ALBANY -- The safety net protecting New York's most vulnerable citizens from abuse needs work, according to the state officials freshly charged with its maintenance.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Cabinet heard presentations Wednesday from Courtney Burke, commissioner of the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, and Clarence Sundram, a veteran policy expert tapped by the governor to serve as a "special adviser for vulnerable persons."
Both were named to their posts in March in a house-cleaning move after years of controversy over charges of neglect and foot-dragging professional discipline in the state's sprawling care system.
The officials sketched out the challenges of managing a network that cares for 126,000 people living with varying conditions, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, retardation and autism. Although OPWDD has some 23,000 employees, they represent only 20 percent of those providing care -- most of whom work for ostensibly nonprofit organizations.
Sundram provided findings showing widespread inconsistencies within the system's component organizations on policies for reporting and investigating allegations of abuse, including if and when those reports should be brought to local authorities. Agencies within the system, he said, often have different criteria for what constitutes abuse.
Burke said OPWDD was in the process of standardizing the policies it expects care providers to meet, adding that the agency had forged previously scattershot relationships with state and local law enforcement. A team of more than 50 certified investigators will handle credible allegations going forward. The agency has instituted a campaign, titled "I spoke out," to create an atmosphere where victims or witnesses feel secure in making a report of abuse.
Cuomo thanked the pair for the report, which he called "startling."
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