Laurie A. Kelley, Executive Director, FACHE, has served as Executive Director of Ulster-Greene ARC since 2002. She first joined the not-for-profit agency in 1999 after more than 20 years as a health care executive.
She holds a MBA from Union College. Laurie is a well-respected community leader who founded a local eating disorders education and advocacy coalition; mentors women at risk; who serves on human service-related boards in Ulster and Greene counties as well as volunteering with the Kingston Lions Club, where she is a past president. When she was appointed Executive Director of Ulster-Greene ARC she vowed to family members and the people who chose our services “to never misplace the trust they place in Ulster-Greene ARC and me. It’s an awesome responsibility helping people with disabilities and we must strive everyday to live up to that responsibility.” Laurie resides with her husband Bill in Kingston where they raised their son Eric and their daughter Caitlin.
Brian P. Doyle, Associate Executive Director, brings more than 30 years of professional experience to helping people with disabilities. He joined Ulster-Greene ARC in 2000 after more than 20 years with the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities where he began his career as a Direct Support Professional. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from Marist College. He is an active member of his community where he serves as the Chairman of the City of Poughkeepsie, NY, Common Council. He also serves on the boards of several local not-for-profit agencies. He and his wife Evelyn are the proud parents of Dan and John who are pursing their careers in law and environmental policy.
Salvatore Garozzo, Associate Executive Director, has worked in human services for more than 20 years. He joined Ulster-Greene ARC in 1998 as Director of Vocational Services. Since that time, he also served as Director of Clinical Services before his appointment by the Ulster-Greene ARC Board of Directors to his current position. Sal holds a MBA from the University of Buffalo with a certification in rehabilitation counseling. He serves on the Chamber of Commerce of Ulster County’s marketing committee. He also serves as a vocational rehabilitation expert for the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearing and Appeals. Sal and his wife Cheryl are active volunteers at St. Joseph’s Church and School where their son Joseph attends. Sal and Joseph play chess in their free time.
.
John McHugh, Chief Financial Officer, joined Ulster-Greene ARC in early 2008. He has over 18 years of financial experience in the field of disability services and and in hospital administration. John has a brother with Down syndrome who currently lives and works in the state of Florida. John holds an MBA from SUNY New Paltz as well as a dual certified Masters in Education and Special Education from Mount St. Mary College. John is a volunteer with the Chamber of Commerce of Ulster County. John, whose wife Melissa he had met at Mount St. Mary College, is a NYS Certified teacher in Special Education. They have three young children, Brian, Isabella, and Olivia and reside in Ulster County.
Recently, OMR/DD’s Commissioner, Diana Jones Ritter announced a series of Public Forums to gather input as she and her staff develop OMRDD’sStatewide Comprehensive Plan for Services for the Period 2009 through 2013.Anumber of family members, service providers, self advocates and other stakeholders presented testimony to the Commissioner. At the June 15th forum, conducted in Kingston, I presented the following testimony.
-Brian Doyle
Good afternoon. My name is Brian Doyle, Associate Executive Director for Ulster-Greene ARC. First, I want to thank Commissioner Jones Ritter for conducting this series of forums and in particular for posing the questions posted in the forum announcement. Those questions are certainly pertinent to the many challenges and opportunities we face today. I wish to address my remarks to the question of what steps need to be taken to make the developmental disabilities system more person centered and individualized.
Ulster-Greene ARC provides services and supports to nearly 1,200 individuals within Ulster and Greene Counties. Our 50 year old agency, a chapter of NYSARC, is a provider of a wide range of traditional program models. Through various evolutions of thought and discussion with various stakeholders, we have recently adopted our new Mission Statement, “To offer people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities opportunities to lead and experience full lives”. We have embarked, over the past year, on a vigorous effort to direct our energy toward a more person centered approach with self directed services as a centerpiece. We are aggressively pursuing Consolidated Support Services/Self Determination and engaging in OMRDD’s Portal Pilot, as well as surveying other provider agencies for related best practices throughout the state. While we will continue to pursue person centeredness through these unique opportunities, we are also committed to challenging ourselves in our more traditional programs so that even in those program models, the dreams and desires of the individuals we serve are at the forefront.
