Attached is a Life Plan Presentation give at our recent general membership meeting on 1/17/23 by Danielle Mazza, Assistant Vice President of Care Management of Care Design NY. Hopefully it will give everyone a better understanding of the process.

It is important to the Steering Committee to get your feedback.  We want to be sure we are meeting your needs.  Please answer the following four questions by responding to enydda@gmail.com by January 15.  Thanks so much for your assistance and support.

1.  What is most convenient for you to attend meetings?

      In person or by zoom?

      Day or night?

      Please specify days/times

2.   What can we do to enhance meeting attendance and participation?

3.    What topics are of interest to you in order to assist with advocacy and obtaining information?

(e.g. Education, Adult Services, Eligibility, Self Direction, Housing/Residential, Budget Advocacy)

4.    Do you find the emails helpful that you receive from ENYDDA ?  If so, please explain.

Assessing NY’s Response to Covid-19

The NYS Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council (DDAC) was charged with preparing a report to the legislature assessing New York State’s response to Covid-19 for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and provide recommendations on improvements to better address the needs of people with IDD in future emergencies. The NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning Council(DDPC) was asked to assist the DDAC in the preparation of this report. This report was sent to the Governor and the legislature on November 17, 2022.

The DDPC engaged a significant number of stakeholders – over 2,000 self-advocates, parents and providers – to hear their stories of how the pandemic and the state’s response impacted them. Based on this vast amount of input, as well as extensive research and analysis of data, the DDAC’s findings include the following:

1. People with IDD and their families living in the community felt largely ignored by the state in its response to COVID.
2. The Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) COVID guidance often fell short and was not timely to address the needs of the providers and the people they serve.
3. OPWDD’s guidance was often difficult to access and understand.
4. Underserved communities were mostly overlooked by the state in response efforts.
5. Non-profit providers were often not able to obtain necessary PPE from the state at the onset of the pandemic, putting staff and the people they serve at risk for COVID.
6. Staffing shortage and program closures had a major adverse impact on individuals with IDD and caregivers.
7. The hospital discharge policy may have inadvertently accelerated the spread of COVID for the IDD population living in congregate settings.
8. People with IDD were initially denied necessary supports while hospitalized which impacted their ability to access appropriate treatment.

To improve the State’s response efforts to the IDD population. the DDAC’s recommendations include the following:

Create an Emergency Management Plan for the IDD community representing the racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity of NYS.

Require mandatory training for all first responders to appropriately respond to the unique needs of people with IDD.

Improve data collection and access to data during an emergency.

Address the chronic DSP workforce crisis by creating a task force to examine barriers and recommend actionable short and long term solutions.

Reduce reliance on congregate care setting for people with IDD by examining regulatory, financial and administrative barriers to offering more independent housing options.

Make telehealth, telemedicine and virtual programming permanent, ongoing services when it is appropriate and develop best practice guidance for providers.

NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning Council

99 Washington Ave
Suite 1230
Albany, New York 12210

Phone: 518-486-7505
Email: information@ddpc.ny.gov

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities has released our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan which will guide our agency as we work to strengthen supports and services for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities. The Strategic Plan is truly the work of hundreds, if not thousands of dedicated people from all across our state. It represents our collective goals and objectives for moving our service system forward and transforming it to better meet the changing needs of the people we serve, while prioritizing equity and ensuring sustainability.

I am so pleased to have spent the past year getting to know so many of you and have been fortunate to spend time with self-advocates, family members, providers and their staff, as well as many OPWDD team members in the regions statewide. Each and every person I met contributed to this important guiding document, and I hope you will find your voice within its pages.

Having collected initial input in 2021 through regional forums and targeted discussions, followed by feedback on our draft plan this year, we have honed all that we heard into three high level goals. Accompanying each goal are a range of supporting objectives and initiatives, projects and improvements that, with your support and collaboration, we will pursue over the next five years.

The Strategic Plan declares our top priorities, names the challenges we face and commits us to specific actions we will undertake together to improve the support we provide today and into the future. The plan we’ve released today is the result of many months of collaboration and dialogue. As you read it, I hope you feel excitement for all we want to accomplish.

Thank you for being part of the tremendous effort behind our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. I look forward to our continued work to strengthen, grow and improve all we do in support of New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.

Sincerely,

Kerri E. Neifeld
Commissioner