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ALBANY---A five-year effort by the State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) to increase the number of spaces in community-based residences for individuals with developmental disabilities and thereby reduce waiting time for such placements has exceeded its goals, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Alan G.. Hevesi.
The program, New York State Creating Alternatives in Residential Environment and Services (NYS-CARES), was established in 1998 with $488 million in funding committed for five years, through March 2004. The goal of the program was to increase the number of spaces in community-based residences by 4,900 statewide. In fact, 5,075 spaces were created – 104% of the overall goal – with 10 of OMRDD’s 13 regional Developmental Disabilities Services Offices (DDSOs) exceeding their NYS-CARES goals.
“NYS-CARES has been an unequivocal success in helping families who are seeking places in community-based residences for their loved ones with developmental disabilities,” Hevesi said. “In the past, it could take years for families and other caregivers to find places in community residences, and some parents lost hope or feared they would become too elderly or too frail to care for their children. A second phase of the program will last ten years and will add even more beds, so that OMRDD can continue to meet this vital need.”
Thomas A. Maul, commissioner of the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities said, "Since Governor Pataki announced NYS-CARES in August 1998, it has continued to provide hope for people with developmental disabilities and their families. It is the right way to do the right thing for people who need residential supports and services. The program has enabled more than 11,300 individuals to receive the residential option of their choosing. It is nationally recognized as the first and most successful long-range plan to address the waiting list, and through it, together with our nonprofit provider partners, we continue to create a brighter future for our citizens with developmental disabilities."
Residential placements for developmentally disabled individuals are assigned from an OMRDD waiting list. NYS-CARES was launched to shorten waiting times by adding spaces around the state. Each of the State’s 13 DDSO’s had a target number of beds to add during the five-year program, and auditors found that 10 of the 13 exceeded those goals, with one of the regional DDSOs, Taconic, achieving 150 percent of its goal.
While three DDSO’s did not reach their NYS-CARES goals, all achieved at least 80 percent of the targets – Bernard Fineson, which serves Queens (99%), Long Island (92%) and Metro New York, which serves Bronx and Manhattan (82%). Auditors noted that high housing costs in these particular areas make it difficult to acquire residences for the program.
Auditors compared the increase in available spaces during the NYS-CARES program period to the five years preceding the start of the program, and found that 40 percent more spaces were created after NYS-CARES was implemented. OMRDD officials attributed the improvement to the program’s multi-year funding commitment, which allowed the department to plan more effectively.
During the NYS-CARES program audit period, auditors found that individuals waited an average of 21 months to be placed in community residences. No data was available to make a comparison with prior years, but auditors noted that before the implementation of NYS-CARES, many families believed that placement would never occur.
OMRDD provides community-based services to more than 30,000 developmentally disabled New Yorkers. Some are placed in community-based residential settings, which offer a range of living arrangement and support and supervision levels depending on the needs of the individuals. OMRDD also provides support services for individuals who live at home with their families. NYS-CARES also aimed to increase the availability of these services – which include respite for caregivers, recreation, advocacy, counseling, education and training – and auditors found that the program was also successful in achieving this goal.
NYS-CARES II, a 10-year program aimed at creating 1,900 additional community residential spaces, was launched by OMRDD in April 2004.
In their response to the audit, OMRDD officials noted that NYS-CARES has been recognized as one of the leading programs of its kind in the country. Officials rejected auditors’ recommendation that time on waiting lists be tracked and analyzed more closely. The complete agency response is included in the audit.
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093006/04s79.pdf 3-23-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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