People with Developmental Disabilities, Office for

Agency Web Site: http://www.opwdd.ny.gov/

Mission

The mission of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is to help people with developmental disabilities live richer lives. The agency’s vision is to ensure that people with developmental disabilities enjoy meaningful relationships with family, friends, and others in their lives; experience personal health and growth; live in homes and fully participate in communities of their choice.

Budget Highlights

The 2013-14 Executive Budget recommends almost $4.7 billion in All Funds appropriations ($1.9 billion General Fund; $2.8 billion Other Funds) for OPWDD to continue to support a comprehensive system of care serving the more than 126,000 persons with developmental disabilities and their families. This is an increase of $58 million from 2012-13 appropriations, primarily due to fringe benefits, after reflecting an accounting adjustment of $113 million. The Executive Budget recommends a workforce target of 18,567 full time equivalent (FTE).

OPWDD continues to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of its operations and the network of not-for-profit providers it oversees and financially supports. Major new Budget actions will promote cost efficiency, streamline operations, and restructure programs and services. The Executive Budget also defers the planned 1.4 percent annual human services COLA and maintains existing rates for other programs, including various residential and day programs for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Governor Cuomo has taken substantial steps to ensure the health and safety of individuals with developmental disabilities in the State’s care, and to improve the overall quality and cost-effectiveness of State services. Significant actions include:

• Increased hiring qualifications and training standards in State-run programs for direct support professionals, including pre-employment psychological and fitness training, mandatory drug testing, rigorous background checks, and a minimum of a high school diploma.
• Refocused efforts on cases of abuse, with creation of a centralized Incident Management Unit with real time oversight of incidents, and an overhauled investigations process that has direct relationships with local law enforcement/State Police.
• Holding non-profit providers more accountable for their performance via a restructured Early Alert program to quickly remedy deficiencies in non-profit provider services, with imposition of fines and revocation of their operating certificate when appropriate.
• An improved statewide standardized objective process to ensure that potential new non-profit providers have the requisite fiscal and programmatic expertise, and an initiative that supports and recognizes providers that have achieved excellence in service delivery.
• Enhanced fire safety efforts, including implementing the recommendations of outside experts to comply with enhanced standards, unannounced fire drills, better training and safety plans, direct relations with local fire personnel, and capital improvements. The 2013-14 Executive Budget reprioritizes OPWDD capital funds to support necessary enhancements in community residential and day programs to meet Life Safety Code and/or Health Care Facility fire safety standards. Appropriations of nearly $46 million in 2013-14 are included for this purpose.
• To ensure that OPWDD delivers the most integrated and cost effective services possible, the Budget supports ongoing plans to downsize institutional programs by including resources to fund more integrated and appropriate service opportunities in the community. This includes the closures announced last year of the Taconic and Finger Lakes Campuses which are scheduled for December 2013. The vast majority of these new services will be provided by the agency’s network of non-profit providers. The budget also reflects continued efficiencies and other saving actions via attrition, as well as stricter controls on NPS spending.
• In addition, OPWDD is seeking authorization from the Federal government to make changes that will improve care coordination of long-term care, acute and behavioral health care services for individuals with developmental disabilities, increase the flexibility of services provided to individuals with developmental disabilities, increase funding transparency, and improve overall service quality and outcomes.

The Executive Budget continues efforts to be effective and efficient in State Operations and local assistance costs via stringent controls and reduced use of institutional services, and invests some of these savings in more effective community based programs.

State Operations savings include implementing enterprise-wide efforts to reduce purchasing costs, streamlining IT applications, restructuring agency administration while reducing agency administrative staffing levels, and continuing to move individuals from institutional settings to the most integrated setting possible. Local assistance reforms include returning individuals from more costly out-of-state placements, utilizing more appropriate and less costly alternative to support people, and annualizing rate reforms begun in 2011-12.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Mental Hygiene (PDF)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/22/2013

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables