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Putnam Independent Living Services Receives New State Funding Allocation
Aggressively advocating for the needs of special education students will be the first order of business for a Carmel-based disability advocacy organization this fall with the help of an annual $272,000 state Senate funding allocation.
Putnam Independent Living Services (PILS) has been providing advocacy and referral services to persons with disabilities in Putnam and Northern Westchester Counties since its inception in 2002. PILS is the satellite office of Westchester Independent Living Center (WILC) -one of 37 consumer-driven disability resource centers across the state. WILC Executive Director, Joseph Bravo solicited federal funding to implement PILS to address the escalating need for disability awareness regarding issues of housing, employment, heath care and ADA compliance in Putnam County. Now he will have state funding as well.
"With this new state funding we will be able to effectively address the escalating need for educational advocacy for special education students and their parents in Putnam and Northern Westchester," says Bravo. "Parents need to know their rights and what the legal protections are for their children when they encounter violations within the special education system," Bravo says.
"We have plans to contract with a consulting attorney to help empower these parents with information as to how they can best obtain services, hearings, proper assessments and results from schools districts when their child's needs are not being met," he says.
The funding for PILS was part of a $1 million final State Budget allocation, with Senator Vincent Leibell as the sponsor for Putnam. "I am very pleased that we were able to secure funding for Putnam Independent Living Services, " says Leibell. "The services that these centers provide throughout New York State are vitally important to people of all ages within their community. This budget appropriation will allow Putnam Independent Living Services to expand programs and increase staff so that they may better serve the citizens of Putnam County," Leibell says.
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