We applaud and are grateful for your commitment toward this more individualized approach, but we must ask for a greater level of consistency in the messages sent to us by OMRDD.
The Division of Quality Management (DQM) is spearheading the use of National Core Indicators (NCI) as a true measure of quality. The NCI certainly does speak to all of the meaningful elements of OMRDD’s mission; however, we and other providers, on a daily basis, experience DQM program surveys that speak far more to the minutia of regulatory compliance than to the profound meaning and purpose of our supports and services as they impact people’s lives.
We certainly recognize the need to satisfy federal regulations and preserve the safety and wellbeing of the individuals for whom we care. However, there is no doubt that the increasingly onerous approach taken in the DQM surveys of certified programs at best distracts our staff from the mission that we and OMRDD share. At worst they run counter to our desire for our staff and programs to take risks as they center their attention on enriching the lives of the people we serve.
Some examples:
The ever expanding array of “safeguards” that proliferate in Individual Service Plans create a risk averse climate where individuals and staff are intimidated away from focusing on what the person truly wants for themselves.
Because survey citations result in plans of corrective action which, virtually every time, we are told, must address “systemic changes”, we put in place a tangle of “to do”, “must do” and “can’t do” lists and checklists, all of which create a labyrinth of belts and suspenders intended to make for some unattainable 100% fail-safe world.
When we insist that a Residential Manager concentrates on keeping a case of canned goods off the floor of the food pantry we are keeping her from the vital work of supporting people meaningfully in their home, relationships, and their work.
We are therefore asking that OMRDD closely examine the survey process both in tone and substance and seek to re-tool it towards a greater emphasis in those quality indicators reflected in the National Core Indicators.
Again, I thank you for this opportunity to speak and thank you for the leadership you, and your executive and DDSO staff are providing in these difficult times.
Respectfully submitted,
Brian Doyle
Associate Executive Director
Ulster-Greene ARC
471 Albany Avenue
Kingston, NY 12401
(845)331-4300 x218
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
For parents who want to become more successful at managing difficult behavior.
Join us for this Free Parent-Training Forum
Tuesday June 16, 2009, Ulster-Greene ARC, 471 Albany Avenue Kingston, New York
Come and be part of what we hope to be an enlightening and productive forum!
Please let us know if you need family care for the evening. We will provide Respite Services on site. However, your RSVP for this care is required ahead of time.
RSVP by June 5, 2009
Phone: 845-331-4300 x259
E-Mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Training Information
Parenting, under any circumstances, can be a challenge, as children and young adults often present behaviors that are difficult to manage. These challenges can be particularly difficult when the child or young adult also has an intellectual or other developmental disability, such as autism.
As part of our effort to support families, Ulster-Greene ARC is conducting a training session for families who want to achieve a higher level of success in coping with and managing difficult behaviors. This training will be aimed at providing practical, concrete, and clear advice on how you can be all that you want to be – a highly effective parent.
Our skilled Psychology Department professionals will be leading this training. They will present principles of behavior management and address specific questions and problems offered by those who attend. (In order to preserve privacy, questions and problem situations can be submitted anonymously prior to the start of the session.)
A light supper will be provided, as well as an opportunity for networking with other families and learning about relevant services and supports offered by Ulster-Greene ARC.
Trainer Information
Sudi Kash earned her PhD in psychology from Alient International University, San Diego, CA in 1992. She is a licensed psychologist in the state of NY. Currently, she is the Director of Behavioral Health at Ulster-Greene ARC, which serves nearly 1200 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has been an adjunct professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz since 2005 and various other universities. She previously worked as senior outreach consultant for the State of Kansas through Parsons State Hospital for 4 years. Her experience in program development dates back to 1988. Two of her most recent accomplishments include leading teams to create controlled multi-sensory stimulation rooms and a specialized ASD Program, The Renaissance Program. Sudi has worked exclusively with children and adults with developmental disabilities since 1997 and was trained at the University of Michigan to conduct diagnostic evaluations.
