Family Resources

Welcome to Carman Road School Family Resources!

We believe it's important to keep our community close and informed, and we're excited to stay connected with our families. We're committed to reaching out to our families and students with meaningful and relevant content. Our mission is stronger than ever, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

We hope you find these resources helpful. Throughout the year, we'll be seeking your feedback, ideas, and contributions to make this page even better.

At Carman Road, we all have somebody to lean on 💜

A student leaning on a staff member while they are seated on the floor during a Smartboard activity.

Family Resources

Parent Support Meetings

What is a Parent Support Meeting?

Our Parent Support Meetings are participant-led meetings facilitated by a PPS member. We acknowledge that each parent and/or family of a child with special needs approaches their situation in their own unique way.

Having the support and understanding of other parents and families who have walked in your shoes can provide a priceless measure of comfort and connection.

Sharing experiences, suggestions, and resources can help relieve some of the stress you may feel. Sometimes, it just helps to connect with someone who wants to listen because they've "been there."

Become a Support Family

Families Helping Families: Become a Support Family

What is a Support Family?
Families who offer to speak, support, and teach other families are referred to as "Support Families".

How do we become a Support Family?
All our families will be contacted in the near future to consider volunteering to become a Support Family.

What kind of support does a Support Family offer?
A Support Family will provide emotional support and information to families of individuals with disabilities or other special needs. A Support Family provides a safe listening environment and can be a wealth of information to other families. Listening is a priority.

Through our developing matching program, we offer parents and other caregivers the opportunity to connect one-to-one with a family or other caregiver of an individual with the same or similar disability or special health care need — someone who has "been there." Generally, parent-to-parent support is via telephone conversations between parents. Carman Road School will be available to facilitate virtual meetings and to supply any follow-up and/or resources necessary.

Support Families are key support to families of individuals with disabilities or special health care needs.

Parent Training Meetings

Virtual Parent Training at CRS

Carman Road School is committed to meeting the unique needs of families. To this end, our training program is designed with direct input from our families.

The first step in implementing our training program is to assess the needs of the families we are serving. We rely on feedback from our families by conducting surveys to inform us what would be most helpful and useful. See the list below for some of the previous topics we have presented.

Adaptive Living Skills
Functions of Behavior
Communication Skills
Understanding Your Child’s IEP
And many more...

Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver these training sessions in person. We will be streaming live and invite participants via Microsoft Teams. If you are not able to join us live, please access the resources after the presentation date.

Archived Presentations

Understanding Emotions

Monthly Curriculum Calendars

Navigating Benefits for Your Child

Navigating the benefits available to your child can be daunting. At Carman Road School, we work hard to stay on top of changes and new opportunities for our students. Attaining eligibility is the first step to their future, but even the terminology can be confusing. Terms such as eligibility, front door, waiver, CDPAP, and more are commonly used in the benefits realm. Whether you're experienced in navigating these waters or exploring them for the first time, we're here to support you. Here, we've provided the basics of securing benefits and the types of benefits available.

When should I apply?
It’s never too late or too early to apply for services for your child. You can start as early as age 3.

Should I apply even if I have my own insurance?
Yes. These are lifelong benefits once an applicant is deemed eligible.

What’s available?
There are two types of supports: Children's Waiver and OPWDD (Office for People With Developmental Disabilities). Let's learn about them both:

New York currently has two Medicaid waivers that accept children. Both waivers are HCBS 1915(c) waivers and waive parent income. For general information on the Children's Waiver program in New York, see the information below. For New York's gateway to services for people with developmental disabilities, please access the Front Door information or an OPWDD open house information session.

In 2019, New York combined several waivers to form a new Children's Waiver. The terminated waivers include the three Bridges waivers for children in foster care, OMH SED (mental health), and the Care at Home waivers.

* New York also has two adult-only waivers, the Nursing Home Transition and Diversion Medicaid Waiver and the Traumatic Brain Injury Medicaid Waiver.

For a more detailed portfolio of services available for you and your child, please contact Fran Fishman at 516-608-6233.

Children’s Home and Community-Based Services

How do Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) help children/youth and families/caregivers?

Are provided where children/youth and families are most comfortable — at home or in the community
Support children and youth as they work toward goals and achievements
Help children and youth be successful at home, in school, and in other environments
Offer personal, flexible services to meet the health, mental health, substance use treatment and/or developmental needs of each child/youth

What is Health Home Care Management?

A Health Home is not a place, it is a person who can help you find services that are right for you and your family. Health Home Care Managers work together as a team with children/youth and their families and service providers to make sure they receive the care and services they need to stay healthy. All Children eligible for HCBS can get care management services through the Health Home care management program. Children/Youth not enrolled in a Health Home care management program can call 518-473-5569 or email hhsc@health.ny.gov to get more information and/or enroll.

Office for People With Developmental Disabilities

The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is responsible for coordinating services for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, Prader-Willi syndrome and other neurological impairments. It provides services directly and through a network of approximately 500 nonprofit service providing agencies, with about 80 percent of services provided by the private nonprofits and 20 percent provided by state-run services.

Getting a Break

Caring for others, while rewarding, can also be exhausting. Family members who care for a loved one with a developmental disability can sometimes need a break. Respite services provide temporary relief from the demands of care giving, which can help reduce overall family stress. This enables families to better meet the needs of their loved one with a developmental disability. Respite can be provided in the home or out of the home, during the day, evenings or overnight.

Respite is an “indirect” service that provides relief to people who are responsible for the primary care and support of a person with a developmental disability. When a family member, Family Care provider or live-in/house-parent staff person has to deal with family illness, emergency, or caregiver or staff vacation, respite services can ensure that their loved one’s needs are met.

Crisis Prevention and Response

Crisis Services for Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (CSIDD) offers crisis prevention and response services to people who have both developmental disabilities and complex behavioral needs, as well as to their families and those who provide supports. Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to OPWDD eligible individuals age 6 and over who meet CSIDD eligibility. The goal of CSIDD is to build relationships and supports across service systems to help people remain in their homes and communities and enhance the ability of the community to support them.

CSIDD Teams provide the following services:

Community partnerships and systems linkages
Systemic and clinical consultation and training
Community training and education
Clinical Education Team training meetings
Cross Systems Crisis Prevention and Intervention Planning
Mobile crisis support and response for individuals enrolled in CSIDD services
Outreach and follow up; and
Comprehensive Service Evaluation

First Steps to OPWDD: Front Door Information Session

ATTEND AN INFORMATION SESSION TO LEARN ABOUT SUPPORTS AND SERVICES

The OPWDD Front Door Information Sessions will outline the process of how you can become eligible for supports and services, the types of supports and services available and where you can go to get assistance. Registration for the Front Door Information Sessions is done locally through your Regional Office or voluntary agency provider.

All Regional Offices offer translation services for the language that best fits your needs and some offer Information Sessions in a language other than English. When registering for an Information Session please let the facilitator know if you need translation services or have other accessibility needs.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: all in-person Front Door Information Sessions are presently canceled and alternatives such as Phone Conferencing and WebEx are being offered in each district.

Understanding Benefits

What Type of Benefits Are Available?

Navigating the benefits available to your child can be a daunting task. At Carman Road School, we work hard to stay on top of changes and new opportunities for our students. Attaining eligibility is the first step to their future, but even the terminology can be confusing. Terms like eligibility, front door, waiver, CDPAP, and more are commonly used in the realm of benefits. Whether you have navigated these waters before or are exploring them for the first time, we are here to support you. Here, we have provided the basics of securing benefits and the types of benefits available.

New York currently has two Medicaid waivers that accept children. Both waivers are HCBS 1915(c) waivers and waive parent income. For general information on the Children's Waiver program in New York, see the information below. For New York's gateway to services for people with developmental disabilities, please access the Front Door information or an OPWDD open house information session.

In 2019, New York combined several waivers to form a new Children's Waiver. The terminated waivers include the three Bridges waivers for children in foster care, OMH SED (mental health), and the Care at Home waivers.

* New York also has two adult-only waivers, Nursing Home Transition and Diversion Medicaid Waiver and Traumatic Brain Injury.

We have provided below a brief overview of these services; however, for a more detailed portfolio of services available for you and your child, please contact Fran Fishman at 516-608-6233.

Children’s Home and Community-Based Services

How Do Home and Community-Based Services Help Children, Youth, and Families/Caregivers?

Are provided where children, youth, and families are most comfortable—at home or in the community
Support children and youth as they work toward goals and achievements
Help children and youth be successful at home, in school, and in other environments
Offer personal, flexible services to meet the health, mental health, substance use treatment, and/or developmental needs of each child or youth

What Is Health Home Care Management?

A Health Home is not a place; it is a person who can help you find services that are right for you and your family. Health Home Care Managers work together as a team with children and youth, their families, and service providers to make sure they receive the care and services they need to stay healthy. All children eligible for HCBS can get care management services through the Health Home care management program. Children and youth not enrolled in a Health Home care management program can call 518-473-5569 or email hhsc@health.ny.gov to get more information and/or enroll.

Office for People With Developmental Disabilities

The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is responsible for coordinating services for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, Prader-Willi syndrome, and other neurological impairments. It provides services directly and through a network of approximately 500 nonprofit service-providing agencies, with about 80 percent of services provided by private nonprofits and 20 percent provided by state-run services.

Getting a Break

Caring for others, while rewarding, can also be exhausting. Family members who care for a loved one with a developmental disability can sometimes need a break. Respite services provide temporary relief from the demands of caregiving, which can help reduce overall family stress. This enables families to better meet the needs of their loved one. Respite can be provided in the home or out of the home, during the day, evenings, or overnight.

Respite is an “indirect” service that provides relief to people who are responsible for the primary care and support of a person with a developmental disability. When a family member, family care provider, or live-in/house-parent staff person has to deal with illness, an emergency, or vacation, respite services can ensure that their loved one’s needs are met.

Crisis Prevention and Response

Crisis Services for Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (CSIDD) offers crisis prevention and response services to people who have both developmental disabilities and complex behavioral needs, as well as to their families and those who provide support. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to OPWDD-eligible individuals age 6 and over who meet CSIDD eligibility. The goal of CSIDD is to build relationships and supports across service systems to help people remain in their homes and communities and enhance the ability of the community to support them.

Services Provided by CSIDD Teams

Community partnerships and systems linkages
Systemic and clinical consultation and training
Community training and education
Clinical Education Team training meetings
Cross-systems crisis prevention and intervention planning
Mobile crisis support and response for individuals enrolled in CSIDD services
Outreach and follow-up
Comprehensive service evaluation

First Steps to OPWDD: Front Door Information Session

The OPWDD Front Door Information Sessions outline the process for becoming eligible for supports and services, the types of supports available, and where to get assistance. Registration is done locally through your Regional Office or a voluntary agency provider.

All Regional Offices offer translation services for the language that best fits your needs, and some offer information sessions in languages other than English. When registering, please let the facilitator know if you need translation services or have other accessibility needs.