Downstate official promotes inclusion effort
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » The creator of an innovative initiative for society to become more inclusive to those with special needs said Wednesday he wants others to know there is an umbrella group ready to help.
Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro brought his Think DIFFERENTLY initiative to the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library where he spoke to 50 stakeholders on what the initiative is, how it came about, and how each individual, organization and business can join in.
His appearance was sponsored by Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston, who has long practiced before Saratoga County Family Court.
Think DIFFERENTLY is an initiative or call to action that was developed in 2015 by Molinaro after he realized the maze of bureaucracy he faced in try- ing to get assistance for his special needs daughter. It seeks to change the way people and organizations, including government, relate to people of all abilities. The city of Troy was among the first governments outside Dutchess County to adopt the program in 2016, and Rensselaer
County announced in December it would also join the initiative.
The presentation drew members of law enforcement, local government, representatives from the Southern Saratoga YMCA, Saratoga County Fair, the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County and the Capital District Chamber.
“The effort of supporting those of differing abilities is very personal to me,” Molinaro said. “I’m just a parent trying to send a message. We’re trying to get counties across the state to embrace Think DIFFERENTLY as a call to action to acknowledge and recognize it as a community and as a society throughout our state. As a state we must do more to embrace, support and assist those with special needs, those with disabilities.”
Addressing the everyday desires and wants of those with special needs remains the last acceptable American prejudice, he said.
“It is the prejudice of low expectations,” Molinaro said, “that certain people can’t achieve certain things so we make certain assumptions. And the fact of the matter is that that remains true today. There are many well-meaning people who don’t know they have set the bar too low when interacting with those with disabilities.”
For a young man, Molinaro has quite an extensive history of working in government. He spent 12 years as the mayor of the village of Tivoli, six years in the Dutchess County Legislature, and six years in the New York State Assembly. In 2011 he was elected Dutchess County Executive.
During his 55 minute presentation he described his own personal difficulties with county, state and federal bureaucracy on behalf of his child, his efforts to make things easier for those with special needs at least in his county, and his ongoing work to bring his initiative throughout the state.
“In New York state, county governments are the ultimate middle person,” he said. “Our duty as county officials is to manage all those core services that residents expect from local government, like plowing the streets, but we’re also responsible for delivering those mandated services. New York, unlike any other state in America requires county governments to deliver mandated state services. So when it comes to delivering services for special needs, county governments are the first point of contact.”
Two of those services include the delivery of mental health services as it relates to those with special needs and the Office of the Aging as it relates to dealing with families who have children with special needs who may be aging out.
After being confronted with a problem that was af fecting his daughter, Molinaro went to his county government where he asked questions and found it was as difficult as he thought it would be.
“The system,” he said, “was very complicated and very hard to navigate.”
The result was Molinaro assembling those within Dutchess County government and asking a simple question, how could the county deliver the services needed by those with special needs better.
The result was to think differently and very shortly Think DIFFERENTLY was created. Molinaro created a deputy commissioner for individuals with special needs and got training for law enforcement, fire and emergency services, and local employers.
“Think DIFFERENTLY asks each person to think, how do I go about my day. How do I relate to those with developmental disabilities in my day,” he said. “Our lives have to be interrupted so those with disabilities know we embrace them. Think DIFFERENTLY gives people an umbrella so they can talk about how they approach and look at those with developmental disabilities.”
Walsh said she reached out to Molinaro because she’d heard good words about his presentation and wanted to bring it into her district so she could see it herself and get others involved. Plus, she has an older child with special needs.
“It springs from that and from my work in family court which I’ve been doing for many years,” she said. “I’m the attorney for the child and in many cases the children I represent have special needs. I make sure they are getting proper services from the school district. Plus, I work on education needs, so it all fits.”