Celebrating Disability Employment

Care Design NY members share their stories describing the diverse experiences of people with disabilities and the employers that are benefiting from the dedication these talented individuals bring to their professional roles.

Meet Julia! Julia has her own baking business and donates a portion of her proceeds to charity.  

Care Design NY member Julia became interested in baking at a young age and now has her own baking business, Hello Julia!  According to her Care Manager, "Julia's cookies are amazing and she makes all kinds, especially gluten-free, vegan cookies."

VISIT JULIA'S WEBSITE to learn more about Julia's story and business, her desire to "bake us happy," and how she continues to give back to the community. 

Meet Chun! Chun has been employed for 20 years and loves that her job gives her a sense of independence. 

Care Design NY member Chun began working at Phoenix Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (formerly known as Greenpoint Nursing Home) 20 years ago. Chun started employment through the Lifespire Community Based Employment Program at the nursing home. While there, Chun became so proficient at her job that she was offered a full-time position in 2016. She currently works in the dietary office where she performs administrative duties including answering phones and filling out menu cards for the patients.

Chun continues to make tremendous strides professionally and has worked through various challenges related to anxiety and communication, with support from her Care Design NY Care Manager, Debra, and her job coach. Debra is Chun's conduit for communication between her advocates, job coach, and supervisors, to ensure that she receives the support she needs to foster independence and to be successful in the workplace. Having a circle of support has made a difference for Chun and has helped her to maintain successful and meaningful employment. She regularly receives praise from her supervisors for doing a good job and loves that her employment has given her a sense of independence. Chun's motto is to always do the best that you can.

Meet Vivian, a Care Design NY member.  Here's what she has to say about her employment success. 

"I love working at Target as a Cashier.  For 17 years, I’ve enjoyed interacting with the Target customers.  It gives me a sense of purpose and I’m proud to have been with them for this long. My philosophy is that every person with a disability should be able to work for any company they want to work for!  It’s also important that I earn money to support my cats.  They depend upon me and having a paycheck allows me to pay my bills.  My advice in looking for employment is, it should be something you want to do  and interests you."

Meet Robert! Robert’s employment success story is rooted in sheer determination and hard work!  He has risen above difficult circumstances and disabilities to achieve a new home, a new job, and a life to live that he is very proud to call his own.  

Robert joined the paid workforce ranks this year thanks to the hard work in the past 5 years to improve himself in every way. His self-improvement path included day habilitation and volunteering to develop skills and experience working for and with other people. This all happened  while he and his mother were often without resources including being homeless.

It was at this low point that Robert asked for assistance through OPWDD to secure residential habilitation to keep him safe.  He took this courageous step forward without a parent or guardian by his side. For 5 years, he has maintained this supportive housing through Wildwood Programs which helped to increase his self-confidence.  It was the stability of a home and people surrounding him with encouragement, that propelled him to the next phase of learning new skills and becoming more independent and self-sufficient.

Through the Wildwood pre-Vocational Program, he has advanced to the SEMP program where he was recently hired by Burlington Coat Factory. Robert loves his job and feels very confident that this new opportunity will provide him with career growth. His goal in sharing his journey and employment success story is to inspire others who may feel that life is just too hard and advancement not obtainable. His inspiring words are,
“no matter what challenges you face in life, you can succeed if you just believe in yourself.”

Meet Bob! Bob has been employed for over 27 years as a groundskeeper for Samaritan Hospital.

Bob began his career at the hospital as a volunteer at the age of 14. He has performed every grounds-keeping responsibility for the hospital providing opportunities over the years to learn and do more. Today, Bob drives all the hospital’s major machinery used to maintain the grounds and landscape.

His stellar work has been noticed by everyone and in December 2019, he achieved “Employee of the Month” with a featured story on his award in the Samaritan Hospital newsletter.  This also gave him an n assigned parking spot for the month!  In a recent visit with the hospital’s cardiologist, he told Bob that he and all of the employees feel he is one of the hardest working people at Samaritan and an inspiration to all.

Meet Vincent! Vincent's father, Bin Feng, shares how the pandemic effected Vincent and how important it was to him to resume his employment at the Hudson River Services, a company owned by AHRC and contracted by the FDNY EMS Academy.

My son, Vincent, had a crisis last year. Thanks to a good team, including the Care Design NY Care Management team, Vincent was able to resume his employment at the Hudson River Services, a company owned by AHRC.  They were contracted to provide janitorial services to the FDNY EMS Academy and Vincent loved going to work and being on that campus. He was very disappointed to have to stop working for almost three months when the pandemic struck and voluntarily quarantined in our home, like millions of other Americans.  

