NYS OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE THROUGH SERVICES update as of July 8, 2005
NYS OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE THROUGH SERVICES July 8, 2005 News from the OPTS Administration Unit (#7-2005) 1. OPTS Questions 2. Proposal Status Report as of 7/8/05 3. No “News” June 2005 4. Additional Brief Descriptions of Approved Proposals 5. Ten Reasons Proposals Move Quickly Through The Review Process 6. DDSO OPTS Liaison Contacts 7. Information Sharing 8. Why You May Receive Multiple Copies of this Message 1. OPTS Questions The phone number for the OPTS Admin Unit is (518) 408-2744. E-mail addresses are:
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OPTS questions can be sent via e-mail to
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Questions of general interest will be included in a “Frequently Asked Questions” listing being compiled. OPTS proposals must be submitted electronically through the OMRDD Secure Message Center to
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Information on the NYS OPTS Initiative is available through the OMRDD Home Page: www.omr.state.ny.us Select button for - Information for Providers Select link for – Options for People Through Services New staff: Our new Administrative Aide, Elana Andrew, joined us on May 31st. Her initial introduction to the unit was assisting with the final preparations for the OPTS Steering Committee meeting that was held on June 7th. 2. Proposal Status Report as of July 8, 2005 Proposals Received 152 Proposals Complete 129 a Health Checks Complete 116 b Consumer Verifications Complete 88 c Team Review Meetings Held/Scheduled 95 d Awaiting Scheduling of Team Review Meeting 0 Proposals Approved 26 Implemented 7 e Number of Proposals “On Hold” 15 f Number of Proposals “Not OPTS” 22 g a – Contact telephone numbers required as part of the OPTS Application. View the OPTS Application, including the Budget and Roster (Microsoft Excel document) through the OMRDD Home Page (specifics given in #1 above). b – Three proposals have been unsuccessful in completing the Health Check. c – Several proposals have “completed” the consumer verification step, but have been put “on hold” due to insufficient participation by the consumers, families and/or advocates. Five proposals have been unsuccessful in completing the Consumer Verification.d – Several proposals have been reviewed twice, the initial review and then upon receipt of supplemental information from the not-for-profit provider.e – Payments continue to be processed on a monthly basis under the Interim Payment Process.f – A non-profit provider may be asked to prioritize their proposals when they have multiple proposals submitted, this category includes proposals non-profit providers designate as a low priority.g – Proposals determined “Not OPTS” are either services OMRDD is not authorized to provide, have already been approved for implementation outside of OPTS, or the non-profit provider has withdrawn. 3. No “News” June 2005 We did not send out “News” in June 2005. 4. Brief Description of Approved Proposals OPTS #37 - 103 individuals (initial) Target Implementation – estimated September 1, 2005 OPTS Services(s) – Blended Day Habilitation and Prevocational Services (Blended DP) Following brainstorming sessions with consumers, interest was expressed in alternative activities such as Book Clubs, Chorus, Computer Classes, Cooking Classes, Pet Care, Reading, Writing nd Money Skills. The individuals also expressed the desire to be able to continue participating in skills that were vocational. A proposal that combines both, new activities with the opportunity to continue vocational skills by scheduling the offerings will be made available to an initial group of individuals. A key component of this proposal is that individuals will be given the opportunity to establish a schedule for a set number of weeks (course period) that identifies which activities they will be participating in during different time segments of the day, for each day of the week. The individuals will be tested on their knowledge of material at the beginning and at the end of each activities course period. OPTS #116 - 12 individuals (first year) Target Implementation – estimated August 1, 2005 OPTS Services(s) – Blended Day Habilitation and Prevocational Services (Blended DP) - Vocational skill training for young adults will be provided in collaboration with a Community College. A group of young adults wish to further their vocational skills and have social opportunities with other young adults at the college level. The program will incorporate a ork/Life Skill Training Component that is designed to reinforce concepts necessary for making the transition to increased independent living and employment in the community. In year two of the pilot, a second group of individuals will begin the program. OPTS #77 - 18 individuals Target Implementation – estimated September 1, 2005 OPTS Services(s) – At-Home Residential Habilitation and Hourly Respite - A minority founded and governed agency will provide behavior management in the homes of individuals who have intense and challenging behaviors. Respite will separately be provided so the primary caregiver(s) have an opportunity to rest, relax and deal with other family issues. The behavior management services to be provided in the home are intended to address targeted behaviors. OPTS #43 - 2 individuals (initial) Target