Join us at A.V.R.E. for our 85th Anniversary Open House

AVRE will celebrate 85 years of serving people throughout the Twin Tiers who are blind or visually impaired on October 13

Share in refreshments, take a tour, and learn more about what A.V.R.E. does in our community.
Visit the …
 Norman Richterman Low Vision Center
 Vision Rehabilitation, Orientation & Mobility, and
Employment Services
 ViewPoint Retail Store
 ACCESS-Tech Center
 Full-scale manufacturing operation in downtown Binghamton, producing copy paper, file folders, and packaging/assembly — creating good jobs for people who are blind or visually impaired.

October 13, 2011
4:00 ~ 7:00 P.M.
Brief presentation at 5:30
174 Court Street
Binghamton
Association for Vision Rehabilitation, Inc.
(607)724-2428 ~ www.avreus.org

SCNY ED Group September 14th Program Agenda

September 14th Program Agenda
•SCNY ED Group update and membership
•Sharon Ball and Attorney General's Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization
•Program Presentation

PROGRAM:
"Rudeness at Work: Causes, Costs and Cures"
Presented by Alice Wojcio, Principal Consultant and owner of Advantage Training and Development

There have been several articles recently about how stress and incivility in the workplace is causing rude behavior by employees, which in turn may cost U.S. employers billions a year due to lost productivity. We are pleased that Alice Wojcio, Principal Consultant and owner of Advantage Training and Development, will be joining us for a discussion of the causes, costs and cures of this problem.

As a special bonus, each one attending will receive an access code for a free Everything DiSC® Management Report. Your confidential, 23-page personal report is valued at $75 and will offer specific, practical suggestions to help you reduce rudeness at work and the stress that so often accompanies it!

For more information on Alice Wojcio and Advantage Training and Development, see her website at www.advtrain.com.

REGISTER HERE
Date: Wednesday, September 14
Time: 8:30-11:00 am
Cost: FREE to nonprofit directors
Location:
United Way of Broome County
101 South Jensen Road
Vestal, NY 13850

Survey About Local Interest in Professional Development Workshops

Dear Friends,

The faculty and staff in the Public Administration Department at Binghamton University invite you to participate in a survey we've created to learn more about the professional development needs and interests of local nonprofit sector professionals. We will use the results of the survey to assess whether our Department should develop a series of training workshops. The survey should take you less than 15 minutes to complete, and your answers are completely anonymous.

Take the survey by following this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LocalExecutiveEducation or pasting it into your browser.
If you have any questions about this survey, you can contact Steve Jackson at Binghamton University at (607)777-9154, or at sjackson@binghamton.edu.

Best wishes,

David Campbell
Chair, Department of Public Administration
dcamp@binghamton.edu

Local Community Groups Teaming up in 2011 to Offer Two FREE, Key Events to our Local Non-Profit Organizations This Fall

The BLI Alumni Association, Southern Tier Young Professionals, United Way of Broome County, Binghamton University College of Community and Public Affairs and BU’s Department of Human Development and our NEWEST PARTNER – Volunteer Administrators of the Southern Tier (VAST) – have joined forces again to educate our local non-profits on topics related to volunteerism and help them connect with potential volunteers and board members in our community.

We invite you to attend two upcoming events…

3rdAnnual Half Day Workshop
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Binghamton Riverwalk Hotel
Opening Session, Closing Session and 6 Breakouts on Topics Related to Volunteerism

4th Annual Community Service Fair
Thursday, November 3, 2011
4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Binghamton University Downtown Center
Opportunity for 60 non-profits to recruit new volunteer and board members


For more information, download the attached letter/registration form and workshop agenda.
Both events fill up quickly, so don't delay and register today!

Questions? Contact Amy Shaw at (607) 772-8863 x313 or ashaw@binghamtonchamber.com.

NYCON's Doug Sauer Responds to Governor Cuomo´s Task Force Announcement

Tell Governor Cuomo About Your Nonprofit!

