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TICKETS Fore CHARITY is a unique fundraising initiative designed to improve the quality of lives in the communities where PGA TOUR and Champions Tour tournaments are held. As a participating non-profit of this years TICKETS Fore CHARITY initiative, UCP has the fantastic opportunity to raise much needed funds by promoting the sales of tickets to The Barclays to be held August 21-26, 2012 at Bethpage State Park: The Black Course inFarmingdale, New York.

The Barclays has been a part of the PGA TOUR schedule since 1967. As the first of four playoff events, The Barclays plays a leading role in the FedExCup, the season-long competition that is the centerpiece of the PGA TOUR season.

When you purchase a ticket to attend this exciting sporting event, 100% of the net proceeds from the ticket sales go to charity: 75% of the net proceeds will benefit UCP and the other 25% goes to The First Tee of Metropolitan New York, a non-profit aimed at positively impacting the lives of young people through the game of golf.

This year we will only be selling the weekly grounds tickets for $150. This includes all 6 days of practice and tournament rounds. To purchase tickets through Ticketmaster go to www.buytfc.com and enter the promotional code WOODS (must be in all CAPS). This code assigns the proceeds of your ticket purchase to UCP.

Out-of-Home Respite

UCP provides Out-of-Home Respite for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in hotel settings, while families/caregivers are able to get a break from caregiving and do whatever their heart desires! While being taken care of by our dedicated and attentive staff, your loved one with a disability will have a blast taking part in leisure and social activities, eating at restaurants, and enjoying the pool if s/he so chooses.

Eligibility for UCP’s Out-of-Home Respite includes being DDD-registered, not requiring one-on-one care/supervision (DDD policies don’t allow for this level of care at Hotel Respite), and able to maintain conduct conducive to community settings. Payment for Hotel Respite can be through DDD, Real Life Choices or Self-Directed Day budgets, or self-pay.

Referral Procedure – If you would like UCP Hotel Respite services, call your DDD case worker and ask to be referred to UCP for Hotel Respite. If you do not have a DDD case manager, call DDS at 888-285-3036 and request Hotel Respite with UCP. If are to self-pay or have a RLC budget, call UCP directly (908-879-2243). Feel free to call UCP’s Respite Division for questions or more information. Check our website at http://www.ucpncsnj.org for Out-of-Home Respite updates and/or changes. We look forward to serving you!

A Word from the Executive Director

As I approach my one year anniversary I want to share with all of you, some of the changes made here at UCP.

First, we reorganized the programs into three divisions: The Division of Independent and Community Supports, The Division of Respite Services and The Division of Housing Services

Along with the reorganization, staff were promoted and/or re-assigned to more accurately reflect our new direction
We eliminated duplication of services by consolidating “like” services
We reduced the number of staff
We have positioned the agency to be more flexible in reacting to the ever changing funding landscape
The staff has worked very hard to provide a good mix of activities for the out-of-home respite services and our recreation and social support services
We have made major capital repairs to our two independent living homes in Morris County, as well as the two group homes in Somerset County
We have recruited new members to serve on the UCP Board of Directors
We painted the offices in Chester
We have met with many of the families being served by UCP programs to introduce our new staff and provide updates about on-going programs.

Besides the positive changes, there were also some negative changes experienced by UCP. One of the biggest changes was in the out-of-home respite program (hotel respite). The State Dept. of Developmental Disabilities has decided not to “contract” for these services, but to reimburse agencies on a “fee for service” model. The State has also reduced the total number of nights a participant can use in one year; that being 4 nights total in a year. In addition, referrals must now come to UCP directly from the DDD case manager.

As a result of these changes, the funding anticipated for this year’s budget was significantly lower than anticipated. The staff and I are working hard to assure that we can meet these challenges head on and continue to provide quality respite services to our participants and their families.

One way you can help would be to request to participate in UCP’s out-of-home respite program to your case manager at DDD. Our schedule of out-of-home respite is located in this newsletter. Be sure to check it out and request these services.

The Board and staff are organizing a strategic planning meeting in this Spring to lay out our goals for the coming years. If you would like to participate in this meeting, please contact me at the office in Chester.

We are all looking forward to exciting times, new programs, and expansion of our housing services in the coming years.

Andrea Krich

Executive Director

NJ Governors’ FY 2013 Budget Address Includes Changes for Children with Developmental Disabilities and Senior Citizens

DDD for those with DD transitioning starting at age 16. Other points of note include: The Governor recognized that only Texas has more Individuals with disabilities in institutions than NJ. He committed to serving more people in the community. His budget allocates $24.7 million to be invested to support individuals with developmental disabilities in the community. He indicated that this investment will help more individuals live in the community, offer supports to more people on the waiting list, and support those aging-out at 21. The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services will receive $5.6 million and DHS will receive $10 million from the closing of Hagedorn State Hospital in June. These funds will be a reinvestment of the savings from closing Hagedorn to providing services to those with mental illness in the community. A Division of Aging is being created in DHS for all seniors. Again the focus will be on serving more people in the community. Excerpt of summary by Daniel J. Keating, Ph.D., Executive Director of Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, of Governor Christie’s FY2013 Budget Address For full text of the Governor’s Budget Address, see: www.state.nj.us/governor/news/addresses/2010s/approved/20120221.html

In his Budget address [on Feb. 21, 2012], Governor Christie announced the creation of a new division in The Department of Child and Families (DCF) All children regardless of etiology will be served in DCF. This is meant to alleviate the burden of families who have to go from [State] agency to agency for supports. The key phrase is treat the "whole child/whole family." There will be joint partnerships between DCF and DHS/DDD for those with DD transitioning starting at age 16.

