Get ready to run at the Cubby Chase!

Get your running shoes ready...the Cubby Chase is coming back to Geneva!  Join us and our friends at Finger Lakes Health for this popular 5K, 10K and one mile fun run on July 27. 

The Cubby Chase is the only certified 10K between Rochester and Syracuse.  Both the 5K and 10K courses go through historic Geneva, the beautiful campus of Hobart & William Smith and offer spectacular views of Seneca Lake.  Timing is done by YellowJacket Racing.

Race day check in and registration begins at 7 a.m. at Finger Lakes Health's Child Care Center.  The one mile fun run for kids begins at 8:15 a.m., followed by the 10K at 8:45 a.m.  The 5K, which is a walk or run event, begins at 9 a.m.  Register to run today!

Proceeds benefit Ontario ARC and Finger Lakes Health's Child Care Center.  Learn more about the Cubby Chase!

After-School Program Is All Work And Play

When it comes to after-school programs, young students with autism are usually left in the dust.  Your typical program doesn't have the resources or the "know how" for children who need extra support.  We serve a bevy of children diagnosed on the autism spectrum...so when their parents ask for a program, we listen.

This past fall, we began offering an After-School Program through The Autism Center.  Among its many, original offerings:

• Staff specifically trained in working with children who have an autism diagnosis
• Homework assistance provided by a NYS-certified special education teacher
• Opportunities for outdoor, recreational fun
• Access to iPads, computers and SMART Board
• Support from Ontario ARC's clinical team
• Activities centered around building social and communication skills

Of course, one of its most popular and unique offerings is the Tales to Tails component.  Every Wednesday, Albert, our registered therapy dog, visits the After-School Program and listens closely to each child as they practice reading out loud.  While the children enjoy Albert's presence, they are also building fluency, comprehension and their self-esteem.  Albert is one of the biggest motivators for improving literacy and social skills.

And even as the school year winds down, it isn't too early to be thinking about fall 2014.  Summer will be here and gone before you know it.

Learn how you can sign your child up for The Autism Center's After-School Program!  Contact Diane VanDerwater at 585-919-2148 or JoEllen Meath at 585-919-2118.

Restoration and Reinvestment Act of 2013 introduced to NYS Legislature

We wanted to share with you a news release from our parent organization NYSARC, Inc. regarding the Restoration and Reinvestment Act of 2013...

UJA-Federation of New York, Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, NYSARC, Interagency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Alliance of Long Island Agencies & Developmental Disabilities Alliance of Western New York 

NEWS RELEASE 

For Immediate Release 

PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESTORATION AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2013 INTRODUCED IN NYS LEGISLATURE 

 Albany, NY -- Advocates are joining members of the New York State Legislature today at a 2:00 pm news conference in the Capitol to express support for the "People with Developmental Disabilities Restoration and Reinvestment Act of 2013." People with disabilities and others view the legislation as critical to protecting the quality of supports and services for people with developmental disabilities in the wake of the 4.5% budget cut. The bill, Assembly 6692 and Senate 4777, is sponsored by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg and Senator Martin Golden. The Act requires the Legislature to appropriate up to $90 million to fully restore the state funding cut to services for people with developmental disabilities. 

The bill recognizes the important measures that were taken in the “savings plan,” as required by budget language, to minimize the impact of the cut. The savings plan is seen as a very positive step towards restoring the $90 million budget cut. However, it is unclear to what extent that will be accomplished so the Restoration and Reinvestment Act requires an assessment of the savings plan impact. To the extent that the savings plan does not fully restore the cut, the Legislature would fund the shortfall through a contingency appropriation. 

The bill also requires reinvestment of savings, provided by greater efficiencies, into services for people with development disabilities. After years of cuts totaling approximately $350 million, advocates believe that current funding levels must be protected. This is especially true because of significant unmet needs, the cost of converting services to managed care and implementing a “transformational agenda” which includes smaller more person centered services, greater community integration and greater employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. 

Advocates and leaders said the following about The Act: 

“There can be little doubt that State funding reductions to meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities will significantly affect quality of care to this vulnerable population. We thank members of the Legislature for recognizing this funding shortfall and making every effort to restore needed financial support.” - Ronald Soloway, Managing Director of Government and External Relations, UJA-Federation of NY. 

“We are grateful for the support of the New York State Legislature,” said Susan Constantino, President & CEO of Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State. “Assemblyman Weisenberg, Senator Golden and many others have heard from families across the state and they agree that the cuts must stop. We are eager to work with government officials at every level to ensure that the non-profits will continue to have the resources necessary to provide critical supports and services to people with disabilities in their communities.”

 “We cannot afford to see services for people with developmental disabilities eroded any further,” said Marc Brandt, the Executive Director of NYSARC, the nation’s largest parent governed, non-profit serving people with developmental disabilities. “Maintaining quality is consistent with the goals of the people and families we serve. It is also a top priority of the federal government as represented to NYSARC by top CMS officials in Washington.”

“We are particularly pleased that the bill would restore the savings achieved through efficiencies. The reinvestment of these funds will ensure additional supports for people who have been waiting for services and families with unmet needs.” - Peter Pierri, Executive Director, InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc. 

"It is important to assure that programs and services for individuals with developmental disabilities are protected from budget cuts and that any savings from closures or greater efficiencies are reinvested in the developmental disabilities system,” said Seth Stein, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Alliance of Long Island Agencies. 

“In western New York we have over a thousand individuals waiting for residential placement and the list is growing daily. This legislation is of paramount importance to families of individuals with developmental disabilities as well as the 22,000 people that the 44 agencies of the Developmental Disabilities Alliance of Western New York employ in total,” said Rhonda Frederick, President of the Developmental Disabilities Alliance of Western New York and Chief Operating Officer of People Inc.