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Funding opportunity for increasing COVID-19 vaccinations

The Development Disabilities Planning Council has announced the availability of approximately $219,000 to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations for those that we serve.  OPWDD is also seeking proposals from Provider Associations to provide to DDPC to obtain funding to break down barriers and unequal access in communities to vaccinate people with disabilities.  Click here for additional information.  Examples of activities consistent with this are:

  • Education about the importance of receiving a vaccine;
  • Identifying people unable to independently travel to a vaccination site;
  • Helping with scheduling a vaccine appointment;
  • Arranging or providing accessible transportation;
  • Providing companion/personal support;
  • Reminding people of the second vaccination appointment if needed
  • Providing technical assistance to local health departments or other entities on vaccine accessibility.

If you are interested in applying, please send your proposal to OPWDD.SM.CCOProjectManagement@opwdd.ny.gov by close of business Friday, April 23.  Be sure to include the following as part of your proposal:

  • Description
  • Goal/Intent
  • Timeframe
  • Anticipated Cost
  • Next Steps

Both OPWDD and DDPC look forward to collaborating with you on this important initiative.

NYC FAIR hosting town halls on April 19 and 22

On Monday April 19, 7 p.m. NYC FAIR will host a virtual town hall meeting on Moving from School To Adult Services. This will be a forum to hear from those who help on the transition and those who have made it safely to the other side.
Also, on Thursday, April 22, 7 p.m., our own Susan Constantino will join a panel on the final State Budget. Click here to register. Participants are welcome to send questions in advance on the registration form or by email to info@nycfair.org.

Fight chronic underfunding of special education!

New York’s special education preschool 4410 and school age 853 programs are in trouble! Our schools serve children with disabilities whose local public school district cannot provide a free and appropriate public education as required by law. In this year’s budget, school aid funding was increased by $3 billion, but schools for children with disabilities are historically neglected.

30-year-olds eligible for vaccine starting March 30

Governor Cuomo issued a press release this afternoon to announce expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination distribution statistics as of 11:00 a.m. The Governor also issued a press release providing an overview of New York’s COVID-19 tracking data from Sunday, March 28.

Expansion of COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility

The Governor announced a new expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility in the State. Beginning Tuesday, March 30at 8 a.m., all New Yorkers 30 years-of-age and older can begin to schedule appointments and get vaccinated. Furthermore, beginning Tuesday, April 6, New Yorkers 16 years-of-age and older can begin to schedule appointments and get vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccine distribution statistics as of 11:00 a.m. today:

  • Total Doses Administered: 9,056,970
  • Total Doses Administered Over Past 24 Hours: 171,419
  • Total Doses Administered Over Past Seven Days: 1,319,740
  • Percent of New Yorkers With at Least One Vaccine Dose: 29.6%
  • Percent of New Yorkers With Completed Vaccine Series: 16.8%

Details on the vaccination distribution statistics, and the expansion of the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility can be found here.

COVID-19 statistics:

  • Test Results Reported: 184,530
  • Positive Test Results: 7,622
  • Statewide Positivity: 4.13%
  • Seven-Day Average Percent Positive: 3.46%
  • Patient Hospitalization: 4,575 (+46)
  • Patients Newly Admitted: 486
  • Hospital Counties: 50
  • Number ICU: 890 (+13)
  • Number ICU with Intubation: 521 (-9)
  • Total Discharges: 160,868 (+406)
  • Deaths: 57
  • Total Deaths: 40,390

Details on COVID-19 tracking data can be found here.

CP State hosting series on Individual Advocacy

CP State is proud to offer “Teena’s Trunk,” a series on Individual Advocacy presented by Teena Fitzroy. Teena  is a wife, mother of three, and grandmother of six, who just also happens to have cerebral palsy.

Teena’s Trunk” poignantly recounts Teena Fitzroy’s often funny, sometimes heart-breaking, personal journey. Audiences experience Teena’s struggles and successes in growing up while learning to live with a disability.

These sessions are open to everyone. While the initial session is geared toward administration, the series is great for family members and self-advocates!

Email Tim Ferguson at TFerguson@cpstate.org for the seminar links. All sessions are on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. 

  • April 6: Teena’s Trunk for Admins
  • April 13: Teena’s Trunk for DSPs, Families and Individuals
  • April 20: Family Members with I/DD
  • April 27: Guardianship & SSI
  • May 11: Medical Advocacy.
  • May 25: Domestic Abuse

Click here for more information on Teena.

