November 24, 2021
CP State News
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
OPWDD requests extension for staff vaccination deadline to Jan. 14, CMS approval forthcoming
At the November 23 Provider Association meeting, OPWDD advised that the deadline for staff to be fully vaccinated in order to take advantage of the incentive bonus will be extended from December 1, 2021 to January 14, 2022. They indicated that CMS would be amenable to this change.
The vaccine incentive payments for qualified workers who have been fully vaccinated* by Jan 14, 2022, breaks down as follows: $500/FTE, $250/ part-time employee (at least 20 hours), and $125/part-time employees working less than 20 hours per week
*Fully vaccinated means one dose of J&J or both doses of Pfizer or Moderna administered no later than 1/14/2022. The payroll language will no longer be included, meaning the drop dead date to be eligible will be 1/14/2022.
There will be a webinar on December 2, 2021 at 4 p.m. for providers to learn more about FMAP approval. We will send the link as soon as we receive it.
Revised COVID-19 vaccine mandate guidance related to ICFs and Article 16 clinics
OPWDD has released the below revised guidance related to the CMS Emergency Regulation issued November 4, 2021 entitled “CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule.” This revised guidance clarifies Section 3 regarding the timing for compliance:
Thanksgiving Message From Acting Commissioner Kerri Neifeld
As providers of essential human services, many direct support workers will be working on this holiday just like you have done on so many holidays before. For many of you who work in direct care, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner that so many others spend with their families will be spent instead assisting the people who have become more like your second families – the people you support. Your work is truly essential and is among the most important and purposeful work that a human being could ever perform.
A single click makes a world of difference!
It’s only fair! Give kids with disabilities the same opportunities as other students!
Students with disabilities need your help.
They have a right to a free and appropriate public education just like everyone else. But for years, the 4410 preschools and 853 schools that serve students with disabilities have received less funding than their public-school counterparts.
This has caused more than 60 schools to close, unprecedented teacher and staff turnover, and will cost taxpayers more down the line as these students will need more expensive supports later in life.
Urge the Governor and other elected representatives to correct this disparity in funding by supporting bills S.6516-A/A.8013, which would provide equity for these schools by aligning their annual increases with annual foundation aid increases for public schools.
Click here to get started. It only takes a few moments and it means the world to students with disabilities, their families and their teachers.
Thank you!
Share this far and wide!
Send your self-advocates, staff, families and other supporters to cpstate.org\advocacy.
Copy the QR code below for newsletters, flyers or other print material. Advocates simply scan and go right to our action center!
Send the Governor a Workforce Crisis Letter & Rise Up Together!
Tell your Story! Rise Up Together to Address the DSP Workforce Crisis!
Watch this message from self-advocate BJ Stasio and then click HERE to send a letter to Governor Hochul!
The letters will be printed out, in addition to being emailed, and personally delivered to the Governor by BJ.
Join BJ and Rise Up Together to meet with Governor Hochul and present her with 10,000 letters/stories to discuss our workforce crisis.
Nominations for ANCOR's DSP of the Year Awards due by November 30
Nominations for ANCOR's 2022 Direct Support Professional of the Year Awards are being accepted until 11:59 pm PST on Tuesday, November 30! They will recognize one national award recipient, as many as 51 state-specific award recipients (for all 50 states and the District of Columbia), and a small handful of recipients of special category awards. Complete your DSP nominations today! 
Submissions will be reviewed by a committee of judges in late 2021 and early 2022, and nominators will be notified if their nominee(s) has been selected to receive an award by mid-February 2022. Honorees will be recognized in a ceremony at ANCOR’s 2022 Annual Conference, taking place April 11-13 in Miami.
COLA for SSI is 5.9%
The 2022 Federal Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is 5.9%. Click here to view the SSI/SSP and Personal Allowance Charts
Please share with appropriate staff at your agencies.
Personal allowance, financial benefits trainings available
OPWDD’s Revenue Support Field Operations continues to offer trainings designed to provide information on personal allowance and financial benefits to help support individuals with developmental disabilities in New York State. Enrollment for several courses (Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security) is currently open.
To register for trainings, log onto the New York Statewide Learning Management System (SLMS) and search by the title of the course or by the category of “Care Coordination”. Please continue to check SLMS on a frequent basis for new offerings.
CP State offering online curriculum to improve I/DD healthcare
CP State, in partnership with the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, is proud to offer a FREE educational training series to all New York State clinicians, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, therapists, dentists, students of these disciplines, and any health professional who works one-on-one with patients. This training series teaches the fundamentals of IDD healthcare that every clinician should know.
Clinicians who would like to participate in the free training can sign up at www.cpstate.org/BetterCare.
Please forward this information to any and all health professionals within your organization and your community. Anyone can take advantage of this educational series as a way to improve performance in delivering high quality services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
CP of NYS | cpstate.org