Let's Tell Them About The Good Work Of Nonprofits
Submit Your Testimonial to NYCON & the Governor Today!

On August 3rd the Governor announced the formation of a task force charged with investigating executive compensation at nonprofit agencies (full announcement from Gov. Cuomo below).

NYCON is in agreement with the Governor that activities like those recently exposed in the NY Times that were the impetus to the formation of this task force, can have significant detrimental effects on the relationship between nonprofits and the public.

However, we also know that these types of activities are not solely a "nonprofit issue" and, furthermore, that there are many more positive stories than negative ones occurring in nonprofits.

We want to make sure the Governor realizes this too.

We are asking you to help us remind Governor Cuomo that nonprofits employ hard-working New Yorkers who provide much needed services in communities across our state.

Please send us your stories, comments and reactions to the Governor's announcement!

Let the administration know the services you provide are essential and are delivered in an ethical, honest and efficient manner that rivals any successful for-profit company. Let's remind them, and all taxpayers, that we're delivering services at costs far below our private sector counterparts, and take on contractual obligations from the State that they would never agree to, often times to our own detriment - because we exist for our mission, not profit.

Please submit your stories here.

NYCON is creating a web page dedicated to publishing your testimonials, and we encourage you to submit your stories which will be shared online and with the Governor's press office. You can also submit your comments directly to the press office at: press.office@exec.ny.gov.

Please feel free to contact our membership office if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you again for all you do and for your continued dedication to the nonprofit sector and your community.

Doug Sauer

CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.

Governor Orders Review of Executive Compensation at Nonprofits

From the Governor's Website

Albany, NY (August 3, 2011) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has created a new task force to investigate the executive and administrator compensation levels at not-for-profits that receive taxpayer support from the state. The task force will be led by the New York State Inspector General Ellen Biben, Secretary of State Cesar A. Perales, the Medicaid Inspector General Jim Cox, and the Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky.

"Not-for-profits that provide services to the poor and the needy have a special obligation to the taxpayers that support them. Executives at these not-for-profits should be using the taxpayer dollars they receive to help New Yorkers, not to line their own pockets. This task force will do a top-to-bottom review, not only to audit current compensation levels, but also to make recommendations for future rules to ensure taxpayer dollars are used to serve and support the people of this state, not pay for excessive salaries and compensation," Governor Cuomo said.

Governor Cuomo continued, "There is a whole range of compensation levels and extremes that have existed for too long and must be reviewed. The use of taxpayer dollars must be scrutinized at every level."

The Governor's task force will determine the protocol and scope of the investigation in order to target the audit to focus on ensuring that state taxpayer dollars meant to help and protect New Yorkers, particularly the poor and indigent, are going to that purpose and are not being diverted to compensation. It will also provide recommendations for State agency policies and procedures that will ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being diverted to excessive compensation.

Commissioners from the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, and OPWDD will also serve on the task force.

The Governor's action follows reports of startlingly excessive salaries and compensation packages for executives at not-for-profits that depended on state Medicaid funding through the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and other State agencies.

The State's Medicaid Inspector General has the authority necessary to exclude providers from participation in the Medicaid program if it is found that they have engaged in fraudulent or abusive practices.

There are currently no state rules governing executive and administrative compensation for not-for-profits that receive state support.

According to the Department of the Budget's January 2010 preliminary analysis of not-for-profit employees contracting with the mental hygiene agencies (Office of People With Developmental Disabilities, Office of Mental Health, and Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services), there were approximately 1,926 employees with annual salaries greater than or equal to $100,000. The total value of their salaries was $324.6 million, with an average salary of $168,555.

NYCON Statement on Governor's
Review of Executive Compensation:

"NYCON supports IRS and state enforcement efforts to root out those relatively few and often large institutional nonprofits, especially in health care and higher education, where charitable resources are used for the private and personal gain of executives. Such abuses are a stain on the sector and the Governor is right, public trust is integral to the mission and work of our state's charities. The Internal Revenue Service already provides compensation guidelines as set forth in the federal tax code and we believe those guidelines should be upheld.