Other points of note include:

The Governor recognized that only Texas has more Individuals with disabilities in institutions than NJ. He committed to serving more people in the community. His budget allocates $24.7 million to be invested to support individuals with developmental disabilities in the community. He indicated that this investment will help more individuals live in the community, offer supports to more people on the waiting list, and support those aging-out at 21.

The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services will receive $5.6 million and DHS will receive $10 million from the closing of Hagedorn State Hospital in June. These funds will be a reinvestment of the savings from closing Hagedorn to providing services to those with mental illness in the community.

A Division of Aging is being created in DHS for all seniors. Again the focus will be on serving more people in the community.

Excerpt of summary by Daniel J. Keating, Ph.D., Executive Director of Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, of Governor Christie’s FY2013 Budget Address

For full text of the Governor’s Budget Address, see: www.state.nj.us/governor/news/addresses/2010s/approved/20120221.html

**More "Good" Ways to Help UCP... Without Really Trying!**

GoodSearch! GoodShop! You have likely heard of these before – and hopefully even used them to benefit our UCP programs. When you designate ‘United Cerebral Palsy of Northern, Central and Southern New Jersey’ as your charity, GoodSearch donates one cent to UCP for each Internet search you do through their search engine. GoodShop will donate a percentage of your online purchases with various companies to UCP (and many of the companies offer you discounts when ordering through GoodShop).

NOW, GoodDining will donate a percentage of your restaurant/food vendor purchases to UCP as well! You sign up online (it’s quick and easy), it’s completely free (to you and UCP), and you can search for the restaurants in your area – or where you will be going – and the days/times your purchases will yield donations for your selected charity (UCP of NCSNJ, of course!). Some even include take-out and delivery orders.

We realize that the current economy has affected many people, and these are all ways you can give to our UCP programs – without having to reach into your pockets, and help to ensure that we will always be here for the people that benefit from our services. Of course additional means of giving to UCP are still needed, but GoodSearch/Shop/Dining provides a way for anyone who uses the Internet to give on a regular basis. Once you enter us as your charity, your searches, shopping, and dining purchases will begin to benefit UCP of Northern, Central and Southern New Jersey.

Click on each of the images below to visit the three websites.

Corporate Volunteers Paint a Bright Future

A big thank you goes out to the volunteers from Skyline Steel for their help in getting a fresh coat of paint in our Chester office.

Back (L-R): Chris Zeris, Nadine Anson, Jameson Allen, Kurt Levins, Karin Krsteski, Morgan Yam
Front (L-R): Margarita Iosiphakis, Joseph Pergola
Not pictured: Gloria Navarro

PeopleCare and UCP Receive Gift of Playhouse

The PeopleCare Center for Non-Profits and United Cerebral Palsy gratefully accepted a gift of a handicapped-accessible playhouse from Parksite of North Brunswick, New Jersey. The gift commemorated the 40th anniversary of Parksite, a 100% employee-owned sales, marketing, and distribution company serving many segments of the building industry with a focus on both interior and exterior products.

The playhouse was constructed entirely of products distributed by Parksite. According to Mitch Lauver, Building Products Specialist for Parksite, the PeopleCare donation is one of 7 playhouses constructed by Parksite and donated to non-profit agencies east of the Mississippi River.

Arrangements for the donation of the playhouse were made through Ann Geller, Director of Development for United Cerebral Palsy of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey, Inc. Amongst our services, UCP runs programs for children at the PeopleCare Center in Bridgewater, NJ.

“We are extremely grateful to both Parksite and United Cerebral Palsy for this wonderful addition to our playground,” commented Marie Hughes, PeopleCare Executive Director. “Many of the agencies that call PeopleCare home serve the needs of young children and the playhouse will be used and enjoyed by all.”

Mitch Lauver, Building Products Specialist for Parksite , looks on as Ann Geller, Director of Development for United Cerebral Palsy of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey, Inc. invites Marie Hughes, Executive Director of PeopleCare Center to enter the new playhouse constructed and donated by Parksite.

2011 Annual Family Options Holiday Party

Two special holiday events were held in December for individuals and families served by United Cerebral Palsy of Northern, Central and Southern New Jersey.

The Annual Family Options Holiday Party on December 11th was a blast! DJ Jeanmarie had people up and dancing, including a conga-line around the room, karaoke and a trivia game. Guests were treated to a smorgasbord of foods lining the buffet tables, many donated by area businesses and representing favorites for Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Three Kings Day. Family photos, gifts, and a visit from Santa rounded out the affair. Based on the participation, smiles and feedback, we think everyone had a wonderful time.

On December 17th, for the 7th year, Villagers Theatre and the My Name Is Matthew Project hosted a beautiful afternoon of family entertainment, putting on a special performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” just for UCP! Tina Lee, Founder of My Name Is Matthew Project, greeted the audience before the play began and treated the audience to a short video highlighting past years of the Project’s events, and introduced her son Matthew – the nemesis and motivation for the Project. The performers were wonderful; the play was sprinkled with humor; and the hosts provided guests with ‘royal treatment’ providing cushioned floor seating up front, refreshments handed out at our seats during intermission, an adorable fluffy reindeer friend to take home, and a special visit from Santa after the performance. UCP presented a plaque to Villagers Theatre and the My Name Is Matthew Project; flowers to Tina; and certificates to the numerous volunteers, as a token of our gratitude for making this day possible.

We enter 2012 hopeful and inspired by the efforts and generosity exemplified by the dozens of people who each did their part and collectively created such a memorable experience for our families!