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- MARCH 1st LEGISLATIVE DAY A HUGE SUCCESS!!!!
- DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AWARENESS MONTH!
- CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK INFORMATION SESSIONS
- NYS OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE THROUGH SERVICES UPDATE!!
- NYSACRA 2004 WORKFORCE SURVEY
MARCH 1st LEGISLATIVE DAY A HUGE SUCCESS!!!!
“CREATING VALUED CAREERS IN OUR COMMUNITY”
Once again NYSACRA members and their teams pulled together to make our Legislative Day 2005 a resounding success. Despite the worst weather we have ever encountered for our annual legislative event, teams from across the state converged on Albany to deliver our message to the Legislature. NYSACRA and your issues were represented on March 1st by almost 200 parents, staff and individuals with disabilities. The NYSACRA Leadership met with key assembly, senate, DOB, and Governor’s office representatives on our issues. At the breakfast, we heard from Direct Support Professionals, Ben Looby, Schenectady ARC and Marianna Cunningham, New Horizons Resources, on the complexities and joys of the work they perform every day. Wristbands provided by the national advocacy campaign called “Make A Difference” were a big hit with everyone.
Breakfast speaker Chairman Peter Rivera of the Assembly Mental Health Committee, reminded the audience “His job is to provide hope around what’s in the budget.” Assemblyman Rivera invited NYSACRA members to hearings and to testify in a few weeks on the Assembly Task Force report developed by the Assembly Mental Hygiene Task Force on service delivery in New York State. Al Kaplan, Deputy Director from the NYS Division of Budget shared with members information about the state budget process, the state Medicaid direction and the possible challenges we face in the near future from both Washington and on a state level.
Thank you to all who braved the snow, and we hope you arrived home safely. For any team that was signed up but could not make it, and did not notify NYSACRA directly, please contact your Legislators to let them know that the weather prevented you from coming and arrange another time to visit, most likely in their District. Please send a press release out to your local newspapers, with a picture if possible. You can use the sample one we provided, or contact NYSACRA for a copy. If you haven’t already, please fill out the forms reporting on how your visit and how the day went, make copies if you need more or contact NYSACRA for another form. We will be mailing legislative information to all members next week.
We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference on May 2nd and next year at our Legislative Day 2006!
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AWARENESS MONTH!
In a recent proclamation, Governor George E. Pataki announced that March 2005 is officially Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Let us all make a valiant effort to bring forth awareness not only during March but the remainder of the year and years to come as well. Keep up the great work; your conscious efforts are being recognized.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK INFORMATION SESSIONS
As you are aware, effective April 1, 2005 all prospective employees, family care providers and volunteers of providers of service are to undergo criminal background checks. If your agency did not participate in the regional Executive Overview sessions that were held last month, OMRDD is now offering this session via videoconference on 3/16, 3/18, and 3/21/05. There are several locations scheduled for videoconferences. Please call NYSACRA at 518-449-7551 to have a registration form faxed to your agency or Click Here for a pdf copy.
The fingerprinting units are being shipped to the DDSO's as of today. The numbers of units will depend on the geography of the region but most will have two and others three. Training of DDSO staff is being scheduled. You may want to share this information with your HR and operations people.
NYS OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE THROUGH SERVICES UPDATE!!
As of February 28, 2005 there are several updates to NYS Options for People Through Services. Some areas include:
1. OPTS Questions
2. Proposal Status Report as of 2/22/05
3. “Agency” Name – Part I: Identifying Information
4. OSC Vendor Responsibility
5. OSC Sales and Compensating Use Tax Documentation
6. Service Coordinator Training
7. OPTS Service Type Descriptions
8. Brief Summary of Approved Proposals with OPTS Agreement
9. Items to be Included in next update
10. Information Sharing
Please visit the NYSACRA website at www.nysacra.org and click on NYS-OPTS for more detailed information on the updates!
NYSACRA 2004 WORKFORCE SURVEY
NYSACRA has extended the deadline of the Workforce Survey to March 11, 2005. To help aid in our efforts to improve recruitment and retention NYSACRA would information on Vacancy, Overtime, Turnover and Salary. All figures should be based on the 2004 calendar year. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Kosakoski or Forest Cotton at 518-449-7551. We can fax a copy to you.
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