What is self-direction of OPWDD services in NYS?

Self-Direction is the opportunity to have partial or complete management and/or budget authority of your OPWDD funded supports. As a Start-Up Broker I provide a consulting service (paid by the state of NY) to help you develop a proposal based on your assessments of need, and your interests and preferences, then present that to OPWDD for funding.

We'll engage in a person-centered planning process and identify a circle of support for you (related and unrelated, paid and unpaid people who care about you and have insight about your support needs, safeguards, and things you want to do in life). With your Circle and your MSC, I'll help you or your family to develop that proposal, find staff, and get them on payroll with the Fiscal Agency who will pay approved payroll and expenses.

It's not simple (hence my role as consultant) and it does require a fair amount of work from you or your family and circle. And it doesn't free you entirely from following regulations. But self-direction offers you an alternative to traditional agency services with greater control and complete focus on you instead of a larger organization providing a service to you.


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Tyze, a digital tool for your Circle of Support, or Team, or Family, or You

For those who are tired of always looking for evaluations, documents, and the like, here is a digital tool for organizing your supports, affiliated with PLAN Institute and free for individuals.

Tyze is info sharing in the cloud, but secure and with managed access for the folks you want to share information with.

Not certain if it is HIPPA compliant in terms of data security, but it seems to get positive reviews from its users.

Here's a third-party review of Tyze, and their site has links to other media coverage.





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