People with Developmental Disabilities, Office for

Agency Web Site: https://opwdd.ny.gov/

Mission

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

Organization and Staffing

The Executive Budget recommends a year-end workforce target of 18,572 FTEs.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2020 Executive Budget recommends, in total, approximately $4.8 billion in All Funds appropriations, including $2.5 billion for Aid to Localities, $2.2 billion for State Operations and $99 million for Capital Projects, which represents a $121 million increase from FY 2019. The increase supports new investments in OPWDD program priorities, expansion of supportive housing capacity, increased costs related to the minimum wage, investments to support OPWDD’s transition to managed care and anticipated agency operating costs.

OPWDD will utilize this funding to support a comprehensive system of care that serves nearly 140,000 New Yorkers and their families. These resources will continue to support OPWDD's person-centered model, which delivers services through a network of State-operated and NFP-operated settings.

This Budget continues the State’s pledge to support individuals with developmental disabilities in the most appropriate community-based settings, and reflects a 2.6 percent annual increase in appropriation. Specifically, the Executive Budget will:

Make $120 Million Available for Program Priorities, Including New Service Opportunities. For the sixth consecutive year, the Executive Budget includes State resources that could leverage up to $120 million in new funding on an annualized basis. This investment supports program reforms and will continue to meet the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families who require OPWDD supports and services, as well as individuals whose needs have changed. OPWDD has leveraged new funding and other resources to:

• Expand the Availability of Certified Housing Supports in the Community. OPWDD oversees and operates one of the largest community-based residential programs in the nation, ensuring some of New York’s most vulnerable residents have safe and affordable places to live. Both the State and its network of not-for-profit provider agencies offer residential opportunities that provide 24/7 supervision as well as homes that offer less intensive staffing supports. In total, OPWDD currently supports more than 37,000 individuals in certified community-based residential programs that use $5.1 billion in public resources annually.
• Support More Independent Living. OPWDD also supports people who reside on their own by providing rental subsidies to individuals who wish to live in an apartment in their community. Since FY 2013, OPWDD has more than doubled the number of people who are authorized to receive rental subsidies, bringing the total to more than 5,900 individuals.
• Provide More Day Program and Employment Options. Day and employment services are a crucial aspect of offering participants the personal, social, and vocational supports needed to live in their community. OPWDD has invested significantly in these services, steadily increased community-integrated supported employment opportunities and enhanced the array of available employment readiness programs over the past five years. There are currently almost 77,000 enrollments in day and employment supports.
• Increase Respite Availability. Respite services provide temporary relief to family caregivers, helping people with developmental disabilities live at home with their families for longer periods. Over the past five years, the State has increased the number of enrollments in respite services by over 17 percent to nearly 45,000 current enrollments.

Commit an additional $15 Million to Develop Housing. Building on prior investments, the Budget provides another $15 million in capital funding to expand independent living opportunities. Cumulatively, the State has invested $65 million to support OPWDD's effort to develop safe and accessible residential opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live independently. These funds are in addition to resources that will be available from the five-year, $20 billion affordable and supportive housing plan, which is also helping support the development of residential opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Support OPWDD’s Transition to Managed Care. With the successful transition in July 2018 to an enhanced care coordination model through the development of regional Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs), the multi-phase transition of the OWPDD service delivery system to managed care is underway. Enrollment on a voluntary basis will begin in FY 2020. The Budget applies ongoing Department of Health (DOH) Global Cap resources to support the initial costs of transitioning the OPWDD service delivery system to managed care, with long-term savings expected through improved efficiency in the coordination and delivery of services. In addition, the FY 2020 Budget includes a targeted investment of $5 million in new resources to improve provider readiness for managed care through the development of best practices and performance measurement and outcome monitoring tools.

Promote More Efficient Use of State Resources. In FY 2020, OPWDD will seek to leverage Medicaid funding, and other supplemental aid where available, to more cost-effectively support the provision of person-centered programs.

Fund Non-Profit Provider Minimum Wage Increases. The FY 2020 Executive Budget includes additional funding to leverage $167 million, an annual increase of $88 million, to support the minimum wage and related fringe benefit cost increases associated with the movement to a $15 an hour living wage.

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)

Program Highlights

Residential Services: Residential programs are licensed by OPWDD to provide varying levels of housing and related services, and are operated by OPWDD or nonprofit agencies. Residential services include, but are not limited to: adaptive skill development; assistance with activities of daily living; community inclusion and relationship building; training and support for independence in travel; adult educational supports; and development of social, leisure, self-advocacy, informed choice and appropriate behavioral skills.

Day Programs: Day programs include day habilitation, community habilitation and employment type services, each focused on giving participants the personal, social and vocational supports needed to live in their community. Programming varies depending upon each person’s unique needs and interests. These services aim to assist individuals to acquire, retain or improve their self-help, socialization and adaptive skills, including communication, travel and other areas of adult education.

Clinic Services: Clinic Services include physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, speech and language pathology, medical/dental services and health care services. These services assist individuals with developmental disabilities in maintaining the effectiveness of the treatment, enabling the individual to remain in his/her current residential setting and enhancing the individual’s quality of life.

All Other Services: These include a variety of different service options for individuals and families, such as self-direction, respite, care coordination, and family counseling.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 1/15/2019