Virtual Rally draws more than 1,000

The NYDA virtual rally for Care, Not Cuts drew 1,000 supporters, including many politicians, family members and self-advocates. You can watch the video here, or check out coverage of the rally:

Rally speakers included:

  • Tom McAlvanah – Co-MC, President, New York Disability Advocates (NYDA)
  • Kate Jerian – Co-MC, Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel, The Arc of New York
  • State Senator John Mannion
  • Assemblymember Aileen Gunther
  • Yvette Watts, Executive Director, New York Association of Emerging & Multicultural Providers and Family Advocate
  • BJ Stasio, President, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State
  • Ellen Feldman, Family Advocate
  • Margaret Puddington, Family Advocate
  • Terri Manzione, Family Advocate

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About New York Disability Advocates

New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) is a statewide coalition of seven non-profit provider associations encompassing more than 300 non-profit agencies providing vital services and support to more than 140,000 New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CP, NYDA data cited in CDC ask to expand vaccine eligibility

U.S. Rep. John Katko is leading a bipartisan national effort urging the CDC to expand vaccine eligibility to people with I/DD and DSPs, specifically citing data collected by CP State and its partners in New York Disability Advocates.
“While New York State recently took action to expand vaccine eligibility to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as the Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), many states have not,” Katko writes.

NYS Budget Comparison Chart

BUDGET COMPARISON CHART

 

Governor’s Budget Senate On-House Assembly One-House               Final Budget
TOTAL BUDGET
 

Proposes all funds receipts of $192.8 billion

The Senate has not, at this time, proposed a Fiscal Plan outlining All Fund Spending changes or All Funds Revenue Estimates. Proposes All Funds receipts of $206.2 billion, an increase of $13.4 billion over the Executive Plan including: $3.3 billion in Federal childcare and Medicaid; $3 billion in additional unrestricted Federal aid;  $2.7 billion personal income tax increase; $1.7 billion in additional business and other taxes; and $1.4 billion in consensus revenues.
OPWDD
1% COLA – Defers the COLA Again Rejects 1% COLA deferral – $26.9 million Rejects 1% COLA deferral- $26.9 million and makes COLA permanent
1% MEDICAID RATE CUT -Targeted Restores $10.5 million Restores $10.5 million
5% NON-MEDICAID CUT Restores $12 million Restores $12 million
OPWDD Residential Program Management -$22.7 million Restores $26.6 million
RESIDENTIAL RESERVE FOR REPLACEMENT (RRR) – replaces RRR with Prior Property Approval (PPA) – $6.9 million savings Restores -$6.9 million
Residential FLOW proposal Restores – $8 million
MINIMUM WAGE FUNDING – includes funding to bring DSP salaries up to the minimum wage – $31.6 million Accepts Accepts
Affordable Housing – $15 million Accepts Accepts
CCO Cut -$20.8million Restores $20.8 Restores $20.8
Establishes a new group home pilot program – $10M
$25 million in funding to reimburse OMH, OASAS and OPWDD providers for PPE costs
Provides $200,000 for the Center for Autism Research
Provides $1 million and requires residential facilities to provide high-speed internet Provides $900,000 for state operated residential high-speed internet
Restores $440,000 in Legislative additions
DOH
EARLY INTERVENTION -$11.9M administrative services limits/cuts Rejects the cuts and includes language to prohibit blanket service limits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rejects the cuts and includes language to prohibit blanket service limits.

 

Establishes an Early Intervention services pool for payment of EI services thereby eliminating 3rd party billing

 

Requires the Commissioner to review EI rates for adequacy

TELEHEALTH – Continues flexibilities for originating site and interstate licensure program Accepts and adds continued flexibilities on distant site and creates reimbursement parity for telehealth services Accepts the Originating site flexibilities but rejects interstate licensure
CDPAP FI – Require DOH Re-offer CDPAP FI contracts to ensure FIs are physically located in counties they serve and ensure FIs have experience serving individuals with I/DD & serving racial/ethnic minorities
340B PROVIDERS – Transition from Medicaid Managed Care to Fee for Service & provides $102 million to create reinvestment payment pool for community health centers Rejects the transition of 340B providers to Fee for Service Rejects reinvestment funds; delays transition of the pharmacy benefit from managed care to fee-for-service (enacted 2020) for 3 years for providers that rely on 340B savings
MEDICAID GLOBAL CAP – Extends Cap for two years Rejects the extension of the Medicaid Global Cap & proposes an alternative Rejects & repeals the Medicaid Global Cap
PRESCRIBER PREVAILS –Eliminates “prescriber prevails”; eliminates coverage for certain over-the-counters Rejects the elimination of Prescriber Prevails & elimination of certain over the counter drugs Rejects the elimination of Prescriber Prevails & elimination of certain over the counter drugs
Prohibit TBI & NHTD Waiver services from transitioning to managed care Prohibit TBI & NHTD Waiver services from transitioning to managed care
Allow pediatric nursing homes to continue serving medically fragile young adults after the age of 21
Authorizes DOH to create new facilities specifically for medically fragile young adults
$624 million to increase the minimum wage for home health care workers
Codifies the independent consumer assistance program to assist consumers to file complaints/appeals with health insurers
SED
State-funded school aid would increase to a total of $29.5 billion (a year-to-year increase of 6.6 percent) School Aid increase of $3 billion or 12 percent over the 2020-21 SY, for a total of $29 billion.
ENROLLMENT REDUCTION

