On Oct. 1, 2013, New York State’s Office for People with
Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) issued a draft plan to the U.S.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services detailing its strategy to
shift individuals with developmental disabilities toward competitive
employment.* The state plans to end new placements of individuals with
disabilities in sheltered workshops and to transition all existing
sheltered workshop workers under the age of 50 to competitive supported
employment. The transition will take place gradually over the course of 9 to 11 years. The state also plans to redesign its compensation
structure for supported employment services to reflect actual costs and
will increase connections between individuals with disabilities and the
state’s vocational rehabilitation program, ACCES-VR.
* Full text of the draft plan is available at http://www.opwdd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Appendix2.pdf
LEAD Center Policy Update, November 14, 2013
