STATE oF NEwYoRK

ANDREW M. CUoMo
GovERNoR
LAWRENcE ScHwARTz
SECRETARY To rHE GovERNoR
The Honorable Thomas Libous
Member of the NYS Senate
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12247
June 19,2014
The Honorable Donna Lupardo
Member of the NYS Assembly
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12248
A.
Dear Senator Libous and Assemblywoman Lupardo:
The purpose of this letter is to confirm our understanding from our meeting today, as
follows.
C.
We confirm that the following OPWDD facilities will remain open for all of SFY 2014-
15, unless closure is required to address an imminent health or safety issue, a
catastrophic emergency, or by mandate of the Federal government :
o
Brooklyn Developmental Center
.
Broome Developmental Center
o
Bernard M. Fineson Developmental Center
o
Sunmount Developmental Center
.
Valley Ridge Center for lntensive Treatment
There will be no layoff of State employees in SFY 2014-15 due to any downsizing of
OPWDD Developmental Centers.
The Commissioner of OPWDD shall ensure that new community investments shall
take place prior to any reduction of facility census.
To ensure that appropriate community services are available to individuals leaving
Developmental Centers, OPWDD will assess the need for additional State-operated
services.
STATE CAPIToL ALBANY 12224
www.ny.gov
B.
D.
ExEcUTIvE CHAMBER
E.
F.
-2-
The Commissioner of OPWDD shall provide monthly status reports to the Chairs of
the Senate and Assembly fiscal committees. Such report shall include:
.
Current census by facility;
.
An explanation of any significant census reductions; and
.
Community services provided to individuals leaving facilities, including those
individuals with complex needs.
OPWDD will enter into negotiations on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with the Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors to offer County Mental
Hygiene Directors notification and an invitation to attend the discharge planning
process for each individual, whether involuntarily retained or on voluntary status,
who will be leaving a Developmental Center.
OPWDD will continue to require that SORA registrants comply with applicable
registration requirements upon leaving OPWDD Developmental Centers.
OPWDD will continue to request court-ordered retention in an institutional setting for
any individual requesting discharge who meets the legal definition for retention.
Unless a Judge orders release, no one will be returned to the community who we
believe meets the legal standard for retention.
The administration plans to convene a workgroup of representatives from public
employee unions to put together a long term plan on how we will provide mental
health and developmental disability services in the future, including ways in which
state-run services can be preserved.
Secretary to/the Governor
H.
G.
l.
MH: C:\Users\kwhittemore\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\TemporarylntsnetFiles\Content.Outlook\JFBKGIFR\DRAFTOPWDDSideLetter6-'t9-1443opm.docx