ACTS-CNY

In September 2007 after the extensive listening campaign in the congregations and associations involved with ACTS, health care became one of the issues chosen at the Issues Assembly.

After much research and development, the core issue that was refined and presented at the Public Meeting on November 18, 2007 was the 7500 children in Onondaga County who are without health insurance according to Dr. Cynthia Morrow, Onondaga County Health Commissioner. Dr. Morrow indicated that the children are qualified for the public insurance yet are not covered. At the Public Meeting, we received positive answers from potential allies from Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Congressman Jim Walsh, State Assembly members Al Stirpe, Joan Christensen, SEIU and others.

Since November, the members of the task force have been very busy establishing partnerships with various stakeholders. We have been blessed to have an Intern, Monique Brantley from Syracuse University who is helping with data analysis. We have also begun collaboration with the insurers who provide the coverage, the Onondaga County DSS office, the New York State Health Department, Syracuse Community Health Center, County Health Department, County Executive’s office, Governor Paterson’s office and have been meeting monthly. We have been receiving many calls asking to work with us to help solve this issue of children without coverage.

Our most recent meeting of the collaborative group was held on Thursday, March 20, at which there were representatives from all stakeholder groups. We discussed the barriers to enrolling families and the system as it exists now. The governor’s office can certainly help us and a letter is being formulated to him about our needs in helping remove some of the barriers. Amanda Nestor of the Onondaga County Health Department will work on a draft letter. We envision having something to report from the governor’s office by our banquet in May.

The goal of the health care task force is to have a system in place to identify the 7500 children, enroll them and prevent our children from falling through the cracks in the future. With the help of our partners, we expect to accomplish our initial goal and to have a foundation to explore future areas of concern in health care.

Linda Ervin

March 31, 2008 was the target date set by Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s office, when she committed to work with ACTS at the November 2008 public meeting, by which to have procedures in place for every person incarcerated at the Onondaga County Justice Center or the Onondaga County Department of Correction (Jamesville) to obtain a New York State Department of Motor Vehicles photo identification card upon his or her release. Having photo identification is necessary to access services that one might need post-release and to obtain employment so as to reduce recidivism.

A core group of ACTS Justice Taskforce leaders have been meeting monthly since January 2008 with representatives from partner organizations including the County Executive’s office, the Justice Center/Sheriff’s Department, the Department of Correction (Jamesville), the Probation Department, the Syracuse City School District/Incarcerated Education Program, the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the Health Department, the Department of Social Services, the Jail Ministry, the Center for Community Alternatives, the Concerned Citizen’s Action Program, and the Southside Resource Center of Catholic Charities. As of March 31, the group has:

• assessed the need for this type of intervention and found that, based on samples from people incarcerated at the Justice Center and people released from Jamesville, over 50 percent of people incarcerated have no photo identification, and over one-third do not have a Social Security card;
• developed a questionnaire to be administered to people when they arrive at the Justice Center to determine what documentation they need to obtain photo identification upon release;
• secured an agreement between the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the Justice Center, and Jamesville that Vital Statistics will provide, free of charge, a government-issued birth certificate for those incarcerated people born in Onondaga County or any other county in New York State;
• received a commitment from the Justice Center to use their Commissary Fund for Indigent Inmate Needs to cover, on a case-by-case basis, the fees associated with obtaining an out-of-state birth certificate;
• submitted a request for a memorandum of understanding between the Social Security Administration, the Justice Center, and Jamesville whereby certified records from the Justice Center or Jamesville could be used to obtain a Social Security card;
• submitted a request for a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Justice Center, and Jamesville whereby certified records from the Justice Center or Jamesville could be accepted as the four points of proof of identity required, in addition to a birth certificate and a Social Security card, to obtain DMV photo identification;
• assembled a transition sub-committee, consisting of representatives from the above relevant organizations as well as the District Attorney’s office and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), to identify a central clearinghouse in which to store all the documentation gathered for people while they are incarcerated, and to develop procedures for assisting people in obtaining their identification upon release;
• initiated the planning for an evaluation structure to assess the implementation and outcomes of the intervention; and
• adopted procedures to conduct a pilot study of the intervention at the Justice Center to begin when responses are received regarding the memorandums of understanding with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Emily NaPier

Our list of member organizations keeps growing - we have now reached 24! Please visit our Members page for a complete list.