NYAPRS Note: The NYS Legislature will not ultimately pass a bill that would have prohibited state OMH and OPWDD state run bed and apparently facilities closure over the next 3 years. An agreement between the Governor, state legislatures and civil service union CSEA was reached a short time ago that apparently re-affirms previously agreed up state commitments to ‘pre-invest’ resources freed up by closures to expand community services prior to closures. This year’s budget agreement already included an OMH commitment to front load $25 million in community services over the next year that would be used to both grow nonprofit service capacity and redeploy some facility based state workers into the community.
We’ll provide more details as we get them…but the agreement maintains state commitments to downsize and reinvest into community service expansion that advocacy groups like NYAPRS had sought.
Cuomo, Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Facility Closures
by Rick Karlin, Albany Times Union June 19, 2014
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators including GOP Sen. Tom Libous and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo have headed off what would have been a hostile bill calling for a three-year moratorium on facility closures at the Office for Mental Health and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
The Senate had already passed the bill, which was reported on in Thursday’s Times Union, and was on track for approval in the Assembly earlier Thursday when the parties reached a compromise.
Under the deal, the state is agreeing to set up services for residents and clients of state-run facilities before those facilities are closed down.
There are provisions for using unionized state employees who have worked in the facilities, to provide the new community-based services for the people who live in the soon-to-be-closed brick and mortar facilities.
“This is a better outcome,” Civil Service Employees Association spokesman Stephen Madarasz said.
CSEA has led the charge against closures, saying the local services that residents of disability centers and psychiatric hospitals will need haven’t been put in place yet.
The agreement also provides hope that some of the thousands of unionized state workers at these facilities will continue to have jobs caring the disabled.
At OPWDD, some 15,000 CSEA members work in some of the targeted facilities, such as residential centers, that are going to be closed.
OPWDD and OMH are among the state’s largest employers since they have thousands of people providing direct 24/7 care for the disabled and others in state facilities.
The deal also allows the governor to sidestep what could have been a tough decision on whether to veto the bill or agree to a delay in closures — if it had passed the Assembly which was a good bet.
Another potential landmine was avoided as well — federal funding for some of the facilities was about to be lost due to civil rights precedents requiring that people live in the “least restrictive” environment.
If there is a downside it may be financial. Using unionized state workers is typically more expensive than those who work in private not-for-profit facilities.
Here’s a release from the Civil Service Employees Association, which has been leading the charge against the closures:
An agreement between the governor and the legislature to ensure better mental health and developmental disabilities services, including a future role for state employees who deliver them, is a welcome outcome as the legislative session draws to a close.
The agreement represents a firm commitment to ensure reinvestment in appropriate services prior to any reconfiguration. It also affirms the importance of state services and the value of utilizing dedicated and experienced state employees to meet critical needs.
CSEA has long argued that it is unacceptable for New York state to simply close facilities and downsize the state work force while failing to address severe gaps in services or help people in dire need who often become the burden of local taxpayers.
The agreement was brokered by Sen. Thomas Libous and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo with the governor’s office following the Senate’s passage of the Freeze Unsafe Closures Now (FUCN) Act. The act was headed toward passage in the Assembly as well, when talks were convened to address broader objectives.
CSEA believes the agreement is a reasonable and responsible alternative that will help improve services in the short run and provide a framework to develop a long term plan that will be in the best interests of all New Yorkers, especially those with developmental disabilities and individuals and families struggling with mental illness.
“New York’s mental health and developmental disabilities policies, priorities and access to care all require serious improvement,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue. “This agreement settles any debate about how we should move forward to address needs and recognizes that it is essential that state services have a role in a better tomorrow.”
The CSEA leader commended Libous and Lupardo and other members of the legislature for their outstanding focus and determination to achieve a better result.
Cuomo, Lawmakers Set Terms On Mental Health Center Closings
By Joseph Spector, Poughkeepsie Journal June 19, 2014
ALBANY – Lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office reached a deal late Thursday that would install safeguards as the state shutters several mental health facilities, including one in the Southern Tier.
The agreement comes as state legislators initially sought to pass a bill that would delay the closure of four centers for the developmentally disabled for three years, including the Broome Development Center in Binghamton.
But Cuomo was expected to veto the bill if it passed both houses of the Legislature, and the sides reached a compromise Wednesday that was solidified Thursday evening.
The legislative session is set to end this week.
“Given the fact that we were looking at a sure veto from the governor on our straight closures bill, what they are suggesting is very positive news all the way around,” said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Endwell, Broome County.
Lupardo and the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents the workers at the centers, said the agreement would ensure that local mental-health agencies are kept aware of any discharges from the facilities. Cuomo’s office will also look to relocate any patients that will remain in state care in state-run facilities, an attempt to retain local union workers.
“New York’s mental health and developmental disabilities policies, priorities and access to care all require serious improvement,” said CSEA President Danny Donohue in a statement. “This agreement settles any debate about how we should move forward to address needs and recognizes that it is essential that state services have a role in a better tomorrow.”