I. Introductions were completed.
II. Minutes Were approved; if you were unable to open them, they are available as always on the DD Council website : www.manhattanddcouncil.org
III. Announcements: See Attached: Jan 2014 Council Attachments
Elly Rufer
Manhattan DD Council events calendar is up on the website. If dues are paid all events can be listed here; otherwise they can be listed on the DD Council Facebook page.
AHRC NYC
Program vacancy list is attached. Summer camp applications are being accepted.
Archcare at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center
See attached for openings in the Developmental Disabilities Clinic.
YAI
- YAI Premier HealthCare is now accepting Fidelis members.
- See attached flier for Autism Family Support Series as well as a flier for family services vacancies. Tuesday, March 18th is the YAI Latino Conference, which is entirely in Spanish.
- Call YAI LINK at 212-273-6182 for referrals and any other information.
QSAC
Program vacancy list is attached.
UCP
Program vacancy list and workshop fliers are attached.
Kennedy Center
Mid-winter break respite is available. February 17 – 21. See flier.
Resource for Children with Special Needs
Annual Camp Fair is January 25th at the Hotel Pennsylvania.
CP of New York State
Travel training is available.
Yan Cong, a Columbia Graduate School student, is working on her master’s thesis about children with autism who have wandering issues, and how their family and society at large are dealing with it. She is seeking interviews with families affected by this issue. To refer families, please contact her at 917-929-7192, or yc2754@columbia.edu.
Presentation: Community-Linkages-Presentation-Jul-2013-3updated-nn.ppt
ACCESS Community Health Center, Lisa Gail Schwartz, Sobriety Community Linkages Coordinator. Cross-systems Coordination Addiction Treatment Program. See attached PowerPoint.
IV. State News
Liz Cambra reported that OPWDD has requested input from the provider associations on the Front Door manual, which will be completed soon. Front Door family surveys are being analyzed. A recent Front Door memo about who must go through the Front Door has been retracted, and a revised memo is forthcoming. New graduates will have to go through the Front Door, even if they currently have a waiver service. Remote locations for Front Door family information sessions are being explored. The next two sessions are:
- Friday, January 30, 2014, 9:00-11:00 AM at P721M, 250 West Houston St, New York, NY 10014
- Friday, January 31, 2014, 10:00 AM – noon at P79M, 55 East 120th St, New York, NY 10035
- Space is limited. Attendees MUST register with Kathleen Kingston (646-766-3385) or Novia (646-766-3220).
Jennifer Shaoul requested that the DDP2 be translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Russian, in order to expedite completion. She also suggested that the DDRO consider doing conference calls for small groups of families unable to attend the information sessions.
OPWDD is preparing a residential vacancy management policy. Provider associations have been invited to provide input. The policy will be released soon. New York City policy may serve as the model, in which the DDROs maintain a priority list and refer people from that list to appropriate vacancies; if there are no priority people for a particular vacancy, then an agency may fill the vacancy from its own list or the OPWDD waiting list. Cross-borough placements are permitted.
ICF conversions to IRAs are still in discussion over funding issues. Once resolved, conversions can proceed.
OPWDD has released an RFS for relocation of people residing in the state-operated residence on Roosevelt Island. There will also be an RFS for developmental center closures in Brooklyn and Queens. There will be an information session about this January 24, 2014 in Brooklyn.
Marilyn Rubinstein requested that OPWDD provide data on children graduating from Early Intervention programs. Under a new procedure, EI service coordinators are required to share information about OPWDD services with families of children who might be OPWDD-eligible and then to notify Albany. Marilyn would like to be able to compare the number of notifications with the number of actual inquiries to OPWDD to see whether the new procedure has been effective.
V. City News
Marco Damiani extended thanks to the city for the $3K grant, which will be used to support the Manhattan Family and Professional Resource Fair and the MSC Forum.
The new IDD Bureau chief will be identified by the Mayor.
VI. IAC/Federation Report
IAC:
The Governor’s budget will be released on January 21st. Acting Commissioner Laurie Kelley will speak at IAC on January 30th. February 25th and 26th are lobby days.
IAC’s Travel Training will be conducting its second training class in February. IAC will be testing out “Blue Assist,” which can help people seek assistance via their cell phones; the developer is allowing the use of 30 licenses.
CMS has released its rules on 1915c waivers, which contain no surprises for New York.
For prospective employees, most of the backlog connected to the background checks has been dealt with and now a new electronic system seems to be working. Related to that, the waiting time to be fingerprinted is about four times as long as it used to be.
DD services were not a big item in the Governor’s State of the State address.
IAC’s Technology Conference was held on January 14.
Federation:
Did not meet.
VII. Committee Reports
Family Support – The committee met January 14 and discussed the Front Door. A number of questions and suggestions were brought forward. Liz Cambra and Ellen Bleckman of OPWDD responded:
- Eligibility requires a diagnosis of DD, the disability must have occurred before age 22, must cause substantial impairment, and must be lifelong. Criteria for the LOC: medical within one year, current and valid psychological, and psychosocial within one year. The psychological must prove the diagnosis. We are still awaiting clarification on how recent evaluations need to be for individuals enrolling in non-waiver programs and services.
- Clarification is needed as to whether there has been a change to OPWDD’s policy stating that waiver is not required for a person who has respite/recreation only (or SEMP only) and does not have MSC. Jennifer requests clarification in writing if there has been a policy change.
- It is not necessary for families to print the Information Session PowerPoint and bring it to the sessions. Liz said the website should have been corrected to reflect that, and she offered to follow up.
- Liz and Ellen will follow up on whether agencies are being advised when a person is approved for a non-waiver family support service.
Jennifer also suggested that the DDRO promote videoconference trainings, such as on CSS, for agencies at DDRO sites.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 2/11/2014, at 10am at YAI, 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor. Call 718-859-5420, ext. 234 for more information.
Legislative – The annual Manhattan Legislative Breakfast will be held March 14, 2014. New committee members are welcome. The committee will hold a conference call on logistics for the Legislative Breakfast within the next few weeks, and will hold its first meeting on February 12 following the DD Council meeting. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact Jim Malley at jmalley@esperanzacenter.com.
Transition – At its last meeting, the committee discussed the Front Door process for graduates. There was an Information Session at a school January 15. Day hab applicants are encouraged to begin looking at programs now, even before the Front Door process has been completed. The transition coordinators are developing a tracking system, showing which students have eligibility, MSC, etc.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday February 12, 2014, at 9:30 at AHRC, 83 Maiden Lane, 11th floor Boardroom. The topic will be OPWDD services, including family support services. The student information exchange meeting will be held in March. Call Kathy Kelly at 212-780-2724 for more information.
Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council – The council held its last meeting in Harlem, geared to new families, on the very coldest day to date, yet there were 12 new Manhattan families and 3 new families from other boros. Janet Davis and Kathy Kelly presented an overview of family support and waiver services.
In order to encourage family attendance at Family Advocacy Day on February 28 and at the Legislative Breakfast on March 14, the council will not meet again until April. Date to be announced. Call Margaret Puddington for more information, 212-799-2042.
Service Coordination – The next meeting is on Friday, January 24, 2014 at 10:00 AM, at UCP/NYC, 80 Maiden Lane, 2nd floor conference room. The topic will be housing and home modifications. Credit will be given to MSCs for attendance. The MSC Forum will be held May 15. To participate on the committee or to become involved in any capacity, please contact Carol Lincoln at clincoln@ucpnyc.org.
Children’s Committee – No report. Next committee meeting will be announced. For more information about the committee, contact Christina Muccioli at Christina.Muccioli@ahrcnyc.org.