NEWS

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 2 February 12, 2010

JOINT ALBANY LOBBY DAY SCHEDULED FOR given a schedule for the day, copies of the joint position pa- MARCH 1ST per and a list of talking points to assist you in making your case during your meetings. Once again, CP of NYS will combine with NYSARC and The Alliance of Long Island Agencies to hold a joint lobby The unprecedented fi scal challenges we face in the coming day on March 1st in Albany. The three associations will fi scal year require that we make our views known to state assign their combined membership into teams based on leaders early and often. This joint lobby day is an oppor- geography. Members from all three associations in each tunity for us to join with other associations to demonstrate geographic region will meet with local legislators and staff our resolve to be a part of the solution and to ensure that the to advocate for support of the trend and some restoration of Legislature supports the trend but understands the impact the $115 million in cuts to OMRDD services. that the Governor’s proposed cuts will have on non-profi t agencies and the individuals with developmental disabili- A briefi ng on the issues will be held March 1st at 10:00 am ties that they serve. As was mentioned in the article below in Room 711-A of the Legislative Offi ce Building (LOB). on the Joint Legislative Fiscal Hearing, legislators seem Everyone participating from each of the agencies will be unaware of the cuts or the impact of the cuts to people with assigned to a team, meet the other members of the team, be developmental disabilities.

If you have not previously responded that you will be par- IN THIS ISSUE... ticipating in the March 1st Joint Lobby Day, please do so as soon as possible. ♦ Joint Albany Lobby Day Scheduled for March 1st ♦ Governor Paterson’s 21-Day Amendments to the GOVERNOR PATERSON’S 21-DAY AMENDMENTS Budget TO THE BUDGET ♦ Commissioner Ritter Testifi es Before the Legisla- tive Fiscal Committees Governor Paterson released the 21-Day Amendments to his 2010-2011 Executive Budget on February 9th. Major ♦ Republicans Win 3 Out of 4 Contests in Assembly recommendations include amendments to the MTA tax, the Special Elections proposed sale of wine in grocery stores, aid to the Yonkers ♦ Senate Votes to Expel Monserrate School District, tuition assistance for nursing programs, ♦ Reardon, Niagara CP COO, Named President at and other initiatives. There are no new cuts or signifi cant Niagara County Board of Health changes to OMRDD’s budget. Additionally, the 21-Day Amendments exempts the Consumer Directed Personal As- ♦ Save The Date sistance Program from the 12 hour cap. Unfortunately, it ♦ NYS Launches Website for People with ASD now includes CHHA services in the 12 hour cap. The fi scal ♦ Special Education Advocacy Conference Sched- savings estimate remains at $30 million. uled for March in Albany ♦ NYS Therapeutic Recreation Association The 21-Day Amendments proposes that all City (NYSTRA) Conference Scheduled – Includes employers will be subject to a .20% increase in the MTA NYS IRRC Referral Training payroll tax, from 0.34% to 0.54% of payroll and lowers it to 0.17% for employers outside of . This ♦ Upcoming Assistive Technology Workshops is good news to agencies in the seven counties outside of New York City but of great concern to New York City em-

Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State AFFILIATE SERVICES OFFICE • 90 State Street, Ste. 929 • Albany, NY 12207 • 518-436-0178 • Fax 518-436-8619 ployers. It is unclear if the Legislature will approve this REPUBLICANS WIN 3 OUT OF 4 CONTESTS IN proposal as the majorities of both Houses are concentrated ASSEMBLY SPECIAL ELECTIONS in New York City and represent employers who are likely to have substantial concerns over such an increase in the Results are in for the special elections held on Tuesday, MTA payroll tax. February 9th to fi ll Assembly seats that have been left va- cant since November’s elections with Republicans winning Rather than relying on additional cuts to close the additional three out of the four contests and increasing their seats in $750 million budget gap, as we had feared, the Governor’s the Assembly by two. While Tuesday’s results will by no 21-Day Amendments uses the proposed continuation of the means make a signifi cant dent in the Assembly democratic enhanced federal share of Medicaid (FMAP) and other ini- supermajority (now at 107 to 42 with one independent), the tiatives such as the sale of wine in grocery stores. trend may be a serious cause for concern for the Senate Democrats (31 to 30 – see Monserrate article below) and Details of the Governor’s 21-Day Amendments can be among all incumbents seeking reelection this year – par- found on the Division of the Budget website – http://pub- ticularly in Westchester and Long Island. Below are the lications.budget.state.ny.us/eBudget1011/1011_21DayAm election results: endments.html. • Assembly District 3: Republican Dean Murray defeated COMMISSIONER RITTER TESTIFIES BEFORE Democratic candidate Lauren Thoden with a margin of less THE LEGISLATIVE FISCAL COMMITTEES than 200 votes winning the previously democratic seat left vacant by Patricia Eddington. On February 3rd, the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committees held a hearing on the Governor’s proposed 2010-2011 State • Assembly District 15: Republicans kept the Nassau Fiscal Year Mental Hygiene Budget. Testifying with Com- County seat with a win by attorney . missioner Ritter were Offi ce of Mental Health Commis- The district that covers part of Nassau County opened up sioner Michael Hogan and Offi ce of Alcoholism and Sub- when incumbent Republican Rob Walker left the seat he stance Abuse Commissioner Karen Carpenter-Palumbo. held since 2005 to become chief deputy Nassau County ex- ecutive. Commissioner Ritter gave a succinct overview of her bud- get and said that she and the Governor “listened closely to • Assembly District 24: David Weprin held the seat for the advocates” who came out in force to oppose this year’s zero Democrats, keeping the Weprin seat in the Weprin family trend and advocate for funds to enhance recruitment and by fending off Robert Friedrich, a registered Democrat run- retention, especially of direct support workers. ning as a Republican.

Assembly Mental Hygiene Committee Chair Peter Rivera • Assembly District 89: Republican Robert J. Castelli won noted that he believed that this year’s OMRDD budget the 89th Assembly District in Westchester County over was a good one and therefore, as in prior year’s, one of the Democrat Peter Harckham. The Westchester seat, which easier budgets. Assembly Member Rivera pointedly asked has been democratic for over 17 years, was left vacant by if OMRDD can guarantee that the trend, retro trend and Adam Bradley after his election as mayor of White Plains. HCA funds included in the budget will go to direct support workers. The Commissioner indicated that a strict guaran- SENATE VOTES TO EXPEL MONSERRATE tee would require amendments to the Medicaid State Plan in order to comply with federal law. Instead, Commissioner The State Senate voted to expel Democrat Hiram Ritter said that she would require a plan from providers in- Monserrate on Tuesday, February 9th following a report re- dicating how funding would be spent. leased by a nine member bi-partisan committee headed by Senator Eric Schneiderman which recommended disciplin- Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg also praised the Com- ary action against Senator Monserrate. Senator Monserrate missioner for a good budget. was convicted of a misdemeanor last October after assault- ing his girlfriend in November of 2008. Long Island Sena- Clearly, there is a great deal of advocacy that needs to be tor Brian Foley introduced the resolution calling for his ex- done to educate the Legislature on the impact the proposed pulsion which passed by a vote of 53 to 8. Those who voted $115 million in cuts in the Governor’s 2010-2011 Budget in the negative were: Ruben Diaz, Pedro Espada, Martin will have on providers of OMRDD services. Dilan, Carl Kruger, John Sampson, Eric Adams, Kevin Parker and Monserrate himself. CP of NYS presented testimony at the hearing which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ycg29zv. While Monserrate has said he will take legal action against individuals with ASD may need services from different the Senate to keep his seat, a March 16th special election State systems – education, health, mental health and de- was immediately called for by Governor Paterson with velopmental disabilities services – NYACTS offers a dedi- Queens Assemblyman Jose Peralta favored heavily by cated site from which people can get the information they Queens County democrats. need without any prior knowledge of New York’s service agencies. REARDON, NIAGARA CP COO, NAMED PRESI- DENT AT NIAGARA COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH In addition to information on autism and services and sup- ports for individuals and families, New York ACTS pro- John J.M. Reardon, Chief Operating Offi cer at Niagara vides news stories related to ASD, the answers to frequently Cerebral Palsy, has been named president of the Niagara asked questions, and information on important laws, events County Board of Health. The Board of Health serves in and trainings. A cross-agency committee is expected to an advisory and oversight role, directing and advising the regularly update and maintain the web site. As scientists county’s public health system on policy. This past year, the and others improve their understanding of ASD and iden- Board of Health was instrumental in devising the county’s tify effective practices in diagnosis, assessment, treatment response to the H1N1 fl u outbreak. and education for individuals with ASD, the committee will continue to promote and expand New York ACTS as Reardon has a long career in public health-related fi elds. a means to bring the latest information to a wide range of Before signing on at Niagara Cerebral Palsy, where he has parties. served as chief operating offi cer for nearly a decade, he spent 21 years as director of the Niagara County Health SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCACY CONFER- Department’s Speech, Hearing and Language Center. ENCE SCHEDULED FOR MARCH IN ALBANY