4410 and 853 schools hold harmless for enrollment reductions during the 20-21 school year & ensure no tuition rate reduction from federal stimulus aid

Language to protect schools that suffer a 5% or greater enrollment decrease during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years by applying an enrollment adjustment factor as part of the tuition rate reconciliation process
Requires tuition increases for 4410 & 853 schools to be commensurate with total school aid increase
Protects 4410 and 853 schools from financial consequences of enrollment reductions by allowing per diem and or tuition rate to be administratively adjusted by SED without DOB approval
Authorizes establishment of a1% per year reserve fund, not to exceed 4% total, for 853 & Special Act schools
Provides $1.25M for SED to redesign the rate setting methodology for 4410 and 853 schools
Provides $500 million to fully fund 4 year-old full day pre-K statewide
OTHER
Special Emergency Federal Aid- $9 billion lump sum. Rejects $9 billion lump sum Special Federal Emergency Appropriation. Increases the Special Federal Emergency funding for organizations to $13 billion and modifies the language to make spending from the appropriation subject to Section 53 of State Finance Law. Funding is included to provide:

·        COLA -$51.8 million to restore the human services COLA starting on April 1, 2021 including OPWDD –$26.9 million, OMH -$15 million, OASAS-$4.3 million, OCFS – $2.54 million, SOFA -$2.02 and OTADA –$1 million

·        PPE – $25 million in funding to reimburse OMH, OASAS and OPWDD community-based providers for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) costs as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic;

·        Nonprofits -$100 million to support operating costs for nonprofit agencies statewide;

OTHER State workforce Salary increases – $175 million
Early Retirement Incentive –for public employees. Early Retirement Incentive for public employees

 

 

 

CP State developing clinician training program to improve treatment of patients with I/DD

 

Funded by a $440,000 grant from The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Cerebral Palsy Association of New York State will establish a best-practices training program for clinicians to ensure healthcare equity for people with disabilities.

“The unique characteristics and needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) makes optimal healthcare very challenging,” said Mike Alvaro, Executive Director of CP State. “We hope to create an accessible training series that will increase clinicians’ ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients with I/DD — making a giant step forward in the disability community’s access to quality care.”

Research has shown that people with disabilities fare much worse across a range of health indicators than individual without disabilities.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one in three people ages 18 to 44 with disabilities did not have a usual health care provider and had a health care need that went unmet in the last year due to cost.

CP State will spend the next six months developing the clinician training series. A steering committee of doctors, clinicians and others healthcare officials will take inventory of existing training sessions, then develop material to fill in the gaps. After the committee assesses the need for material and how they will be developed, we will announce a start date for the trainings.

The award is part of Cabrini’s more-than 400 year-end 2020 grants totaling $115 million to support organizations and programs addressing the health-related needs of low-income residents and underserved communities across New York State.

This is in addition to $50 million in funding authorized for emergency COVID-19 programs earlier in 2020. In all, the Foundation’s $165 million in 2020 funding has or will support 650 programs to improve health and human services during a time of unprecedented need. In the two years since its inception, the Foundation has awarded grants totaling $315 million.

The $115 million in new grants will support programs in 2021, including $5 million in a three-year strategic effort focused on improving oral health access and outcomes in underserved communities.

“These grants demonstrate our continued commitment to support a wide range of organizations improving the health and well-being of New York’s most vulnerable.  Our grantees are providing crucial support at a pivotal moment, when so many across the State face challenges that are complicated by the impacts of COVID-19.” said Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Visa and Chair of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Board.

“We’re very appreciative of the support we’ve gotten from The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation,” said Alvaro. “They’ve been a wonderful partner in realizing our Community Health Outreach Program grants and we’re thrilled to begin work on this important training program.  The mission of CP State is to make life better for people with disabilities.  The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation helps us do that.”