Programs for Severe Young Adults in New York State: Join Our Fight!
By Pam Klein
Families in New York State recently formed a grassroots organization, “Parents for Appropriate Adult Services,” to fight for state and federal funding for improved day programs and group homes appropriate for individuals over age 21 who have severe developmental and intellectual disabilities in Rockland County, and other counties in New York State.
The problem is acute and obvious: most day programs and group homes aren’t equipped to appropriately handle our sons and daughters who have maladaptive behaviors, poor safety awareness, poor self-help skills, and lifelong severe disabilities. Their needs, and their numbers, have been trivialized and ignored for too long.
If you have sons and daughters with severe developmental or intellectual disabilities in New York, please join our Facebook group and join our fight!
We will work with local and state agencies to develop high quality day programs and group homes for individuals over age 21 who are low functioning and have the strongest support needs.
We have been actively meeting with local New York state senators and assembly members, and we have met with a representative from the governor’s office. We are working closely with individuals in Rockland County’s Mental Hygiene Department, the County’s Office for People with Disabilities and Westchester Institute for Human Development and The DDSO.
We are members of the grassroots parent advocacy organization, GROW in Westchester County, too. We are in the process of visiting day programs in the area and meeting with directors and service coordinators.
Besides being parents of sons and daughters who have severe developmental and intellectual disabilities, we are all professionals in many fields, like law, law enforcement, finance, special and regular education, social work and psychology. We are pooling our knowledge and experience together.
Most of our grown children cannot safely and productively navigate the new “Without Walls” type programs. As a result, too many of our grown children are ending up rejected from our disability system, isolated at home most of the day with no meaningful social interactions with peers. This is unacceptable!
Please join our fight:
Email: paasrockland@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PAASRockland/
