SANYS’ Introductory Statementabout the People First Waiver
November 9, 2011
Good afternoon Commissioner and all who are participating in this hearing about the People First Waiver. My name is Clint Perrin, I am Co-Director of Policy for the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State. Robert Klein, the President of our Board, and I were going to each present part of this statement but Robert is not feeling well today.
Over the years our testimony at the 507Hearingshas included a brief list of things that we believe are important areas to focus on in the coming years.
One point our board has made the past several years is that we believed that an 1115 Waiver would be a good way to change and ensure OPWDD’s long term funding from the Federal Government and at the same time increase the amount of choices people have for services including individualized and self-directed supports. So wewere excited when OPWDD finally decided to pursue the People First Waiver.
And we are excited to get the process moving forward. We know it is going to take a lot of work and a lot of me to we thinking to change and evolve our system overthe next five to ten years. We all need to work hard together as we recreate our system to meet the needs of everyone who needs support. We will need to make sure we keep the people first focus in the People First Waiver.
Other points we’ve suggested in the past that are still important include and apply to the People First Waiver are:
Safety: We need to ensure the safety of all people who receive supports. The New York Times articles have shown us that we have a lot of work to do. No matter what comes out of the Waiver, we have to make sure people are safe; that is all of our responsibility.
Spend Money in a People First Way
We know that money will be tight in the future and there may be some difficult decisions that need to be made. We need to make those decisions based first on the needs of people who receive supports and their families.
Direct Support professionals make a difference in our lives: We need well trained, well paid, supportive and caring people to work for us on the things we need in our daily lives; to support us the way we want to be supported, and to see their job as working for us and as our partners.
Organizations that provide service have to remain financially stable. We have to be careful that the no matter what changes are made in the way we receivesupports,that the funding agencies receive is enough to pay all their bills and staff. Agencies have an important role now and in the future and need to have enough funds to provide the supports we need.
Change is hard and there are a lot of things that are not clear about how things will work in the waiver. We are simply going to have to work through the uncertainty and all contribute our skills and knowledge to make things work. All of our lives and our futures depend on this.
I want to speak to also speak briefly to the Waiver Time Lines. We think it is important to plan for different stages of the waiver as we transform our system. But we also, know that we have to get things right and take out time, especially with pilots of new systems. So we need to constantly evaluate our progress.
Also, as OPWDD has been doing pretty well so far, OPWDD needs share information about the waiver in a timely and accurate way
Finally, it is important for everyone who works in our field, or makes decisions big and small about our system, to remember that in these times of change and worries about funding and money that those of us with disabilities and our families are not going anywhere; we will still be here needing your support.
Thank you for all you do now and will do in the future!