By Batya Rosner
We are very lucky to be living in a time when there are so many services and programs available for those with special needs. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide which are best for an individual.
Meet David. David is eligible for a range of services from New York State’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) — financial, social, vocational, emotional, etc. — and he is assigned a Medicaid service coordinator who will work with him and his family to access the often-confusing array of services and support they need.
Shira Cohen is a Medicaid service coordinator for the Jewish Union Foundation (JUF), a partner of Yachad that oversees Medicaid funding for individuals. She coordinates numerous support services ranging from day habilitation programs to vocational training services to respite services for families. Shira and her JUF colleagues develop, implement, and maintain Individualized Service Plans that are tailored to the needs of each person. Working with state funding agencies such as OPWDD, they help clients achieve greater independence.
Working with Shira, David learns that he qualifies for the following services:
- Day Habilitation (DayHab), a program that provides adults with social activities and encourages increasing independence and personal growth.
- Community Habilitation (CommunityHab), a service that arranges for individuals to receive one-on-one staffing in the home and out in the community, generally on evenings and weekends, to help develop independence.
- The option to live in a group home, where the state pays for individuals to live together with a rotation of trained support professionals.
- Supportive Employment services provide job coaching and employment support such as vocational placement, follow up, emotional support, etc.
With Shira’s help David can select an agency to provide his particular options, or he may choose another route altogether.
More Choices for a Better Fit
In recent years, OPWDD has offered an opportunity known as self-direction. Each person who qualifies is given a budget determined by an assessment test that measures independence level and disability challenges. Then the family, together with the Medicaid Service Coordinator, will put together a plan to spend the money.
“Choosing self-direction means that you want a more individualized program for your child,” explained Michael Appelbaum, JUF program director. “Working with the Medicaid Coordinator, parents have the option to decide exactly how they would like the money allotted their son or daughter to be spent, within reason.”
According to Shira Cohen, “if a parent feels that their child will learn best with more one-on-one interactive opportunities, or through the visual stimulation of museums or music classes with peers, why not do that to stimulate them, versus participation in a DayHab program, which might offer some of the activities of your interest but not as often as you might prefer? Self-direction is an excellent option for someone who doesn’t have to fit into a rigid structure. The individual and his or her family can control how they wish to customize their interests.”
If David and his family opt for self-direction, Shira will help them develop short-term and long-term goals in order to assess which services will help him reach those milestones. Goals may include the desire to be physically active, to be involved within the community, or to improve one’s social skills. They may be broad or quite narrow, such as wishing to learn to act in a more socially acceptable manner, to learn about one’s ethnic background, or to possibly pursue higher education. Individuals may choose to work with animals, learn to play an instrument, or follow their interests almost anywhere.
In order for any service to be funded by the state, Shira and David must show a clear connection between the services provided and the anticipated outcome. Thus, if David enjoys being around animals, money could potentially be allocated for him to take horseback riding lessons as a means to be more physically active, and he may volunteer at an animal shelter.
Within the self-direction plan there are so many options from which to choose in order to tailor the activities to the needs and interests of the individual. David may decide he would like to participate in a DayHab program once a week, and he will use self-direction options to mix and match his interests for the rest of the week.
An important point to keep in mind, however, is that while self-direction has a great deal to offer, it might not be the best option for everyone. “Parents should ask themselves if they have the time, energy, and patience to really make sure everything is done as they want it done — it easily can become a full time job,” Michael Appelbaum noted. “If something goes wrong — transportation doesn’t come, the weather cancels the activity — it’s up to the parent to make new arrangements. For working parents, who can’t just take time off if staffing doesn’t work out, this can be daunting. With an agency no longer involved, ultimately every detail is a parent’s responsibility.”
Still, for those who qualify for assistance from OPWDD, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to services. Many options exist and the Jewish Union Foundation can help navigate and support applicants through the experience.
Batya Rosner is a staff writer at the Orthodox Union.
This article is from the 2015 issue of Belong Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy please email belong@ou.org.