Mission Statement Language
In April, The Arc New York Board of Governors unanimously approved a new Mission Statement for the organization: “To provide people with disabilities the ordinary and extraordinary opportunities of life.” Some stakeholders have since requested modifications to the adopted mission statement. Two new options were put forward for consideration.
As background, our approved Mission Statement was developed as part of The Arc New York Strategic Plan. T
he term “people with disabilities” is used in a broad sense, and was selected to be inclusive, to reflect our current service portfolio, and allow for continued expansion into other service areas in the future. During the Strategic Visioning process, it was brought forward that the language of intellectual and developmental disabilities is not inclusive of the many additional populations our organization has grown to serve (TBI, substance abuse, mental health, health care, etc.), and that it could limit our ability to provide services to other populations moving forward. The Strategic Visioning Committee (SVC) felt that I/DD is included as a subset of the broader “disabilities” encompassed in our mission statement, and that this language would not disrespect our primary population in any fashion. The new mission statement was unanimously approved by the SVC, the Executive Committee and the entire BOG in a formal resolution earlier this year.
Since that resolution, some stakeholders have requested that we revisit the language of our mission statement. Two proposed modifications and the rationale for those proposals are outlined below.
One proposed modification is to add intellectual and developmental disabilities into the statement to respect our rich history and make it explicitly clear that we are and have always been, first and foremost, I/DD providers. This proposed mission statement reads: “To provide people with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities the ordinary and extraordinary opportunities of life.” By including “other disabilities,” proponents of the proposed statement aim to allow for expansion into other areas as we continue to evolve as an organization. The sentiment by stakeholders seeking this change is that this statement respects our history and allows us to grow going forward.
A second proposed modification was developed in response to feedback from self-advocates who expressed dislike for the term disability altogether. We heard from self-advocates at the July Board of Governors meeting and in conversations since, and they consistently identified “people with differing abilities” as a more progressive and positive descriptor. A second proposed statement was drafted to respect language preferred by self-advocates. This proposed mission statement reads: “To provide people with differing abilities the ordinary and extraordinary opportunities of life.”
There are merits to each statement, and we know that language matters. Given the importance of our mission statement as a guiding vision for The Arc New York, we have decided to present the two proposed modifications to the Board of Governors for consideration and a vote.
We will decide on language that is best for the organization TOGETHER.
Strategic Visioning August Meeting Summary
On August 4, 2021, the SVC held its second quarterly meeting. The purpose of the quarterly meetings is to hear from the Strategic Initiative leads, gauge progress toward our strategic goals, and set additional goals for the next quarter. We were thrilled to see that the six initiatives completed over 80% of their goals from the first quarter. We took time to talk about the successes to date, along with some of the challenges. The overwhelming feedback was that the initiatives continue to bring our stakeholders together, that our energy and cooperation is at an all-time high, and that we are fully committed to making this organization better. Some challenges included ensuring that the intensity of our work pace is sustainable, the need for clear communication to avoid duplication of efforts, and logistical issues managing resources and timing the release of needed surveys. Overall, things are working and progress is happening! It is exciting to see this evolution. We are STRONGER TOGETHER!
A brief summary of each initiative’s successes and future goals is provided below to ensure full transparency and keep everyone fully informed of the progress. Links to all the quarterly meeting materials and 90-day deliverables are available on the Strategic Visioning Implementation Updates page on The Arc New York website. We welcome you to
review these documents, which contain many more details on the progress and process of our Strategic Plan. The previous commitments and the overall goals of each initiative can be found there as well.
Next Steps
Financial resource requests from each initiative will be brought to the Budget and Finance and then Executive Committee. We are hopeful they will be met with enthusiastic approval. We do need to think about long-term funding and how we will continue this important work for years to come.
A variety of surveys will be sent to stakeholders in the upcoming weeks. We have developed a timeline to help stage them to reduce burden on our Chapter staff. A copy of the tentative schedule can be found here.
Initiative Summaries
Staffing
To achieve our mission, we need an engaged workforce committed to working with us, learning with us, and growing with us professionally and personally. Unfortunately, we have experienced years of struggles with attracting and retaining staff at various positions. We have been able to manage, but as the staffing crisis continues to escalate, we are running out of viable options. We recognize the need for an immediate solution, and are taking decisive and urgent action on this issue. We have prioritized this initiative as our top and most immediate priority.
First Quarter Successes
- Connected with ACL and secured Deputy Commissioner to speak at October Annual Meeting
- Launched a new advocacy campaign with materials to support advocacy by families, professionals, and individuals
- Actively worked with Smith and Jones on research and development of a statewide DSP recruitment campaign
- Achieved 100% response from Chapters on wage survey; NYDA is expanding The Arc New York's wage survey model statewide
- Shared best practices and implemented at interested Chapters
New 90-Day Commitments
- Data, Best Practices and Advocacy subgroups will coordinate on developing and launching a survey to understand the profile of the DSP
- Continue to develop best practices and coordinate lunch-and-learns as deemed valuable
- Coordinate with Budget & Finance and EDA to determine funding allocation for DSP Marketing Initiative
- Launch Statewide Job Fair and Recruitment Campaign with DSP Branding Workgroup and Smith & Jones
- Continue to work with OPWDD to reform the survey process to help obtain relief from over-enforcement of regulations
Advocacy
While we continue to realize advocacy successes, we have identified weaknesses in our advocacy system that should be addressed to strengthen our efforts. By implementing improvements to our advocacy framework, we will shift our efforts from reactive to proactive, position The Arc New York as a primary resource for information and solutions for the I/DD field, and develop a robust and informed advocacy network that can be a mobilized to advocate with a collective voice.
