Planning for the Future
OPWDD invites you to attend an upcoming Strategic Planning Forum. We will share updates on our work and you can share your feedback with us. The 2024 Strategic Plan forums will take place in May, June and July, with in-person opportunities to share your experiences, ideas and feedback on OPWDD’s progress toward its Strategic Plan goals and objectives.
The forums will focus on hearing your feedback on the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan and will include a brief update on our goals and objectives, a moderated question and answer period where people can submit questions in advance for OPWDD to respond to at the events, and a public comment period in which people can share their thoughts, ideas, and suggestions with OPWDD.
2024 Forum Schedule
Date | Time | Address |
May 14, 2024 | 1-3 PM | OPWDD Regional Field Office, 415 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788 |
May 28, 2024 | 6-8 PM | AIM Services Inc., 4227 Route 50, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 |
May 30, 2024 | 3:30-5:30 PM | North Country Community College, Muholland Hall S19, Santanoni Avenue, Saranac Lake, NY 12983 |
June 3, 2024 | 5-7 PM | University of Rochester Medical Center: Helen Wood Hall | 255 Crittenden Blvd. Rochester, NY 14642 |
June 18, 2024 | 4:30-6:30 PM | New City Library – High Tor Meeting Room, 220 N. Main St., New City, NY 10956 |
July 9, 2024 | 11 AM - 1 PM | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Lefrak Auditorium of the Price Center, 1301 Morris Park Ave. Bronx, NY 10461 |
July 22, 2024 | 11 AM - 1 PM | Virtual Forum |
July 24, 2024 | 6 PM-8 PM | Virtual Forum |
Section 5.07 of the NYS Mental Hygiene Law requires OPWDD to produce an annual report describing its 5-year Strategic Plan and provide the report to the Governor and legislature by November 1st of each year. In 2021, we launched a new strategic planning process. In May 2022, OPWDD issued a draft Strategic Plan, and in November 2022, we released the final 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. The final plan encompassed extensive public input gathered over 18 months of regional forums, public hearings and meetings with stakeholders across New York. The final Strategic Plan will guide OPWDD policy and planning efforts for the next several years, focusing the agency on achieving identified goals and objectives in continued partnership with people with developmental disabilities, their family members, and service providers. The Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council was established within the NYS Mental Hygiene Law and is tasked with providing recommendations on statewide priorities, planning and process evaluations. The DDAC is an important partner in OPWDD’s strategic planning process.
Goal 1: 1 Strengthen Our Workforce, Technology, and Collaboration
Advance the service system’s infrastructure by investing in the workforce, updating data technology, and improving decision-making through collaboration.
Direct Support Workforce
Improve the recruitment, retention, and quality of the direct support workforce.
Data Access and Technology
Invest in technology that provides more timely information and increases the availability of data.
Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
Promote stakeholder engagement and collaboration to inform decision-making.
Goal 2: Transform Our System through Innovation and Change
Expand the system’s ability to empower people by strengthening supports, simplifying policies, and exploring new approaches to providing services.
Supports and Services
Strengthen the quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of supports and services.
Regulatory and Policy Changes
Change policies to create greater flexibility, increase opportunity for community integration, and incentivize improved personal outcomes.
Research and Innovation
Conduct research, evaluate programs, and test new methods for providing services.
Goal 3: Enhance Our Person-Centered Supports and Services
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Ensure children, youth, and young adults receive appropriate and coordinated services.
Complex Needs
Expand supports for people with complex behavioral and medical needs.
Cultural and Ethnically Diverse Communities
Address gaps in services for underserved, culturally, and ethnically diverse communities.
OPWDD has established an ongoing strategic planning process that will continuously engage stakeholders in evaluating and making any necessary adjustments to agency priority goals and initiatives. This process will involve regular, ongoing dialogue with all OPWDD stakeholders and ensure that as progress is made and new needs arise, OPWDD can remain aware and responsive to the needs of people with developmental disabilities and the service system that supports them. The ongoing planning process will involve regular progress reporting as well as annual updates to share relevant information about the service system and to updated the Strategic Plan itself.
November 2022 - 2023-2027 Strategic Plan published
Throughout the Year - Quarterly Updates at Stakeholder Group Meetings
Spring 2023 - Data Updates
Summer 2023 - Stakeholder Survey
November 2023 - Updated Annual Report on the Strategic Plan