Brooklyn Developmental Disabilities Council

BKDDC is group of family members, people with disabilities and professionals who volunteer their time to improve the lives of people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities living in Brooklyn.

Thank You 2026 Family Support Fair Sponsors:
Wellbound For Special Needs
NeuSpark PDS
ACANY
Strive High ABA
Personal Touch Home Care

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  • OPWDD New Resources – Advocacy, Communication & Incident ManagementOPWDD

    OPWDD and the NYS Justice Center have partnered to develop new resources to help families and service providers as they work together to support people with developmental disabilities. OPWDD is committed to reducing abuse and neglect in the system and will be working with people with lived experience, families, and provider representatives and the Justice Center to begin a systemwide abuse prevention initiative in the near future. 

    • A Provider’s Guide to Effective Communication contains FAQs and tips for communicating with people with developmental disabilities, personal representatives and family members when talking about reports of abuse or neglect.
    • A Guide to Effective Advocacy, developed by the Justice Center, contains tips for people with developmental disabilities and their families or personal representatives when advocating for effective responses to incidents of abuse or neglect.
    • The Cross Agency Prevention Sharing Initiative Resource Repository now located on the Justice Center’s website contains links to information, guidance documents, and programs aimed at preventing abuse and neglect within New York State’s service systems.

    Additional resources related to preventing and responding to incidents of abuse or neglect can be found on both the OPWDD website and the NYS Justice Center’s website as well.

    OPWDD Resources

    Justice Center Resources

    To view this announcement in another language, visit the link at the bottom of this message and click on the translate button at the top to select your preferred language.

    Pour consulter cette annonce dans une autre langue, visitez le lien au bas de ce message et cliquez sur le bouton « traduire » situé en haut de votre écran pour sélectionner la langue de votre choix.

    Pou w wè anons sa a nan yon lòt lang, vizite lyen ki anba mesaj sa a epi klike sou bouton tradui ki anwo nan ekran w lan pou w chwazi lang ou pito a.

    Чтобы просмотреть это объявление на другом языке, перейдите по ссылке внизу этого сообщения и нажмите на кнопку «перевод» в верхней части экрана, чтобы выбрать предпочитаемый язык.

    Para ver este anuncio en otro idioma, visite el enlace que está la parte inferior de este mensaje y haga clic en el botón “traducir” en la parte superior de la pantalla para seleccionar el idioma de preferencia.


    이 안내를 다른 언어로 보려면, 이 메시지 하단에 있는 링크를 방문하여 화면 상단의 번역(translate) 버튼을 클릭하고 선호하는 언어를 선택하십시오.


    如需查看本公告的其他语言版本，请点击本消息底部的链接，然后点击屏幕上方的翻译按钮，并选择您的偏好语言。


    Per visualizzare questo annuncio in un’altra lingua, visitate il link in fondo a questo messaggio e fate clic sul pulsante di traduzione nella parte superiore dello schermo per selezionare la lingua preferita


    Aby wyświetlić to ogłoszenie w innym języku, odwiedź łącze znajdujące się w dolnej części tej wiadomości i kliknij przycisk tłumaczenia u góry ekranu w celu wybrania preferowanego języka.


    এই ঘোষণাটি অন্য ভাষায় দেখতে, এই বার্তার নীচে দেওয়া লিঙ্কটিতে যান এবং আপনার পছন্দের ভাষা বেছে নিতে, স্ক্রিনের শীর্ষে থাকা “অনুবাদ করুন” বোতামে ক্লিক করুন৷


    צו זען דעם מעלדן אין אַן אַנדערע שפּראַך, באַזוכן די לינק ביי די ענד פון דעם אָנזאָג און דריקן אויף די איבערזעצן קנעפּל אין די שפּיץ פון דיין סקרין צו אויסקלייַבן דיין בילכער שפּראַך.


    لعرض هذا الإعلان بلغةٍ أخرى، يرجى زيارة الرابط في أسفل هذه الرسالة والنقر على زر الترجمة في أعلى شاشتك من أجل تحديد لغتك المفضلة.