Vincent’s work ethic is extraordinary, and he kept asking us when he could go back to work. After almost three months, we felt that Vincent could go back to work even though New York City was not fully reopened. We were confident that his employer was taking all the extra precautions to keep employees safe.

Before heading back into the field, Vincent had to overcome some of his sensory issues, like wearing a mask and gloves for long periods of time and modifying his once rigid schedule to adjust to new procedures in the workplace. He was fully aware of the danger of the pandemic but was willing to make any necessary adjustments to get back to his job. A big challenge he faced in returning to employment was wearing a mask and gloves throughout his shift. The essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) makes him very uncomfortable due to his sensory issues. But Vincent took the safety requirements very seriously and practiced wearing a mask and gloves at home for one week prior to returning to work. Each day he increased his practice time of wearing the PPE from a half hour to up to five hours, just like he would do during his work shift. He also needed to change his routines, like not taking the bus, skipping dinner while at work, drinking bottled water instead of tap water, and so on. Thankfully, Vincent was able to overcome difficulties that some people on the autism spectrum often encounter - sensory sensitivity and rigid routines. His motivation to be back doing what he loved empowered him to conquer these obstacles! 

On his first day back to work, we came upon a ceremony for a recently retired 30-year FDNY employee, who had been there for over thirty years! I asked Vincent if he wanted to take a picture in front of the firetruck parked in front of the ceremony and of course he was glad to do so. I think we both hoped that one day we could be back in the same place together celebrating his retirement after 30 years of service at a career he loves. That would be a dream come true for both of us!    

Since he began working, I can see Vincent’s confidence grow leaps and bounds. I believe he has realized that one day he could support himself, have a meaningful career and live on his own. He started by working 15 hours per week, but one month later, his manager gave him more hours because they saw his desire to learn. Now, he goes to work every day with a smile on his face. I am so proud of my son and how far he has come.  

For Vincent and our family, this pandemic does impact our lives in many ways, but it could not stop us from pursuing our dreams. Vincent may not be able to verbally give career advice for fellow young men and women on the spectrum, but his actions and persistence speak out for him. If you can protect yourself, we all can overcome this pandemic together. However different the world may look right now, Vincent's actions tell us to not let the pandemic stop you from doing what you love and from following your dreams!

DD Provider

Frequently Asked Questions

Most incidents reported by CDNY are called "625 Events/Situations." These include incidents that occur outside of provider agencies, such as:

• At an individual's private home
• In the community when the individual is alone or with family/friends
• Involving staff from agencies other than OPWDD
• Involving family, friends, employers, or co-workers
• Neglect in a private home (excluding family care homes)
• Police involvement or a crime
• Injuries requiring more than basic first aid
• Death of an individual in a community setting (non-residential) 

When an event/situation occurs, the care manager must ensure immediate protections are put in place, such as:

• Referring to Adult/Child Protective Services
• Involving counseling services, law enforcement, schools, or family members • Assessing and monitoring the individual
• Educating the individual about choices/options
• Interviewing those involved
• Reviewing documents
• Making referrals 

The care manager will follow up to ensure protections remain in place and referrals are completed. You can request a copy of CDNY's full Incident Management Policy from your care manager. 

Important Phone Numbers:

NYS Justice Center: 1-855-373-2122

CDNY Incident Management Hotline: 518-912-4007

OPWDD Incident Management Unit: 518-473-7032 

At Care Design NY (CDNY) we understand that information about you and your family is personal. We are committed to protecting your privacy and that of your records. This notice applies to all records generated or received by CDNY. Information is shared only when authorized, when necessary for treatment or as mandated by State or Federal law. In accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), our privacy commitment to you is:

• All people involved in your care will protect your privacy and information will be shared only with the persons/organizations that you have authorized to view the information.
• Protected Health Information (PHI) includes records we keep or create that are related to your health care or treatment. This includes your medical information, treatment plan, name, address, birth date and social security number.

This privacy notice describes how medical information about you may be used, disclosed and how you may access your records. Please review it carefully. This privacy notice is effective as of July 1, 2018.

