STATE REGULATORY UPDATES

Governor Phil Murphy tours NJACP Member, The CTC Academy’s Oakland, NJ Campus!

[Oakland, NJ] -The CTC Academy Board of Directors, staff and students were honored to host NJ Governor, Phil Murphy at their Oakland Campus February 7, 2023. Ambassador and CTC Graduate, Jonah Gold and Oakland Principal, Bill Presutti led the tour of the school. Governor Murphy was most impressed by the students he saw working within their classrooms and attending therapies as well as the students with whom he spoke. The Governor was happy to “high-five” CTC student Ramona, who was part of the welcome committee.

The Governor’s tour included visiting the classrooms and seeing the students using their adaptive mobility equipment and communication devices as they participated educationally and therapeutically. Later, Governor Murphy observed some of the students’ abilities including adaptive cooking and he watched as CTC Student, Thomas, gleefully demonstrated therapy time on the platform swing. Governor Murphy even took a turn using the vibrating piano wall in the Oakland Sensory Room! The donor-provided aqua therapy center was of particular interest as CTC students were demonstrating the benefits of aquatic therapy – using properties of water to provide a fun, therapeutic and social environment.

CTC Board President, Jon Mach, also greeted the Governor. He said, “We welcome every opportunity to showcase this wonderful school and its amazing students. It was an honor to meet Governor Murphy and we were so grateful that he spent time learning about our community.” The

Governor expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to tour the school and meet some of the parents and staff. He ended his visit by briefly meeting with CTC Student Sean Boyle, and Sean’s mom, CTC Board Member, Jennifer Boyle. Mrs. Boyle spoke about the urgent need to address the current challenge to ensure that adult children who have significant disabilities and complex medical needs receive appropriate adult support after graduation.

Executive Director Anne Ogden said, “I feel such a sense of incredible enthusiasm each time I have an opportunity to introduce our CTC program to someone for the first time. Having the honor of watching the Governor of New Jersey enthralled by our students, staff and our mission was indeed a highlight for me.” Click here for entire press release.

!!UPDATE!! Updated Participant Rights and Responsibilities Form

The Division of Developmental Disabilities has updated the Participant Rights and Responsibilities Form. The updated form is to be used in place of the older version at all future Annual ISP Meetings. Please be sure to overwrite/replace any older versions of the form your organization may use.

Participant Rights and Responsibilities – English

Participant Rights and Responsibilities – Spanish

Division of Developmental Disabilities Updates and Announcements and to sign up for DDD E – mail update list

NJACP Comments on State Regulatory Proposals

NJACP comments on NJ Demonstration Waiver 1115 Renewal

ICYMI: !!NEW!! FY2023 Wage Increase for Direct Support Professionals and Supervisors

Included in New Jersey’s FY2023 Appropriations Act, the wage increase for direct support professionals (DSPs) and supervisors will be implemented January 1st via increases to the fee-for-service reimbursement rates for the following services: Career Planning, Community Based Supports, Community Inclusion Services, Day Habilitation, Individual Supports, Prevocational Training (Individual and Group), Respite, and Supported Employment (Individual and Group). For information, please see:

FEDERAL REGULATORY UPDATES

CDC Updates Developmental Milestones

Autism NJ reports: Earlier this month, the CDC unveiled revised developmental milestone checklists in their Learn the Signs. Act Early program. The goal of this first-ever update to the checklists is to improve the early identification and diagnosis of autism and other developmental disabilities.

A group of eight (8) autism experts, pediatric medicine, developmental disability identification, and screening tools convened to review existing published research on developmental milestones and assessment, as well as clinical opinion on best practices. This clinical review provided the empirical basis for the revised developmental checklists.

CDC Updates List of Those with Increased Risk from COVID-19 to Include People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

CDC Updates List of Those with Increased Risk from COVID-19 to Include People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its list of conditions that put people at increased risk from COVID-19. The CDC had previously included people with disabilities on the list based on factors including “underlying medical conditions, living in congregate settings, or systemic health and social inequities,” but it had failed to include people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The latest update now includes people with I/DD under the category of disabilities and defines the group as including people with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, intellectual disability, learning disability, vision impairment, and other developmental delays.
  • Read more here:CDC Adds IDD To List Of Conditions At Increased Risk From COVID-19

White House Unveils COVID Plan Focused On People With Disabilities

On Thursday, the Biden administration announced a new plan to address the needs of people with disabilities and older adults in response to and in recovery from COVID-19. The announcement stated that the Administration will be taking key steps to ensure that people with disabilities “have equitable access to COVID-19 testing, masks, and other critical mitigation strategies.” The action plan will focus on:

  • Equipping schools with guidance and support to ensure schools can provide safe, in-person instruction for all students.
  • Expanding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Community Living’s Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) to support people with disabilities who need assistance using at-home tests or in finding alternative tests. The DIAL line is available at 1-888-677-1199.
  • Improving COVID-19 testing guidance through updating CDC guidance in American Sign Language and reviewing all existing COVID-19 guidance to ensure accessibility, including adding information in Braille, ASL translation, simplified text, and other alternative formats.
  • Developing at-home COVID-19 tests that are accessible to all through a partnership with the National Institutes of Health and organizations representing communities in need of accessible tests.
  • Issuing a formal Request for Information (RFI) to incentivize domestic manufacturers to prioritize the accessibility of at-home tests for people with disabilities and those individuals who need non-English language or literacy support.
  • Requesting accessible instructions from test manufacturers who have received a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to ensure instructions are accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Distributing masks to individuals with disabilities. HHS is partnering with community health centers and rural health clinics to ensure individuals with disabilities and those unable to leave their homes have access to free, high-quality N95 masks. The Administration is also calling on states and territories to work in partnership with community-based health centers to distribute masks.

Read more here