general timeline for funding applications moving forward: Late Spring each year – FOFILLS application for projects not seeking HCR or other state/federal capital funding. Early Summer each year – ISH application for capital requests or housing subsidy only, to align with HCR’s Fall RFP. Support letters can also be used for HCR’s 4% as of right projects and NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) projects. Early Winter each year –ISH Application – subsidy only, to align with HCR’s Spring RFP. Support letters can also be used for HCR’s 4% as of right projects and NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) projects. I look forward to receiving your feedback as we work to finalize this new funding opportunity.  Sincerely, Kerri E. Neifeld Commissioner