It needs to be emphasized, however, that these cases are very much the exception.

The vast majority of community-based nonprofit employees are doing hard and challenging work at compensation levels that are far below public employees and often the for-profit sector. It should also be noted that the phrase "taxpayer supported nonprofits" is misleading as the state government contracts to buy services from nonprofits, just as it contracts with the for-profit sector; except the nonprofit is often expected to unfairly perform at below the actual cost of doing business. Perhaps it is also time to order an extensive review of the executive compensation levels of "taxpayer supported for-profit businesses."

NYCON asks the Governor to take this opportunity to go beyond the immediate executive compensation issue and take a comprehensive look at how the state's overall regulatory and business relationship with the nonprofit sector can be improved in the interest of all concerned."

Doug Sauer, CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.
http://www.nycon.org/
1-800-515-5012, ext 103
dsauer@nycon.org

Medicaid Reform in NYS

Pressconnects.com reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is working to reform Medicaid, the program developmentally disabled people and their families rely on to pay for most of their care.

As the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) works to overhaul its current service structure, the system is in a state of flux.

OPWDD's budget provides $4.3 billion to support state and non-profit operated programs for 2011-12, including about 39,000 community residential placement spots. That number is up 200 from the previous budget year because of continued efforts to transition people in institutions into more appropriate community placements, said agency spokeswoman Nicole A. Weinstein.

The budget reforms the financing of many OPWDD programs and services, and expands less-costly day and residential programs by 2,400 spots. At the same time, it reduces funding for local programs, which are primarily run by nonprofits, by 2.8 percent, or $63 million. However, Weinstein notes that's still $20 million more for local programs than was budgeted in 2009-2010.

Non-profit and state agencies who care for the disabled are considering how they'll cope with their reduced funding.

Caring for the disabled can be costly.

"New York State's cost per person, per day in Developmental Centers is $1,220; the average cost to run a State-operated individual residential alternative in Broome County that offers 24/7 supervised care is $227,000 per person, per year," Weinstein explained.

Some severely disabled people require one-on-one supervision -- sometimes more -- and others require physical or occupational therapy or other supports.

"They're asking us how you're going to take your cut," said Stephen Sano, executive director of the Handicapped Children's Association (HCA). "What do you want us to do, heat on the odd days? Stop serving dinner?"

ACHIEVE Executive Director Mary Jo Thorn said her agency was expecting to lose at least $110,000 through reduced funding, which could hit programs that give the disabled somewhere productive to spend their waking hours -- such as day habilitation and pre-vocational training -- as well as equipment purchases.

There is some money available, such as for supported apartments and intensive behavioral services, Sano noted. The idea is to keep individuals with their families until the state makes it through the budget crunch, or a crisis intervenes. Once that's over, more group homes may be on the horizon again, at least in theory.

Care for the developmentally disabled, and the funding mechanisms behind it, are expected to change significantly with the 1115 Medicaid waiver, now under development by the OPWDD and state Department of Health.

Dubbed "People First," the waiver is intended to lower health care costs for the 100,000 developmentally disabled residents enrolled in Medicaid, according to the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities. Eighty percent of them have been assessed as needing an institutional level of care, either through an intermediate care facility (ICF) or a nursing home.

During the first five years the waiver takes effect, the state plans to create community services for the 275 people now housed in four developmental centers, including Broome, who don't have specialized treatment needs. There are also preliminary plans to reduce the institutional population at state institutions to 300 over the five-year period from the 1,260 there now, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

When it comes to funding, the waiver also would end the fee-for-service reimbursement system, and the state will work with CMS in the waiver's first year to ensure that per diem rates for group homes more closely reflect the actual cost of providing services, according to the association.

Community providers won't know the specifics until next year, Thorn said.

Read more here.