Commissioner Neifeld has departed OPWDD to focus on her growing family and I am honored to have been asked to serve as your next Acting Commissioner. I am grateful to Commissioner Neifeld for her years of service to our community and am humbled to continue to work with the amazing team at OPWDD in this new role, as well as our incredible community of self-advocates, parents, providers, and Care Coordination Organizations, as we continue to advance the agency’s mission of providing person-centered and quality services for people with developmental disabilities.
My history with the agency as Executive Deputy Commissioner and, before that, as Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel has allowed me to be deeply involved in the operations and oversight of the agency. I also have a very personal connection to our work, as a family member of a person with a developmental disability.
I am grateful that, under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State has restored its status as a national leader in providing services to people with developmental disabilities with policies that prioritize greater independence, innovative housing options, and community integration. I am so excited to continue to elevate this work and advocate with this community.
When I think about how far our service system has come over the last 50 years, from one of institutionalization to one that prioritizes community inclusion, I’m encouraged while remaining aware that there is much more to be done. Successful service systems must continue to evolve to meet changing needs and maximize new opportunities.
Some of the areas within our strategic plan that I am particularly interested in prioritizing include: the use of emerging technology to support people to live more independently; cross systems work to ensure people with developmental disabilities have better access to appropriate healthcare; stabilizing OPWDD’s network of providers; and ensuring a more responsive, equitable, and accessible service system through data-driven decision-making which is also informed more directly by the experiences of those using our services.
There are many hurdles that we still face, including the need for enough staff to support people, generations of caregivers who are aging and wondering what will happen to their loved ones when they are gone, a growing number of young families who have recently found out their child may need additional supports, and the turnover of care managers and direct support professionals. Please know I realize that none of these initiatives will succeed without continued investments in our workforce, additional cross-agency collaborations, improved communication, and new approaches to the critical work that we do.
I look forward to partnering with and getting to know all of you in my new role. Together, we will keep working to ensure that New York is a state that is inclusive, supportive, and one where those with disabilities live with meaningful choice and are proud to call home.