CDNY is required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of your record
• Give you notice of our legal duties and practices concerning your health information
• Follow the terms contained in this notice.
• Based on our right to revise the privacy notice, CDNY will inform you of any changes in privacy practices

You have the right to:

• Review your health/clinical records and obtain a copy of the record. Your request to obtain a copy should be put in writing to the Regional Director of Care Management. They will provide you with the form for you to complete to allow us to release the information. We will respond to your request in 10 days. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
• CDNY may deny your request to inspect and obtain a copy in very limited circumstances. If your request to access/review information is denied by the Regional Director of Care Management, you may ask for a review of your request for information from another professional staff member not involved in the denial. In this case, another professional staff member will be identified by CDNY to review the request. Denials will be explained in writing.
• You may request that CDNY change or amend your health information if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete. This request should be made in writing. However, CDNY may deny this request if we believe the information is accurate. Information in any document not created by
  CDNY may not be changed. If the amendment is approved, your record will be changed, and we will inform others that need to know. • You may request a list of disclosures CDNY has made of your health information. This request should be made in writing. The list of disclosures will not include disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations within CDNY or disclosures where authorization has been obtained by you. Disclosures will be recorded from 7 /1/18. Your request for disclosures may cover a period of six years prior to the request. We will respond to your request within 60 days.
• You may request that CDNY limit how we disclose or use your health information, however CDNY is not legally bound to agree to this restriction.
• You may request that CDNY communicate with you in a way that will help to keep your information confidential.
• You have a right to receive a paper copy of this notice.
• To request any of these rights, please contact the Regional Director of Care Management.

CDNY may release health information following notification to you, if you agree:

• To family members and personal representatives who are involved in your care.
• To representatives of disaster relief organizations that may need to contact your family in an emergency.

CDNY may use and disclose health information without your permission only in the following situations:

• Treatment and service purposes within CDNY and to outside health care providers who are part of your care. For example, CDNY care managers may discuss your health information with other involved CDNY staff or staff of other organizations who are providing care or services.
• Appointment reminder notifications
• CDNY may provide health information needed to obtain payment for our services. For example, we may provide information to a payer, i.e., Medicaid, Medicare, or to your insurance company.
• CDNY may disclose information to determine your eligibility or to determine your ability to pay for services provided. Examples of this would be disclosures to the Social Security Administration or to Medicaid.
• CDNY may disclose information within the organization for administrative operations such as quality assurance activities, health oversight activities, treatment reviews and services reviews. Any party that is contracted with CDNY to assist in carrying out business operations, are required to sign a Business Associates Agreement which requires these third parties to provide CDNY with assurances that they too will protect and safeguard your healthcare information.
• Information in a summary format may be used to describe the scope of the agency services for public relations, fund raising or grant applications. Information that identifies specific individuals is restricted unless we receive prior authorization from you.
• CDNY may disclose health care information to an oversight agency for activities authorized by law. This could include audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure/certification reviews.
• Information may be released when required by federal or state law or when requested by authorized federal officials for intelligence or national security.
• Information may be released to report possible domestic violence, abuse or neglect.
• CDNY may release information for judicial, law enforcement of administrative proceedings.
• Information may be released to coroners, medical examiners or funeral directors so they may carry out their duties.
• Workers’ compensation cases may require the disclosure of health information.
• CDNY may disclose health information to prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to you or someone else's health.
• Government agencies which administer public benefits may access your health information.
• CDNY may disclose information for research studies only if you have agreed to participate in these studies and the use of your health information has been approved by an instructional review board and by the agency conducting the research.
• To correctional institutions or law enforcement officials if you are an inmate and the information is necessary for your care or health of others.

For all other types of uses and discloses not described in this notice, CDNY will use or disclose health information only with a written authorization form signed by you or your authorized personal representative. The disclosure authorization form may be obtained from your Care Manager. Written authorization is always required for use/disclosure of psychotherapy notes and for marketing purposes which identify an individual.

You may revoke your authorization at any time, but you must do so in writing. If you revoke your authorization in writing, we will no longer use or disclose your information for the reasons stated in the authorization. We cannot retrieve any disclosures made prior to revoking your authorization. We must also retain your health information that indicated the services we have provided to you.

NOTE: If you cannot give permission due to an emergency, CDNY may release health information in your best interest.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with CDNY or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

• To file a complaint with CDNY, you may file a complaint with CDNY's Compliance and Privacy Officer at: 518-235-1888. All complaints made by telephone must be followed with a written complaint.
  
  • Witten complaints may be sent to:
    Care Design NY
    C/O Compliance and Privacy Officer
    8 Southwoods Boulevard, Suite 110
    Albany, NY 12211
• To file a complaint through the Department of Health and Human Services, you may do so by contacting them at 877-696-6775 or at: 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201

You will not be penalized for filing a complaint. All complaints will be investigated, and you will receive follow up at the conclusion of the investigation

Questions or concerns about CDNY's privacy policy, privacy practices, access to health information or this notice may be directed to the Privacy Officer at 518-235-1888. Written correspondence may be sent to:

Care Design NY
C/O Privacy Officer
8 South woods Boulevard, Suite 110
Albany, NY 12211