ALBANY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A statewide, coordinated system for transportation of individuals with disabilities could significantly improve their connections with jobs, community activities and overall quality of life, while delivering more efficient use of government and service-provider resources.
That is the key finding from a newly released report developed for the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) by Public Consulting Group, Inc., (PCG) a leading provider of management-consulting services to public-sector education, health, and human services clients, and subcontractor Nelson\Nygaard.
The report, “Study to Design a Mobility Management Program,” evaluated existing resources and systems for providing transportation to individuals with disabilities across New York’s 62 counties. More than 1,000 direct service providers and transit providers were surveyed and interviewed.
PCG also evaluated human services transportation policies and practices in 11 states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin.
PCG identified opportunities for New York to pioneer innovations in coordinating transportation for individuals with disabilities with a focus on jobs and community integration. The report recommends New York:
- Establish a statewide human services transportation coordination infrastructure that would include access for individuals to available public transit, taxi, ride sharing, carpool, volunteer driver, and specialized transportation options meeting new, clearly defined standards for reliability and safety.
- Establish regional coordination councils for human services transportation, modeled on New York’s existing 10 Regional Economic Development Council boundaries, to create a structure for developing, sharing, and sustaining best practices uniformly across the state.
- Conduct pilots of three mobility management strategies in three regions of New York to gain on-the-ground experience to develop better, more efficient transportation options for individuals.
Nathan Grossman, the PCG Manager who led the team that produced the report, said, “All states recognize that limited transportation options are a barrier for people with disabilities to get and keep good jobs and to exercise greater self-determination in their lives. The difference is that New York has pushed the conversation further to think broadly about potential solutions. We were impressed to see that some New York communities are already applying transportation coordination strategies, and we incorporated these into our recommendations because they’ve been shown to work.”
Bill Mosakowski, founder, president, and CEO of PCG, said, “New York’s pioneering and visionary work in commissioning and overseeing this study demonstrates that opportunities abound across all 50 states to rationalize and improve how we provide transportation as part of human services programs. PCG is excited and grateful to be part of an initiative that can transform the lives of our family members, friends, and fellow citizens living with disabilities by dramatically improving their access to work, social activity, and connection with their communities overall.”
About Public Consulting Group
Public Consulting Group, Inc.
(PCG) is a leading public sector consulting firm that partners with
health, education, and human services agencies to improve lives. Founded
in 1986 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PCG has nearly 2000
professionals in more than 60 offices in the US, Canada, and Europe.
PCG’s Human Services practice is a proven national leader in management
consulting services that help state, county, and municipal human
services agencies achieve their performance goals in order to better
serve populations in need. To learn more, visit www.publicconsultinggroup.com.
