Rural Outreach and Advocacy

Grantee: Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, Inc.

Project Summary:

The Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, Inc. (CP of NYS) will work with six (6) local affiliates, prioritizing OPWDD Region 2 (Central NY and the North Country) and other rural areas of the state, to establish regularly occurring self-advocacy groups.  These groups will meet regularly, identify standing and emerging agenda items, focus each meeting on a particular advocacy topic, and formalize recommendations to the service delivery system (OPWDD, CCOs, service providers, county-level government, local community-based organizations, etc.). 

Group members will establish formalized mechanisms of communication between themselves and the above-mentioned agencies, in order to facilitate ongoing dialogue specifically focused on improving services for people with developmental disabilities living in rural communities is maintained. Each advocacy group will track their recommendations and the outcomes of these processes. Each group will also participate in community mapping and coalition building to leverage local resources, and establish connections with new, non-disability focused community partners in an effort to normalize disability in their community. CP of NYS will submit a year-end final report after each contract year, documenting outreach and advocacy-building efforts best practices in rural communities in NYS. The report will include recommendations for future DDPC work in rural communities.

Key Activities:

• Create and maintain opportunities for regular self-advocacy meetings
• Identify and leverage community resources to deepen communication between individuals and organizations
• Make recommendations based on the results of the advocacy meetings