Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
WHEREAS, Each year in New York State more than 3,200
infants die and an estimated 10,000 children are afflicted with mental and
physical disabilities; and
WHEREAS, We have the means through educational,
nutritional, preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitative programs to
reduce such deaths and disabilities, allowing normal, productive lives for many
of these children; and
WHEREAS, New York State administers a major perventive
resource, the effectiveness of which depends in large part upon the ability of
State agencies to integrate and coordinate their efforts toward the achievement
of a common goal: the reduction of preventable deaths and disabilities among
our most vulnerable population, our children;
NOW THERERFORE, I, Hugh L, Carey, Governor of the State of
New York, by virture of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws
of the State of New York, do hereby establish a Governor's Conference for the
Prevention of Developmental Disabilities and Infant Mortality to develop a
Prevention Action Plan for use by the Legislature, State agencies, health,
education and social service providers and the general public in their efforts
to enhance the health of our future generations.
I. General Charge and Duties.
A. In preparing the Prevention Action Plan,
the Governor's Conference shall:
1. Gather
and analyze data and information relating to the activities of
State-administered preventive and early intervention programs.
2. Establish goals with respect to the
availability, accessibility, quality and cost of State-administered preventive
and early intervention programs
3.
Review Federal, State and local preventive and early intervention programs and
identify:
existing inadequacies;
possible modifications of programs, if appropriate;
necessary new initiatives; and possible measures to
increase coordination between Federal, State and local programs.
4. Recommend strategies to improve
the effectiveness of State-administered programs.
5. Conduct public hearings to solicit
comments from interested parties and consider those comments in formulation of
a final plan.
B. The
Governor's Conference shall submit to the Governor a preliminary Prevention
Action Plan and, after distribution to all interested parties and the conduct
of public meetings, a final Prevention Action Plan by September 4,
1981.
C. After submission of the
final plan, the Governor's Conference shall conduct a Statewide Conference on
Prevention of Infant Mortality and Developmental Disabilities to present its
findings and recommendations.
II. Membership.
A. The Governor's Conference shall consist of
the commissioner, chairperson, or director of the following agencies: The
Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the Education
Department, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Services, the
Office of Mental Health, the Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, the
Division of Substance Abuse Services, the Office of the Advocate for the
Disabled, the Council on Children and Families, the Commission on Quality of
Care for the Mentally Disabled, the Health Planning Commission and at least 25
additional members to be appointed by the Governor who have demonstrated
expertise or a strong interest in the prevention of infant mortality and
developmental disabilities.
B. The
Commissioner of the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
shall serve as chairperson and the Commissioners of Health and Education shall
serve as vice-chairpersons.
III. Personnel and Operations.
A. In carrying out its charge and duties the
Governor's Conference shall, to the extent feasible, make use of the resources
of existing State departments and agencies capable of providing such
assistance, and such departments and agencies are hereby directed to assist the
Governor's Conference as requested by the chairperson. To the extent that funds
are from time to time provided to the conference subject to the approval of the
Director of the Budget, the chairperson may employ such personnel as he or she
deems necessary and desirable to carry out the charge and duties of the
Governor's Conference and provide them with compensation within the amounts
available therefor.
B. Governor's
Conference members, except the commissioners, chairpersons, or directors of
State departments, agencies or offices, or their designees, shall be unsalaried
but shall be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses of their duties
as members.
C. The Governor's
Conference shall meet at such times as designated by the chairperson.
IV. Termination of Governor's
Conference Activities.
The Governor's Conference shall terminate its work on or
about December 31, 1981.
Signed: Hugh L. CareyDated: December 16,
1980
