Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara announced that legislation he sponsored establishing a group homes working group passed both houses this past session and will be on its way to the governor’s desk (A.9162). The measure would also ensure the working group solicits feedback from group home residents to help improve living conditions and communication between residents and their families.

“Residents of group homes, who often have disabilities, deserve the right to weigh in on how they are being treated,” said Santabarbara. “However, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a stark failure in communication between residents and the institutions tasked with supporting them. My bill will establish a more open forum for feedback to help us target the issues most important to group home residents and their families.”

Studies from the first few months of the pandemic show how vulnerable group home residents and staff were to contracting COVID-19. The COVID-19 case rate for group home residents was more than triple that of New York’s general population. Reports from early 2021 indicate that well over 10,000 group home staff members had been infected with COVID-19, with a number of them becoming fatally ill. Many of these cases were due to communication failures between residents, staff and the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).

As a member of the Assembly Mental Health Committee and the father of a son with autism, Santabarbara has always worked to amplify and protect the voices of our most vulnerable and has been an advocate for the disability community. Once Santabarbara’s bill is signed by the governor, it would create a new working group of stakeholders responsible for receiving feedback from group home residents, their family members and guardians. The working group would be entrusted with making sure these voices are heard and bringing any problems or recommendations to OPWDD, state Legislature or any other relevant government entity, noted Santabarbara.