Assisting People with Disabilities for over 27 years! Winter 2007, Volume 6
For a copy of the newsletter, please call 516-796-0144 or e-mail us at: licil@aol.com
It seems hard to believe the Long Island Center for Independent Living’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program is going into it’s 7th year. But it is, thanks to the fact that CDPAP fulfills a very real need: to give our Consumers the freedom of hiring and training their own Personal Assistants and building strong, enjoyable relationships with their PA’s.
TANGIBLE RESULTS IN 2006
One of the most important aspects of a healthy CDPAP program has to do with PA’s being recognized and properly compensated for their work. This past year LICIL’s CDPAP:
· gave bonuses to qualified PA’s
· gave matching contributions to 503B Participants
· gave Christmas Gift Cards to qualified PA’s
· continues to offer fully paid Health & Dental Insurance to qualified PA’s
LICIL’s TRAINING GOES A LONG WAY
In fact, even if you’re one of our long-time Consumers (some of you have been with us from our very first days) you can still pick up valuable tips on: How to find a good Personal Assistant? Where to look? Who to ask? What happens if your trusted PA decides to move to another state or get another job? And, of course, if you’re a newer Consumer, our training is all the more valuable.
COME TO OUR SPECIAL WORKSHOP CLASS IN FEBRUARY
Given by CDPAP’s Director, Susan McCormack and Therese E. Brzezinski, M.A., LICIL’s Director, Advocacy & Community Policy, it’ll cover a lot of territory: How and where to advertise, how to screen and interview PA candidates, how to develop a relationship that keeps on improving. The date is February 28, 2007, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. You can reserve your place by calling Jeannine at 516-796-0144. And please RSVP before 2/23/2007 to make sure you’re included.
WE’RE ALSO WORKING FOR YOU IN ALBANY
LICIL’s CDPAP is an active (and founding) member of CDPAANYS (Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State) a state-wide association made up of Consumer Directed Program Providers – and dedicated to furthering the quality of life for all persons who are presently or potentially CDPAP “consumers.” Among other initiatives in ALBANY, CDPAANYS is working to help guide the Department of Health (it meets with the DOH quarterly) in its task to properly define, clarify and respond to the important issues that will guarantee the integrity and value of CDPAP programs. We will, naturally, keep you informed of CDPAANYS’s progress in all these matters and how that progress relates to your benefit.