Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council (MISCC)

 

New York State enacted legislation establishing the Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council (MISCC) in 2002 to ensure that people of all ages with disabilities reside and function in the most integrated setting possible.  The legislative intent behind the law charged the MISCC with developing and overseeing a comprehensive state plan to ensure that people of all ages with disabilities avoid institutionalization and live in a setting that is appropriate to their desires.   Acting Commissioner Diana Ritter of the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) will chair the MISCC.  The MISCC will review the MISCC Report and the Implementation Plan and begin to chart a course for achieving “most integrated setting goals.” 

To view a copy of the MISCC Report published in November 2006:

“Addressing the Service and Support Needs of New Yorkers with Disabilities,” go to:  http://www.nyaprs.org/PDF/MISCC.Report.11-30-06.pdf

 

The MISCC was established within the Executive Department, to be comprised of:

  • Commissioner of the Department of Health (DOH)
  • Commissioner of the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD)
  • Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health (OMH)
  • Commissioner of the Department of Transportation (DOT)
  • Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)
  • Commissioner of the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS)
  • Commissioner of the State Education Department (SED)
  • Commissioner of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)
  • Director of the Office for the Aging (NYSOFA)
  • Chair of the Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (CQCAPD)
  • 9 members of the public appointed by the Governor, Assembly and Senate including 3 consumers, 3 providers, and 3 individuals involved in the provision of services to seniors.

The MISCC was directed to meet at least once per quarter, with the chair rotating among the Commissioners of DOH, OMH, OMRDD, and the Director of NYSOFA.

The MISCC was charged with the following tasks:

  1. Determine the number of individuals with disabilities who are:

·        Currently institutionalized and are eligible for community-based services, and

·        Residing in the community and dependent on the assistance of community based services to avoid institutionalization;

  1. Develop a single assessment process, implemented by one community-based agency, through the use of a uniform assessment tool;
  2. Identify what community-based services are available in the State of New York;
  3. Assess what improvements need to be made to the system of community-based services to ensure that it meets the needs of and provides adequate supports for individuals with disabilities living in the community;
  4. Evaluate the supports and services available to assist individuals with disabilities who reside in their own homes with or without family members or other informal caregivers;
  5. Examine how the identified community-based services integrate individuals with disabilities into the community;
  6. Review existing funding sources in an effort to increase the availability of community-based services, and conduct an analysis of how these varied funding streams can be organized into a coherent system of long-term care;
  7. Assess how well the current service system works for different populations, including elderly people with disabilities, people with physical disabilities, people with developmental disabilities, people with mental illness, and people with HIV and AIDS;
  8. Conduct an examination of waiting lists for community-based services;
  9. Examine current information, education, outreach and referral systems and evaluate the feasibility of creating a toll-free information hotline;
  10. Examine how quality assurance and quality improvement can be conducted effectively; and,
  11. Conduct an examination of how the overall system of health and long term care can best be managed so that placement in the most integrated setting becomes the norm.

 

Cliff Perez M.S.W.
Systems Advocate

Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Inc.

cperez@ilchv.org  
www.ilchv.org