Recent Town Hall Meetings with CDS President, Sankar Sewnauth

Town Hall Meeting March 26, 2009

Sankar Sewnauth, President/CEO of Continuing Developmental Services, Inc. welcomed attendees and encouraged all to introduce themselves. Sankar explained the purpose of Town Hall meetings is to give families involved with CDS an agency update, share important information about current issues surrounding the developmentally disabled population, such as, the NYS budget implications on services. In addition, Town Hall Meetings allow families to get their questions answered.

State of the Business

The meeting began with 2008 State of the Business report on CDS' four core businesses.

Residential Services

In October 2008, the NYS OMRDD put a hold on all projects submitted through the NYS Opts Program. At that time, CDS had

three homes waiting to open. This freeze delayed the move-in of 17 individuals into their new homes. Towards the end of the year, CDS was informed pending homes were allowed to open and could move-in the individuals who were waiting.

New residencies opened in late 2008/early 2009 include:

Harris Road IRA

- right sized from 12 to 6 Individuals

Turkhill 2 IRA-

6 individuals who formally lived at Harris Road

Limerock IRA-

A new home serving five young females in their 20's

Marshall Road-

A new home for six individuals who have aged out of childhood services at Mary Cariola

With the addition of these new homes, CDS currently operates

26 residences, serving 210 individuals.

CDS currently has

two residences awaiting approval from the DDSO to open this year:

Culver Rd-

This residence serves individuals who are hearing impaired. The house needs to be right-sized from the current 11 individuals to seven.

Cobblefield Way-

CDS purchased this home to renovate and move five individuals from the Culver Road home, in addition to one new resident.

Embury Rd

- CDS purchased this home to serve six young men in their 20's.

The DDSO has given CDS every indication the above projects are still in consideration, and may be given the approval to move forward. They have

not provided CDS with an estimate of when this may happen.

Unistel

242 individuals are employed at Unistel, CDS' supported employment and pre-vocational program. Included in Unistel are sheltered workshops at Hard Rd. and Blossom Rd. Other supported employment opportunities available at CDS include community enclaves. This program provides opportunities for individuals to work out in the community on a small team with the support of a job coach. CDS has community enclaves at Bona Via Bakery, Nazareth College Cafeteria, Brookwood Inn and Marriot Courtyard hotels, HP Neun, Janitorial at all CDS sites, and Hard Rd's Flutters Café. The three main areas of work being done at these enclaves are cleaning, baking and food preparation.

2008 Highlight - Summer Internship Program:

Over the summer, CDS welcomed twenty special education students from Webster Schroder High School, the Rochester City School District, Greece Central Schools and St. Joseph's Villa for a five week internship. These students were able to participate in job observations, weekly presentations by outside businesses focused on career exploration, and opportunities for paid training including clerical and janitorial work, and the piece work completed in the sheltered workshop. CDS will offer an internship program again this summer.

Day Habilitation Services

CDS services 250 individuals at six day habilitation locations throughout Monroe County. Each location provides supports and services tailored to individuals who attend.

In 2008,

three new locations (Linden, Penbrooke, Hard Road) opened as a direct result of the OPTS (Options for People through Services) project which broke-up the Perinton location to be able offer more unique and individualized services for those who attend.

Linden Site – provides support to individuals who have sensory needs & prefer slower pace to their day with less demands.

Penbrooke Site – has a focus on keeping people busy during the day participating in activities that expend energy with a goal of decreasing challenging behaviors that result from inactivity/boredom.

Blended Program (Hard Rd) - This program offers an increased number of clinical groups and more choice and variety in their program, including art, music, and health and wellness with the pool/fitness center. They are also given the opportunity to participate in paid work opportunities on the Unistel work floor, Dave's Snacks & Things and transitions training room with simulated work practice.

All sites have clinical support built-in, including physical and occupational therapies, social work, behavior services, music and art therapies. The Penbrooke site also has a full-time recreation therapist.

Community recreation and volunteer opportunities at each site include: shopping, museums, parks, library, and bowling. Volunteer opportunities are available at Red Cross, Meals on Wheels and Foodlink.

CDS' New Transition Program

With the creation of the new Hard Road location this past summer, came an opportunity to meet the needs of young adults transitioning from high school into adult services. The transitions program was developed to provide more support and job training to those individuals who may not be ready to enter the workforce upon graduation.

The

Transition Program is currently serving ten young adults, and is expected to grow to 15 in July. The program had its first graduate, Geno Fisher, who recently moved into a full-time position on the Unistel work floor at the Life Transitions Center after 10 months in the Transition Program.

CDS' Community and Evening Recreation Program

In addition to the Transition Program, CDS created a comprehensive recreation program that features

inclusive activities open to community members of all abilities, in addition to individuals served at CDS. Some examples of classes offered are pottery, Tai Chi, photography, drama, aquatic therapy with the Arthritis Foundation, music exploration, 30-minute meals and sign language. Please visit www.cdsunistel.org for the Spring Recreation Guide.

The Life Transitions Center has been the host of some great community events, including a Holiday Extravaganza, Community Agency Fair, dances, concerts and plays.

Family Support Services

Family Support Services offers a variety of supportive, educational, and case management services for over 650 families.

Medicaid Service Coordination

CDS' service coordinators help individuals obtain and maintain services like future planning, respite services, family reimbursement, day and residential services. The service coordinator also provides advocacy for their individuals and supports them to be self-advocates.

TBI Service Coordination

Through the NYS Dept. of Health, this program provides services to individuals with traumatic brain injuries. Service coordinators assist individuals in accessing funding for housing and utilities, seeking out meaningful day treatment or employment opportunities, and setting up various supports and clinical services in their home necessary for them to live successfully in the community.

Family Education & Training

Provided to families with loved ones under the age of 18, this program has helped educate families by enhancing the decision making capacity of the family unit and informing families about service alternatives.

Sib Shops

In partnership with the Finger Lakes DDSO, this four-week workshop style program offers peer support and education to the siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Autism Skill Building

Serving children between the ages of 6-16, this program focuses on development skills like socialization and communication that are often a challenge for individuals diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum.

Recreation

This program provides recreational opportunities to children and adults ages 5 and up. The program separates individuals into four groups by age with one group specifically designed for the needs of individuals with Autism.

2008 Highlight

- CDS' recreation program was awarded the "Outstanding Recreation Program" award by the Genesee Valley Recreation and Parks Society!

Families in Need Fund

Funded through a grant provided by the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation, this program has approved $12,000 to 33 families in need in 2008. The fund helps with items directly related to the individual's needs, such as medical equipment, sensory supplies and other items not covered by Medicaid or other reimbursement programs.

Governor's Proposed State Budget Impact

This quarter's Town Hall Meeting focused on the impact of the Governor's proposed State budget on OMRDD programs and services. These proposed cuts are:

Eliminating a fiscal trend for 2009

- Each year the state has provided human service agencies with a 3% increase in funding, usually along with some retroactive trending, totaling an approximate 5% increase each year. This trend elimination would result in a $750,000 loss for CDS.

Cut in MSC funding

– A proposed reduction in the reimbursement Medicaid Service Coordinators receive for consumers in CDS residences would result in a loss totaling almost $100,000.

Cut in Day Habilitation funding

– The Governor proposed a 4% reduction in day habilitation funding, which would result in CDS losing more than $350,000.

* NOTE - After the Town Hall meeting, this proposed budget cut was eliminated! No reduction in day habilitation funding will occur!

CDS Responds:

No impact on quality or quantity of services provided at CDS!

Being proactive to the proposed cuts in funding, CDS has taken measures to reduce costs of operation and maintain the same quality of care the individuals receive. The following efficiencies have been made at CDS:

Elimination of ten administrative positions.

Six of these positions were vacant,

Staff restructuring resulted in only two employee lay-offs.

Expenses were cut back at CDS

Number of cell phones provided to staff,

Taking measures to be more economical with paper supplies,

Eliminating company provided coffee and food at meetings.

These proactive steps have resulted in savings of over $100,000!

CDS Foundation

Sankar introduced Melissa Mulcahy, Executive Director of the CDS Foundation, who provided an overview of the Foundation goals for 2009.

Established in 2007, the Foundation was created to build a nest egg for CDS and to provide financial support for vital unfunded programs. Some areas the Foundation has been able to help support include CDS' Special Olympic Program, the Aquatic Therapy Center at Hard Rd, and necessary residential enhancements not funded this year through annual preservation grants.

In response to the projected impact of the state budget, the CDS Foundation has set a goal to bring in $500,000 by the end of the year.

What Families Wanted to Know! - Question & Answer Session with CEO

Q:

What is the status of the other older homes that were slated for downsizing?

A

: Unfortunately, it's unclear at this time if CDS will be permitted to complete the other downsizing projects. The OMRDD is currently looking into lower cost, more individualized housing options such as shared living. These models would require more natural supports and have less structure.

Q

: Will CDS be joining the new push towards shared housing? My daughter is 40 years old, and the thought of putting her into a situation she has not had the training and education for makes me very nervous. Parents are fearful of the loss of professional support and supervision.

A

: The approach of both the OMRDD and CDS is an individualized one. Budget constraints have led to seek out lower cost options, but the needs of each individual will always be considered. One size does not fit all, and shared living is targeted more towards individuals with higher levels of functioning. It will be a long process for the OMRDD to work out the specifics of a shared living program.

Q

: What more can we, the families of the individuals, do to help move the residential delays forward?

A

: We have to trust in the DDSO that they are planning on releasing the funds for CDS to open its two pending houses. We continue to contact them frequently and push for a swift resolution. I encourage you to write to the OMRDD and your local elected officials, appealing to them to help. The state budget is not yet finalized, and there is still time to convince them to change their minds.

Q

: Is CDS thinking about shifting its service approach more towards self-determination, in line with the apparent goals of the OMRDD?

A

: Not all individuals with developmental disabilities have the capacity to make the kind of choices outlined under self-determination. Again, one size does not fit all, and CDS serves a lot of individuals that require more supports and services than are available under the self-determination model.

What's On Your Mind?

If you have a question you would like addressed, please email: askceo@cdsunistel.org

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