Nancy Dib holds two Master’s degrees (MA and MPhil), both in Psychology, with a specialization in developmental disabilities from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Queens College, where she is currently working on her dissertation research. Nancy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and has extensive experience working with adults and children with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, and running Applied Behavior Analysis programs. She has a strong research background, primarily in applied settings, and has published two manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. She has experience developing staff-training procedures based on student behavior, as demonstrated in her published research on children with autism. Nancy also has much experience teaching at the college level and has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate psychology courses at both Queens and Marist Colleges. She currently works as an Applied Behavioral Science Specialist at Ulster-Greene ARC.
WHO?
Parents/Guardians/Families of individuals with developmental disabilities, aged 9 to adult.
WHAT?
A Parent’s Forum/Training to help families cope with difficult behavior.
A light dinner will be served.
WHERE?
Ulster-Greene ARC
471 Albany Avenue
Kingston, NY 12401
WHEN?
Tuesday June 16, 2009
6:30pm to 8:30pm
WHY?
To become a more effective parent, to network with other families, and to learn about relevant services offered by Ulster-Greene ARC.
OMRDD Announces a series of Public Forums for the Statewide Comprehensive Plan: 2009 – 2013
OMRDD will incorporate the ideas, suggestions, and comments received through these Public Forums to update the 2008 Statewide Comprehensive Plan to cover the upcoming five year period 2009 through 2013. The 2008 Plan documented OMRDD’s strategic mission and vision. As a result, OMRDD developed many activities and initiatives that reflect its mission statement, “We help people with developmental disabilities live richer lives” and its vision to assist people to enjoy meaningful relationships, experience health and growth, live in the home of their choice, and fully participate in their communities. The 2008 Comprehensive Plan, corresponding Strategic Framework and subsequent Interim Report can be reviewed on the OMRDD web site at http://www.omr.state.ny.us/507plan/index.jsp.
Now OMRDD wants to hear from self-advocates, parents of people with developmental disabilities, other family members, non-profit providers, professionals, advocates, and other interested parties about how well our system of services and supports is achieving its mission, and how the system can further improve. OMRDD is particularly interested in hearing about the following themes, but commentary is not limited solely to these themes.
Given the current fiscal downturn the federal and state governments are experiencing, what are the most important needs we should be addressing?
Tell us about what is working well across the state. What should we be trying to do more of?
What steps can we take to make the developmental disabilities service system more person centered and individualized? How can we make change happen?
How can we support more people with developmental disabilities to be employed?
How do we achieve quality delivery of services while maximizing cost effectiveness and efficiency?
If you are a person with a developmental disability, what supports do you most need to live the life you want?
Speakers will be asked to register in advance of the forum, limit their comments to no more than three (3) minutes, and bring two (2) copies of the testimony. Written testimony can also be submitted to Cynthia Redshaw at OMRDD, 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12229.
Speakers will be asked to register in advance of the forum, limit their comments to no more than three (3) minutes, and bring two (2) copies of the testimony. Written testimony can also be submitted to Cynthia Redshaw at OMRDD, 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12229.
Please also note that for the first time, OMRDD is collecting information for the Plan through a very brief survey of priorities that can be accessed at its website www.omr.state.ny.us. Please take a few minutes to complete that anonymous survey, especially if you cannot participate in the Forums or do not wish to submit written testimony.
A schedule of the Public Forum dates, times and locations is listed below. Please register using the following contact information. Speaker opportunities are limited; the DDSO will confirm individuals and times prior to the Forum. A video synopsis of the forums can be viewed online at www.omr.state.ny.us following the events.
For general information about the Public Forums, please contact OMRDD’s Bureau of Planning: Phone: (518) 474-4904 Fax: (518) 473-0054 E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Our Palmer location will be getting new expanded facilities for which the groundwork has just started.
More information coming soon :-)
The Renaissance Program at 139 Cornell Street in Kingston gives Ulster-Greene ARC clients a new opportunity to develop various artistic talents and life skills through a hands-on and personalized approach to learning. Recreation and enrichment classes are dedicated to exploration and discovery where clients tailor a personal program unique to their own desires and needs. Along with the opportunity to study art and music, the Renaissance Program also teaches life skills in a mock apartment where clients learn independent living and cooking.
See the images from the new Art Studio above, (also known as the Imhotep Room) and a selection of artwork, in the Autism section, created by Renaissance students.
There is also a clay and ceramics studio with brand new firing kiln and instruction beginning the first week of June.