SAVE THE DATE The 13th Annual Special Education Advocacy Conference is planned for March 19th at the Italian American Community The annual CP of NYS/NYSARC Corporate Compliance Center in Albany. The event, sponsored by the Develop- Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11th. The cost to mental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) and several Affi liates for the Conference remains the same – $125. We other groups, will provide information on numerous topics will again hold the Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel affecting children with disabilities. For information on the in downtown Albany and have a block of rooms reserved event, or to register, visit their website at www.nyspecial- for those staying overnight. edtaskforce.com, and click on the conference page or call Tina Beauparlant at (518) 381-4370. Mark your calendar and join compliance professionals from around the state for a day of learning and informa- The 2010 conference is intended for parents, advocates, ad- tion exchange. If you have any questions, please call Susan ministrators, service providers, service coordinators, con- Hornbeck at (518) 436-0178. Details are available at the sumers and adult family members. The cost of attending following web address: http://tinyurl.com/yad4d8g. the one-day conference is $45 for professionals and $20 for parents and other family members. NYS LAUNCHES WEBSITE FOR PEOPLE WITH ASD NYS THERAPEUTIC RECREATION ASSOCIA- New York State has created a website designed to be a sin- TION (NYSTRA) CONFERENCE SCHEDULED – IN- gle comprehensive resource for important information on CLUDES NYS IRRC REFERRAL SERVICE TRAINING Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and the State services available to address the needs of these individuals and their The New York State Therapeutic Recreation Association families. New York State’s Offi ce of Mental Retardation (NYSTRA) will hold their 15th Annual Conference, March and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) and the State 20-23, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs, New Education Department (SED) have launched the New York York. Complete Conference fl yer and registration materi- ACTS (www.nyacts.org) web site. als are available here: http://www.nystra.org/documents/Conferencepro- New York ACTS (An Initiative for Adults and Children on gram_001.doc. the Spectrum) was developed by the New York State In- teragency Task Force on Autism, a partnership of 11 State The NYS Inclusive Recreation Resource Center (IRRC) agencies, as a way to bring reliable, current information to Referral Service training will be conducted at the NYSTRA the public about autism and to assist New York’s families Conference. Inclusion and Accessibility training will take in fi nding services for their loved ones with ASD. Because place March 20 at the Holiday Inn at Saratoga Springs. Learn the details of conducting an ecological assessment, develop an inclusion plan, implement supports and accom- modations and document and evaluate services. When you complete this training you will be listed as a trained inclu- sive therapeutic recreation provider and you may provide referrals in your region. This is a double session and you must attend both sessions to receive CEU credits.

For more information or to register, visit their website at http://www.nystra.org/documents/InclusionUParticipant- RegistrationForm.doc.

UPCOMING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS

Focus on Social and Strategic Competence, March 4, Albany, NY: An AAC workshop conducted by Dynavox and hosted by the Center for Disability Services in Albany from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. The workshop is free of charge and will offer ASHA CEU’s. For more details and registra- tion instructions, go to http://www.dynavoxtech.com/train- ing/onlocation/details.aspx?id=1383.

Assistive Technology for the ATP, March 23-24, Albany, NY: A two-day course providing an overview of the in- formation related to topics that are covered on the RESNA ATP exam. Co-sponsored by New York Medical Equipment Providers, U.S. Rehab and Invacare. Fees, including 12 continuing education credits are $350 for the general public and $225 for NYMEP/U.S. Rehab members. For additional information, please call U.S. Rehab at 800-987-7342.

“Assistive Technology (AT) and Specialized Equipment: A Focus on Funding”, April 14, Rochester, NY: A one- day conference for health professionals, vendors, advocates, vocational counselors, individuals with disabilities, family members, and others, sponsored by Neighborhood Legal Services. Registration fee (before March 1) is $55. Three “tracks” include medical insurance track, educational track and vocational track. For more information, contact Juli Cushman of Neighborhood Legal Services (jcushman@nls. org or 716-847-0650 ext. 271). Note: This conference will also be held at a later date in the downstate region. More details to follow.