Study, new laws to help people with disabilities
Review will guide state on best way to protect vulnerable
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of bills on Tuesday intended to help people with disabilities and their families, including a study of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People with disabilities are a crucial part of our New York family and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Hochul said in a statement.
The Developmental Disability Advisory Council is set to study and report back on the state’s response to the pandemic for people with intellectual or development disabilities that receive assistance from the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities or the Department of Health.
OPWDD is also going to report on its response to the pandemic.
“The review can provide guidance on how best to protect our most vulnerable from infectious diseases,” said Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti, chair of the Committee on People with Disabilities.
Hochul signed into law a bill known as “Fred’s Law,” which allows people with disabilities — including anyone with a condition or disorder that makes it difficult for them to communicate their everyday needs, like autism or cerebral palsy — to select a person that can be with them during their stay in a hospital.
The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., followed the death of Fred D’amico, who died in the hospital in 2020. Addabbo, Dqueens, said the family “fought hard to make sure that no other family goes through the pain they felt when they lost Fred because no one was allowed to be with him when he entered the hospital in 2020.”
Hochul also signed into law a series of bills by state Sen. John W. Mannion, D-geddes, including the study of the state’s response to the pandemic. Mannion, chair of the Committee on Disabilities, also sponsored bills signed by Hochul to study the employment of persons and veterans with disabilities and to expand appointments on a related advisory council.
One-third of the state’s working-age New Yorkers with a disability are employed, Assemblyman Harvey Epstein said.
He hopes the new legislation can help the state figure out how to better assist people with disabilities and increase their participation in the workforce.
“By signing these bills into law, Gov. Hochul is signaling her strong support for New Yorkers with a developmental or intellectual disability,” Mannion said in a statement.
He noted his hope to work with the governor on addressing “serious and longstanding issues impacting this community including the workforce crisis, funding of special education programs and preserving communitybased,” consumer-directed personal assistance programs.
Hochul is preparing her State of the State address and the upcoming budget, her first and lone presentations prior to the June primary. Hochul is seeking a full term as governor after taking over from former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who resigned while under multiple scandals.