Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities, Commission on
skip breadcrumbsAgency Web Site: http://cqc.ny.gov/
Mission
The Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities is charged with improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities in New York State and to protect their rights and advocate for needed change by:
- Ensuring programmatic and fiscal accountability, and monitoring care and treatment of people with disabilities within the State's mental hygiene system, and making recommendations for improvements, when warranted;
- Providing individual and systemic investigative and advocacy services;
- Advancing the availability and use of assistive technology for persons with disabilities;
- Offering impartial and informed advice, training, and recommendations on a broad range of disability issues; and
- Promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of community life and ensuring that persons with disabilities are afforded the opportunity to exercise the full range of rights and responsibilities accorded to all New Yorkers.
The Commission's Advisory Council has expanded its membership to include individuals with a broader range of disabilities to better fulfill its mission in advising the Governor and Legislature regarding all New Yorkers with disabilities.
Budget Highlights
The Executive Budget recommends $19.6 million for the Commission. This is an increase of $1.4 million (8.0 percent increase) from the 2011-12 budget. The increase primarily reflects additional General Fund investments in order to strengthen the Agency's core mission and programmatic priorities as part of recommendations from the preliminary report of the Governor's Special Advisor on Vulnerable Persons.
The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 103 FTEs for the Commission. This is an increase of four FTEs (4.0 percent increase) from the 2011-12 budget. The increase primarily reflects five additional positions related to re-establishing the Agency's Policy Bureau, which will improve the Agency's ability to analyze and respond to allegations and incidents of abuse.
Major budget actions include:
- Re-establishing the Agency's Policy Bureau to conduct broader systemic investigations.
- Developing a statewide centralized 24-hour hotline for reporting abuse and neglect, operated and funded out of the Office of Children and Family Services.
Additionally, the recommended appropriations include the transfer of the ombudsman program, including eight staff members, from OPWDD to CQCAPD as part of legislation passed in 2011. This action will improve the management and efficiency of the ombudsman program, while establishing a more independent oversight of OPWDD programs and is also cost neutral to the Financial Plan.
For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:
Briefing Book – Mental Hygiene (PDF)
| Category | Available 2011-12 |
Appropriations Recommended 2012-13 |
Change From 2011-12 |
Reappropriations Recommended 2012-13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Operations | 17,497,000 | 18,941,000 | 1,444,000 | 14,348,000 |
| Aid To Localities | 648,000 | 648,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 18,145,000 | 19,589,000 | 1,444,000 | 14,348,000 |
| Program | 2011-12 Estimated FTEs 03/31/12 |
2012-13 Estimated FTEs 03/31/13 |
FTE Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program Oversight | |||
| General Fund | 44 | 48 | 4 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| Protection and Advocacy | |||
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 24 | 24 | 0 |
| Total | 99 | 103 | 4 |
Note: Most recent estimates as of 1/17/2012