Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities has released our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan which will guide our agency as we work to strengthen supports and services for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities. The Strategic Plan is truly the work of hundreds, if not thousands of dedicated people from all across our state. It represents our collective goals and objectives for moving our service system forward and transforming it to better meet the changing needs of the people we serve, while prioritizing equity and ensuring sustainability.
I am so pleased to have spent the past year getting to know so many of you and have been fortunate to spend time with self-advocates, family members, providers and their staff, as well as many OPWDD team members in the regions statewide. Each and every person I met contributed to this important guiding document, and I hope you will find your voice within its pages.
Having collected initial input in 2021 through regional forums and targeted discussions, followed by feedback on our draft plan this year, we have honed all that we heard into three high level goals. Accompanying each goal are a range of supporting objectives and initiatives, projects and improvements that, with your support and collaboration, we will pursue over the next five years.
The Strategic Plan declares our top priorities, names the challenges we face and commits us to specific actions we will undertake together to improve the support we provide today and into the future. The plan we’ve released today is the result of many months of collaboration and dialogue. As you read it, I hope you feel excitement for all we want to accomplish.
Thank you for being part of the tremendous effort behind our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. I look forward to our continued work to strengthen, grow and improve all we do in support of New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.
Sincerely,
Kerri E. Neifeld Commissioner