    اس اعلان کو کسی دوسری زبان میں دیکھنے کے لیے، اس پیغام کے زیریں حصے میں موجود لنک ملاحظہ کریں اور اپنی ترجیحی زبان منتخب کرنے کے لیے اپنی اسکرین کے بالائی حصے پر موجود ترجمے کے بٹن پر کلک کریں۔

    https://opwdd.ny.gov/news/new-resources-advocacy-communication-incident-management

  • Guidehouse Managed Care Final Report

    Click to access managed-care-plain-language_9_5_acc.pdf

  • ARISE Coalition Survey on Special Education

    The ARISE Coalition (a group dedicated to supporting and advocating for students with disabilities in NYC) on a survey that is seeking:

    (1) feedback from parents and families about their students’ experiences with special education in NYC public schools during the previous 2023-2024 school year, and

    (2) input on improvements they might like to see going forward. 

    If applicable, please fill out the attached survey before August 27, 2024. It should only take a few minutes, and you have the option to remain completely anonymous. 

    You can fill out as many surveys as you have students in your household, but please do not fill out multiple surveys for the same individual. 

    Once you click the link, there is an option to access in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic).

    To access the ARISE 2023-2024 School Year Survey you can use the link provided or the QR Code below. 

  • OPWDD Invites You to Take the Care Coordination Program Evaluation Survey

    Dear Friends,

    On behalf of OPWDD and the American Institutes for Research, I am pleased to share an opportunity for people with lived disability experience and their family members to provide feedback on your experiences with care management.

    OPWDD currently has a contract with the American Institutes for Research to conduct an independent evaluation of the Care Coordination program. The goal of the evaluation is to learn what parts of the program are working well and what areas could be improved.  

    We know that those of you who interact on a regular basis with Care Coordination Organizations and care managers can help us understand how we can strengthen care management going forward. We hope you will take a few moments to participate in the Care Coordination Evaluation survey. The online survey will be open until August 26, 2024.

    To participate in the survey visit: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7823011/OPWDDCareCoordinationSurvey

    Learn more about this project at https://opwdd.ny.gov/american-rescue-plan-act-arpa.

    I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this important service.

    Thank you,

    Willow Baer
    Acting Commissioner

  • NYC Comptroller Spotlight: Disability and Employment in NYC

    Spotlight: Disability and Employment in New York City

    For the full report, please click here. See below for highlights!

    Introduction
    Prevalence: Nearly one in six New York City residents has a disability, with a higher rate among those aged 25 to 55.
    Barriers: People with disabilities face significant barriers to employment, including discrimination and inadequate accommodation.
    Focus: The report highlights employment issues among New Yorkers aged 25 to 55 with disabilities, in recognition of Disability Pride Month and the ADA.

    Defining Disability
    ADA Definition: Disability includes physical or mental impairments that substantially limit major life activities.
    Survey Method: The report uses data from the American Community Survey (ACS) which categorizes disabilities into cognitive, ambulatory, independent living, vision, self-care, and hearing difficulties.

    Disability and Employment in NYC
    Employment Gap: Disabled workers in NYC have a significantly lower employment rate (41%) compared to non-disabled workers (81%). This gap is wider than the national average.
    Income: Disabled workers earn less than their non-disabled counterparts, with a median income disparity both in NYC and nationally.
    Variation by Disability Type: Employment rates vary by disability type, with those having vision and hearing difficulties faring better than those with cognitive, ambulatory, independent living, or self-care difficulties.

    Occupational Distribution
    Over/Underrepresentation: Disabled workers are overrepresented in service and administrative roles but underrepresented in management, business, and financial occupations.

    Disability and Employment Disparities
    Racial/Ethnic Differences: Employment rates are lower for Black and Hispanic individuals with disabilities compared to their white and Asian counterparts.
    Gender Disparities: Disabled men face a greater employment penalty than disabled women, reflecting broader occupational trends.

    Impact of COVID-19
    Increased Disability Rates: The proportion of disabled individuals in NYC increased post-pandemic, possibly due to long COVID.
    Remote Work: While remote work opportunities have increased, the rise has been less pronounced for disabled workers, who are often in occupations that cannot be performed remotely.

    Conclusion
    Ongoing Challenges: Despite some improvements, significant employment gaps remain for people with disabilities in NYC. The pandemic highlighted and somewhat alleviated some issues, but further efforts are needed to achieve equitable employment outcomes.

    The report underscores the need for continued advocacy and policy efforts to improve employment opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities.