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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lori Podvesker, Director of Disability and Education Policy at INCLUDEnyc
5:23:09
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Lori Podvesker from INCLUDEnyc urges the council to fully fund the autism awareness initiative in FY26, emphasizing the critical need for support services for families with children on the autism spectrum, especially in light of potential federal funding cuts.
- Requests restoration of funding to FY23 levels plus a 3% increase, totaling $3,416,351 for FY26
- Highlights INCLUDEnyc's impact: over 1,200 autism-related helpline requests, workshops with 2,000 attendees, and an in-person event with nearly 1,000 participants
- Stresses the importance of continued support for services such as early intervention, special education, and community-based programs for children with autism and developmental disabilities
Lori Podvesker
5:23:09
Hi.
5:23:10
I'd like to thank the joint committees for holding this important hearing.
5:23:13
My name is Lori Podvesker, and I lead the work at Include NYC.
5:23:17
I'm also a parent of a 22 year old with developmental disabilities.
5:23:21
Include NYC, formerly known as Resources for Children with Special Needs, has helped hundreds of thousands of families navigate the complex special education service and support systems.
5:23:31
Today, we testify to urge the council to fund the autism awareness initiative in f y twenty six fully.
5:23:37
Families with children on the autism spectrum have always struggled with accessing adequate services and support for their loved ones living at home.
5:23:45
However, with devastating cuts looming at the federal level to Medicaid and education, there has never been a more significant time than now for the city to fund services and to ensure the individuals who benefit from them continue to do so.
5:23:58
This funding will allow community based organizations such as Include NYC to continue supporting and connecting children and families in dire need of critical information on how to access services and support at home, school, and within the communities such as early intervention, preschool and special and school age special education services, public benefits, home and community based services through the New York State's Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, child and medical care, behavioral mental health support, and socialization activities in groups.
5:24:30
We also expect in the coming year to see extreme staffing and program shortages, significant delays in evaluations, larger class sizes, and reduced protections for students with disabilities and civil rights enforcements, sadly leaving the safety of our most vulnerable children at even greater risk today.
5:24:49
According to the most recent annual report on special education from the New York City Public Schools to the city council as per local law '27, more than thirty three thousand children with autism between the ages of three through 21 received special education services last year.
5:25:05
And as per the preliminary mayor's management report, roughly ten percent of all infants in the city receive early intervention services including forty four hundred babies who receive them for the first time in the first four months of fiscal year twenty five.
5:25:20
Last year at Include NYC, our helpline helped had over 1,200 requests related to autism including including 500 for them for children under five.
5:25:30
We held lots of workshops with almost 2,000 attendees, and we held an in person event that had nearly a thousand attendees doing activities in person.
5:25:40
To summarize, we urge the council to restore funding to the level it was at in f y twenty three and to apply a 3% increase, which never happened, to help providers address the rising cost of providing services for a total investment of $3,416,351 in f y twenty six.
5:26:00
These funds provide vital resources for programs that would not have any other city support.
5:26:06
Thank you so much.
5:26:06
Thank you.
5:26:07
Next.