Frequently Asked Questions:

What is an Intellectual and Developmental Disability?

An Intellectual Disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning (intelligence) and adaptive behavior (everyday social and practical skills).

A Developmental Disability is characterized by significant limitations to a person's adaptive behaviors that can be the result of specific chromosomal or neurological impairments or result from an incident before, during or after birth. The limitation must have occurred before the person turned 22 years of age. Also, the limitation must be expected to continue indefinitely, posing life-long challenges to the person's ability to care for himself or herself in the community. Just a few examples of conditions that could result in a developmental disability are autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, familial dysautonomia and fetal alcohol syndrome. There are many other conditions or syndromes that could result in a Developmental Disability so please contact your local DDRO at 845-947-6390 or go to the OPWDD website. They are here to help.

How do I receive supports and services?
The People First Waiver and the Front Door Process are ways The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) can assist you and help you identify options to choose how your supports and services are received. Through Person-Centered Planning, you will have a voice in designing your service plan, taking into account your own desires and unique needs.

The first step is at what OPWDD calls the Front Door Process. This Statewide, standardized process begins with a call to the local DDRO at 845-947-6390 to introduce yourself and have any general questions answered. You will receive information about the role of Service Coordination, about attending an orientation session and, if necessary, about how to get assistance in times of emergency. To register for a Front Door Orientation session, please call 845-947-6390. Please visit http://opwdd.ny.gov for information about the Front Door Process. You will be brought to the main page. On the left side of that page you will find a tab, Resources for Individuals and Families. This will contain a copy of the Access to Services Resource Booklet, a Power Point Presentation and an online reservation for the Information Session.

Please make note as of January 1, 2015, in order to access most Family Support Services, you will need to have OPWDD eligibility. For more information on eligibility please call the DDRO eligibility office at 845-947-6011 or visit the OPWDD website. In order to complete the process you will have to submit all the required information. You will find all that information on the same page in the list on the left side of the page.

Please be aware that the Front Door Process has many steps, checks and balances including added delays to establish OPWDD eligibility or for HSBC waiver enrollment. Patience and ongoing communication with your service coordinator is vital. Allowances will always be made for emergency and crisis situations.

What are Self-Directed Services?
Self-Direction is not a service but a way in which services are delivered. Self-Direction means that you and your family/circle of support accepts responsibility for helping to manage or co-manage the supports and services authorized by OPWDD. This can be as simple as choosing the person who comes into your home to provide community habilitation services, or it can extend to assuming budget authority over the authorized supports and services.

To learn more about these options, please contact your DDRO office, Michele Altenrath, Individualized Initiatives Liaison at 845-947-6060 or Michele.C.Altenrath@opwdd.ny.gov.

Will age affect eligibility?
Children age birth to seven years of age will receive what is known as provisional eligibility. Please remember that full eligibility will need to be established once a child is eight years of age or older. A delay in establishing full eligibility could impact your ability to access supports and services. It is always best to establish eligibility as soon as possible.

Guardianship/Trust Accounts
Beginning at age 18, parents are no longer legal guardians for their children. In order for a parent, adult sibling or anyone else to be able to help you with medical or financial matters, the Surrogate's Court must grant guardianship. Guardianship must also be established in order to set up a Special Needs Trust.  This is a means to provide for the long-term financial interests of a loved one. Please contact your local DDRO, a Voluntary Agency or an attorney to learn more.

What if I need to help my loved one move out of the family home?
Sometimes a person wants to live on their own or with others in order to achieve their goals. There are different types of housing supports from supervised group home settings to semi-independent apartment options, to independent options, family care type options and Independent Support Services. There are new statewide OPWDD protocols when requesting Certified Residential Opportunities. Please discuss these with your service coordinator. The OPWDD Eligibility and Placement Coordinator for our area can be reached at 845-947-6011.

What can I do now to prepare my child for the transition from school into adult life?
Navigating the transition from school to adult life is often as confusing for the family as it can be for the student. Luckily in Rockland County we have the Rockland Transition Consortium. This is a voluntary organization of representatives from the Rockland County School Districts, not-for-profit agencies, colleges and local government representatives who are committed to providing Special Education students with a smooth transition from school to work, post-secondary education or adult agency services. This Consortium also holds ongoing free educational Workshops open to all. Workshops cover a wide range of topics such as OPWDD eligibility, the Front Door, guardianship, Medicaid and topics related to school and to life after high school.

You can join the Transition Consortium Email List by contacting either of the co-chairs: Dawn Kitz at dkitz@rboces.org or Mary Ellen Doremus at mdoremus@rboces.org. It is best to establish OPWDD eligibility for yourself or your loved one as soon as possible.

What do I do if I or my loved one is experiencing a behavioral health emergency?

Behavioral Health Response Team - BHRT is available to all, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 845-517-0400 or toll free 844-255-BHRT (2478).

NYSTART is an OPWDD Crisis Response & Prevention Project that operates 7 days a week. There is a mobile crisis response from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm and a telephonic response from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. Please call 844-START80 or 844-782-7880 and press prompt #1.

Jawonio Community Care Response Team provides support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families who live at home and are experiencing a behavioral crisis. This OPWDD Family Support Service operates on the weekends from Friday at 6:00 pm to Monday at 6:00 am.  Please call 877-841-7916 for more information.

Other Helpful Information:

Developmental Disability Provider Agencies & Resources: