A Year of Growth and Impact: Every year we look back on what we’ve accomplished in the past 12 months. While we are a little late for 2024, we are so proud of what we’ve done, as shown in this report from Director Naomi Brickel.
In 2024, we witnessed great effort and tangible progress, with more individuals embracing Supported Decision-Making, getting involved, and seeking to learn more, further solidifying SDMNY’s leadership in this international movement.
Facilitating Informed Choices: During 2024, SDMNY successfully implemented its robust facilitation methodology, scaling up its capacity to serve more individuals:
- 51 new individuals signed up to become Decision-Makers and create their own SDMAs.
- 19 Decision-Makers signed their SDMAs during inspiring ceremonies.
- 65 new Facilitators were trained for the NYS Facilitation network.
- And as of December 31st, 66 active Facilitations were being overseen by SDMNY’s 6 skilled Mentors, ensuring quality support and SDMAs
Strengthening Collaborations: Recognizing the power of partnerships, SDMNY actively engaged with provider agencies, Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs), independent contractors, self-advocates, and the private bar to expand its reach and embed SDM within existing systems:
- 15 contracts were fully executed, demonstrating SDMNY’s commitment to collaborative service delivery.
- 3 CCOs have staff trained and currently providing Facilitation Services to their members.
- 2 Self-advocates were trained as Facilitators and are working with Decision-Makers!
Empowering Supporters: SDMNY recognizes the pivotal role of Supporters in the SDM process and dedicated more effort towards equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills:
- Developed a “Rescue vs. Support” video to illustrate effective support strategies.
- Completed a comprehensive Handbook for Supporters.
- Created a new Supporter testimony video highlighting the impact of SDM.
- Held the first “Phase 2 webinar” to educate potential Supporters about their roles and responsibilities.
Elevating SDM Awareness: SDMNY strategically engaged with diverse stakeholders to increase understanding of SDM and its potential to transform lives. Our development of new resources is always ongoing:
- Held 75+ information sessions for a variety of stakeholders.
- Overhauled the SDMNY website to make it more accessible and easier to navigate, with the significant additions of accessible materials for DecisionMakers and a Spanish subpage.
- Developed new Easy Read materials in both English and Spanish to ensure accessibility for individuals with I/DD and their families.
Creating the IT Infrastructure: A new statewide service delivery system requires a place to hold the data. No easy task! Fine-tuning and data cleaning will continue to be a priority in 2025:
- Executed a contract with eVero to build the data management system.
- Launched the system with training for all staff.
- Captured data from all Decision-Makers’ from the project’s history within the system.
Championing a Future of Self-Determination: For SDMNY, 2024 was another impactful year, underscoring our commitment to building a future where individuals with I/DD are empowered to make their own choices with appropriate support. Kristin Booth Glen, Founding Director and Senior Advisor of SDMNY, aptly summarizes the essence of SDMNY’s efforts: “Talking and writing about SDM is important, but actually doing it has been, and continues to be New York’s unique and critical contribution to the movement.” Through its concrete actions and measurable impact, SDMNY demonstrates that empowering decisions is not just a concept, but a tangible reality for individuals with I/DD across New York State.