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A recent article in the New York Times alleges systemic abuse in the state developmental disabilities system is serious and disturbing. Aaron carroll: the recent portrait that has been put forth to the public is not representative of the system as a whole. He says most state developmental disabilities employees are some of the most caring professionals you will ever meet. Carroll: maintaining quality care has become increasingly difcult for staff in recent years.
A recent article in the New York Times alleges systemic abuse in the state developmental disabilities system is serious and disturbing. Aaron carroll: the recent portrait that has been put forth to the public is not representative of the system as a whole. He says most state developmental disabilities employees are some of the most caring professionals you will ever meet. Carroll: maintaining quality care has become increasingly difcult for staff in recent years.
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A recent article in the New York Times alleges systemic abuse in the state developmental disabilities system is serious and disturbing. Aaron carroll: the recent portrait that has been put forth to the public is not representative of the system as a whole. He says most state developmental disabilities employees are some of the most caring professionals you will ever meet. Carroll: maintaining quality care has become increasingly difcult for staff in recent years.
Droits d'auteur :
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Formats disponibles
Téléchargez comme PDF, TXT ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
developmental disabilities system are serious and disturbing. Abuse of clients under any circum- stance is unacceptable and never to be tolerated. New Yorks developmental disabilities system is far from perfect and we all want better care, bet- ter oversight and a better quality of life for the individuals and everyone else associated with the system. But looking at anything narrowly will miss important facts and context. The recent portrait that has been put forth to the public is not repre- sentative of the system as a whole. There is a broad- er perspective that should be considered by anyone seeking reform. CSEA represents about 18,000 people who care for nearly 40,000 individuals with developmental dis- abilities. Only a tiny a fraction of those employees have ever been brought up on disciplinary charges of any nature. In fact, most state developmental disabilities employees are some of the most caring and dedicated professionals you will ever meet. It takes a very special individual to work in this eld. The jobs are challenging, physically and emo- tionally. Many of the individuals in care have mul- tiple disabilities, medical and behavioral issues and a wide range of special needs. Direct care staff help severely challenged individuals with the most basic daily tasks from washing and dressing, to feeding them, to physical and psychological therapy. They are not just caretakers, but friends and even family in the process. The overall quality of care for most individuals in the state system should not be doubted. It might not be appropriate or practical for the general public to spend signicant time observing the care in a group home. Still, more rsthand reporting about group home care and services would provide the public with much greater appreciation of the thousands of people who do this work and the positive way they impact individual lives. Recognize also that maintaining quality care has become has become increasingly difcult for staff in recent years due to cutbacks and short stafng. The difculty has been compounded as independent oversight by the Commission on Quality Care has been undermined by a lack of adequate resources and authority to do the job effectively. CSEA is prepared to be part of meaningful change for better care. CSEA has a long and proven his- tory in this area. CSEA members were the origi- nal whistleblowers calling public attention to the horric abuse at Willowbrook; CSEA worked with Gov. Hugh Careys administration to improve care in the wake of the Willowbrook consent decrees; CSEA was instrumental in helping to transform the developmental disabilities system from institu- tions to the community during the tenure of Gov. Mario Cuomo. CSEA has consistently advo- cated for adequate re- sources in recent years so that corners would not be cut. We all want better care for people with develop- mental disabilities. It starts with recognizing that the systems greatest assets are those thousands of individual employees who go to work and do the right thing every day. They must not be taken for granted. Danny Donohue is president of CSEA committed to a better New York for all. Developmental Disabilities Workers are Dedicated, Caring Professionals By Danny Donohue C Avertorial.indd 1 3/18/11 11:30 AM