First Quarter Successes
- Have become a more cohesive group
- Actions proposed have been practiced
- Continued to partner on advocacy events and correspondence with other provider groups
- Collaborating with other strategic initiatives
New 90-Day Commitments
- Evaluate and recommend any changes to advocacy structure to the Board of Governors
- Work on 1 to 2 white papers in the next 12 months to drive where funding is being assigned (e.g., behavioral challenges, children, etc.)
- Conduct focus groups on partnering with external stakeholders, potentially with a facilitator
- Complete the Advocacy Toolkits
Fiscal Sustainability
We intend to create a roadmap for each service provided throughout the Organization to achieve positive financial outcomes to maximize quality and opportunities for the people we support. Using this roadmap we will identify, promote, and communicate best practices to achieve financial sustainability through metrics and efficient operations to provide the highest quality services to the individuals we support.
First Quarter Successes
- Identified program categories
- Sub-committee leads and members are in place
- Collaborated with Supports and Services Workgroup
- All sub-committees actively meeting weekly or bi-weekly
- Accounting software is being explored in response to need
New 90-Day Commitments
- Identify IT platform and consultant options and develop an RFP
- Each sub-committee will develop a draft of best practices, metrics, or toolkit
- Identify accounting software options and develop an RFP
- Continue exploration of common chart of accounts and standardized reporting.
- Identify timeline for Chapter engagement
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We recognize there is a lack of diversity within all levels of The Arc New York. We aim to increase diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) within The Arc New York. To achieve this goal, we will:
- Gather demographic data related to DEI at all levels of The Arc New York
- Develop a career pathway for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) DSPs and others
- Create DEI Strategies at all levels of The Arc New York
- Create a welcoming environment and inclusive culture
- Conduct outreach and collaboration with BIPOC communities
First Quarter Successes
- Expert consultation from the Arc US in designing our survey
- Commitment of the Steering Committee, Leadership and Engagement Committee and the Survey Committee to thoughtfully discuss and engage in each step of the process
- List of six consultant suggestions to assist us in developing our DEI strategy moving forward
- Growing appreciation for the value and benefit diversity and cultural competency brings to The Arc New York
New 90-Day Commitments
- Complete and distribute the DEI Survey
- Engage a DEI Consultant
- Update The Arc New York on the status and future benefits of DEI and cultural competence
Governance & Change Management
The Arc New York’s current governance model is defined by multiple stakeholder groups with varying levels of understanding of their scope and roles. We intend to create a governance model that is aligned with the overarching vision for The Arc New York, nurtures communication and culture that supports change management throughout the organization. This model will add greater clarity of functional responsibilities & accountabilities, while also integrating and eliminating overlapping roles, resulting in greater efficiency & speed in decision-making.
First Quarter Successes
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Vision for governance is well defined, enhancing our ways of working together
- Developed a draft of comprehensive definition of accountabilities
- Completed Board of Governors survey and Regional Vice Presidents survey, demonstrating results that strongly align with our future state design
- Clarified explicit delegated authority of the Executive Committee
New 90-Day Commitments
- Finalize plan for engagement
- Begin to socialize future state recommendations with influencers and process feedback
- Drive integration across Strategic Initiatives to ensure alignment and synchronize activities as needed considering experience of groups with which the teams are engaging
- Identify approvals required for future recommendations and submit for feedback
- Update Governance model, RACI, etc. to consider role of Self-Advocates
- Begin to develop approach to organize, plan and conduct Board of Governor meetings to improve engagement
- Begin to develop Training/Coaching requirements
Supports & Services
We plan to identify ways in which The Arc New York can best leverage its collective expertise and experience to identify and recommend innovative, lower cost, quality approaches for service system redesign, including more integrated supportive housing options that offer funding flexibilities and reasonable regulatory standards.
First Quarter Successes
- Organizing a skilled membership
- 5.07 Plan Influence
- Collaboration with financial sustainability group
- Development of two surveys
New 90-Day Commitments
- Distribute surveys, analyze results, and develop simple report to Chapters
- Schedule and hold focus groups in September to gather additional detail for both priority 1 and 3 initiatives
- Create a platform for Chapter staff involved/interested in Self-Directed and Fiscal Intermediary services to communicate, share resources and network
- Create a routine meeting for Chapter staff involved/interested in Self-Directed and Fiscal Intermediary services to communicate, share resources and network
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions about our Strategic Vision or progress toward our Strategic goals. We have much work to do but we are well on our way.
As always, we are STRONGER TOGETHER!
