COVID-19 PANDEMIC OVERSIGHT COMPTROLLER REPORT
‘Inconsistent emergency management coordination and oversight put residents, families and staff in harm’s way’
Nancy Cutler – Rockland/Westchester Journal News USA TODAY NETWORK – in the D&C ib 4/8/23 on page A1
A lack of preparation for a pandemic, confusing and missing guidance from the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities and growing staff shortages made COVID all the more hazardous for people with developmental disabilities who live in group homes and similar facilities, an audit by the New York state comptroller found.
The numbers show the cost: 657 COVID- related deaths occurred among people with developmental disabilities in New York’s residential facilities prior to April 5, 2022, the period that the audit focused on. (The latest OPWDD data show that there have been 707 COVIDrelated deaths of residents in group homes and other care facilities as of March 2023; 51 staff members also have died of COVID-related causes.)
About 34,117 New Yorkers live in residential settings overseen by OPWDD; about 83% live in facilities operated by nonprofit agencies, with the rest operated directly by OPWDD.