Implementation – estimated September 1, 2005 OPTS Services(s) – General Developmental Disabilities – Per Diem (Emergency Housing) - This pilot will provide time-limited services to individuals who do not have a permanent home and do not have a primary caregiver. Temporary use beds in an existing IRA will be used for this service when not being used to provide respite. The individuals who receive this OPTS service do not qualify for respite because there is no primary caregiver who is being relieved of care while the individuals are in the emergency housing. In addition to shelter, food and basic clothing, Life Skills Trainers will work with the individuals to help them obtain permanent housing, either certified or non-certified. OPTS #60 - 125 individuals Target Implementation – estimated September 1, 2005 OPTS Services(s) – General Developmental Disabilities - Hourly (Future Cares Planning) - Individual specific planning sessions will be held to plan for the future. Often when a crisis faces a family information about an individual who has lived at home and been cared for by family members is sketchy or unobtainable. Working with persons with disabilities, and their family members, before a crisis arises so needed information about the person’s history and choice for the future is available when needed is the intent of developing a “Future Care Plan” plan (FCP). Through the planning sessions the individual and family members provide the details of the person’s life so it is documented in the FCP. The individual’s current situation and prominent concerns are discussed and described in the plan so future needs can be discussed without the pressure of immediate action being needed. The planning document is not intended to be a service plan, but a separate document that will supplement the service plan. 5. Ten Reasons Proposals Move Quickly Through The Review Process (1) Proposal submitted is complete(2) DDSO can readily contact consumer/family member/advocate and determine participation/support for Proposal(3) Proposal describes how individual choice was considered in developing the Proposal and shows evidence of person-centered planning(4) Proposal is descriptive of planned service including when the service will occur, where it will occur, expected duration (e.g., Monday through Friday 9am to 3pm)(5) Proposal describes how the planned service will impact on the life of each individual, with specific individual examples, and is clear whether the proposed service is an enhancement or eplacement of current services(6) Proposal describes the impact on the overall service system such as whether other individuals in need of services can be served, and what is needed to implement the Proposal such as property acquisition/renovation, staffing, vehicles, etc.(7) Valued outcomes and objectives are individual specific and measurable(8) Proposal contains descriptive evaluation information - what will be evaluated, when the evaluation will occur, who will perform the evaluation and that evaluation reports will be shared with OMRDD(9) The Budget and Roster portion of the Application (version 11/04/2004) has been completed and explains the basis for costs requested, and includes site and individual identifying information such as Operating Certificates for current programs and individual TABS IDs(10) Current DDP information is in TABS to support evaluation of the reasonableness and appropriateness of the budget 6. DDSO OPTS Liaison Contacts Bernard Fineson - Ronald Kassover (718) 217-5894 Bernard Fineson - Sheila Green-Gholson (718) 217-6117 Brooklyn - Donna Limiti (718) 642-8584 Brooklyn - Janet Strauss (718) 642-8629 Broome - Sandra Beach (607) 770-0248 Broome – Kathleen Schyndler (607) 770-0232 Capital District - Donald Going (518) 370-7443Central New York - Judith Luyben (315) 473-6654 Finger Lakes - Patricia Barry (585) 461-8826 Hudson Valley - Virginia Leone (845) 947-6333 Long Island - Lois Kilkenny (631) 493-1745 Long Island - Deborah Hammargren (631) 493-1812 Metro New York (Bronx) - Karen Prestwidge (718) 430-0713 Metro New York (Manhattan) - Lois Gillman (212) 229-3601 Metro New York (Manhattan) - Janet Zampella (212) 229-3215 Metro New York (Manhattan) - Mary Ann Watson-Bamberger (212) 229-3152 Staten Island - Richard Monck (718) 983-5232 Staten Island - Barbara Schubert (718) 982-1904 Sunmount - Paul Chartier (518) 359-2962 Sunmount - Jacci Gardner (518) 359-2962 Taconic - Robert Slawinski (845) 473-5050 x 151 Taconic - Gabrielle Canino (845) 473-5050 x 129 Western New York - JoAnn Niebel (716) 517-3636 Western New York – Richard Mahaney (716) 517-2144 7. Information Sharing We encourage you to share the information in this message with individuals who are interested in knowing more about recent activities associated with the NYS OPTS initiative. 8. Why You May Receive Multiple Copies of this Message This message is being sent to individuals on several distribution lists. If you appear on more than one of the distribution lists being used, you will receive multiple copies of this message. This message is being distributed to: OPTS Steering Committee OPTS Consumer and Family Subcommittee OPTS Implementation Subcommittee OPTS Provider Subcommittee FSS Statewide Advisory Committee Provider Associations Provider Council Parent-to-Parent Liaison Self Advocate Liaison DDSO Directors Central Office Leadership Team DDSO and Central Office OPTS Point People/Liaisons |
