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Record of Proceedings

Social Services, Disabilities & Human Rights Committee Update from Office for People with Disabilities – June 2, 2026

Board of Legislators & Committees — Tuesday, June 2, 2026
BodyWestchester County, New York
SessionBoard of Legislators & Committees
DateTuesday, June 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 56:57

Original source
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0:00

So do you see that?

0:01

I'll send it to you right now.

0:05

I'm fine, you guys could start, but I'm gonna join from another device before I hop off this.

0:09

Okay, thank you.

0:10

No problem.

0:11

All right.

0:11

And we're gonna go now.

0:14

This meeting is being recorded and summarized.

0:20

Okay.

0:21

Thank you.

0:23

All right, good morning.

0:25

This is the Committee on Social Services, Disability, and Human Rights.

0:29

I'm the NC Bar, I chair the committee.

0:32

And uh we are going to take attendance here.

0:37

How about our vice chairwoman?

0:40

Williams Johnson.

0:44

And legislator in Mamora.

0:46

Yeah.

0:46

Legislator.

0:47

Who Jeff?

0:49

Here.

0:50

Excellent legislator Williams.

0:53

Excellent.

0:54

And Sher Gashi.

0:56

Alrighty.

0:57

So we are ready to begin at another clock in here at the end.

1:02

1104.

1:03

Okay.

1:06

And today we have two interns joining us.

1:09

We have Reese Postach, who's one of my interns.

1:13

And we have Zach.

1:17

Who doesn't want to say his last name on camera?

1:20

Okay.

1:20

We're anonymous in the one of David Remember.

1:26

All right.

1:26

And we are very pleased to have with us the uh director of the Office of People with Disabilities, Karen Horowitz.

1:34

Um, and we're going to hear about all the things that your office is up to these days and what we can do to help.

1:43

Thank you.

1:44

Am I on or do you have other business first?

1:47

No, you are on.

1:48

I do not have other business.

1:49

And uh I send uh Jeff Satoshi's uh apologies.

1:54

He's our program administrator and he is ill today.

1:56

He's downstairs with his mask on and I'm closed doors, so to keep everyone else from getting sick.

2:02

But he shared all his notes with me as well, so I'll share on behalf of both of us.

2:06

Um thank you again for having me.

2:09

Um it is now my I've entered my eighth month on the job.

2:14

Yeah.

2:14

Um so it has been great to really see from this perspective from this seat uh how things are operating.

2:23

Uh I was chair of the advisory council on people with disabilities for about four and a half years prior.

2:29

So um I was already kind of familiar, but now sort of diving in.

2:33

We've also had unfortunately one of our staff members was out uh from mid-February to just yesterday.

2:40

She returned.

2:42

So I have I dove right into her work, which I'll talk a little bit about as well, which has been really really helpful in um really understanding the ins and outs of her program as well.

2:53

So it's actually been really really helpful.

2:56

So I'll start with just the general uh for those who aren't maybe not as familiar.

3:01

So our office, uh, we're a small office, we're a team of six full-time staff members.

3:07

We do have a part-time person from uh who's funded through transportation who handles paratransit ticket sales, um, who is housed in our office.

3:16

So I don't like to say we're six and a half because she's a key member of the team, but we're six full-timers, and then we have another uh staff member with us helping out.

3:26

Um we previously covered paratransit completely for a number of years, uh and a few years ago that moved over back to transportation where it originally was.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Disability Rights█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Public Engagement███████8%
Youth Programs███████8%
Procedural████5%
Community Engagement████5%
Education And Training████5%
Workforce Development████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure███4%
Affordable Housing███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Social Services, Disabilities & Human Rights Committee Update from Office for People with Disabilities – June 2, 2026

The Social Services, Disabilities and Human Rights Committee of the Westchester County Board of Legislators met on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 11:04 AM in the Michaelian Office Building, White Plains. Chair Nancy Barr presided with Legislators Imamura, Williams, Williams Johnson, Puja (remote), and Gashi present. The committee received an extensive update from Carin Horowitz, Director of the Westchester County Office for People with Disabilities (OPD), covering the office’s advocacy, information and referral services, community outreach, workforce initiatives, and upcoming programs. The meeting adjourned at 12:00 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The committee approved the minutes from the Tuesday, March 10, 2026 (11:00 AM and 1:00 PM), Monday, March 30, 2026 (10:00 AM), and Tuesday, April 14, 2026 (11:00 AM) meetings. The motion was moved by Williams and seconded by Williams Johnson, with all present voting in favor.

Discussion Items

  • Office Overview and Paratransit: Director Horowitz reported that the OPD has six full-time staff members and one part-time employee funded through transportation for paratransit ticket sales. The office processes approximately 125 new paratransit applications per month and about 90 recertifications. About 2,500 calls are received monthly, with roughly 500–600 not related to paratransit. The vast majority of calls involve paratransit inquiries, but the office also handles housing, employment, special education, and discrimination issues. The OPD is working to shift more operational paratransit calls to the Transportation Department while retaining application processing and acting as an advocate for unresolved complaints.
  • Interdepartmental Collaboration and ADA Contacts: The office is assessing the knowledge and awareness of ADA contacts in County departments to provide training where needed. Director Horowitz emphasized the office’s role as a resource for both constituents and departments, helping with reasonable accommodations and legal procedures. Examples included proactive calls from a property manager about emotional support animals and an architect about accessibility in building rehabilitation.
  • Community Education and School Programs: The OPD runs two school programs: 1) a disability awareness program (for kindergarten through sixth grade) that uses volunteer speakers, including individuals with disabilities, to present to students. This season, the program reached over 500 students across eight schools. 2) BEAT Plus (Be Educated About Transportation), a collaboration with the Transportation Department, teaches high school students with disabilities about bus safety, pedestrian safety, and independence. This year, five schools with about 45 students participated, including a culminating bus trip. The programs are parent-driven, often initiated through PTAs.
  • Internship Program – Partnership for Inclusive Internships (PII): A new three-year grant-funded program with the ARC of Westchester and AHRC of New York City will provide paid internships for individuals with disabilities. The OPD is the County coordinator. In the first year, five interns will be placed; the second year, eight; and the third year, 12. Each intern will be paid around or slightly above minimum wage, with a job coach provided. The cost per intern is approximately $20,000–$25,000 over the three-year program, covering training and marketing. The program aims to diversify the County workforce and may continue through Access VR funding after the grant period. Interest has already been expressed by Parks, Recreation, and Conservation (Parks and Rec), Human Resources, and IT. A training for Parks and Rec supervisors on accommodating employees with disabilities is scheduled soon.
  • Outreach and Resources: The OPD’s monthly newsletter, Out and About, reaches 3,000–4,000 subscribers and highlights disability-related resources and events. A new brochure with QR codes linking to the office website and disability resource guide is being finalized. The online resource guide allows organizations to apply for listing directly. The office is building a training library on disability etiquette, reasonable accommodations, and accessibility.
  • 50th Anniversary and Events: The OPD celebrated its 50th anniversary in December 2024. Upcoming events include the annual Playland Day for people with disabilities on July 15, 2026, paired with the ADA anniversary celebration, and a fall event for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Collaboration with local colleges (Mercy, Purchase, WCC, Manhattanville, Iona) is ongoing, including trainings on accommodations for faculty and staff.
  • Airport Accessibility: Legislator Barr raised a concern about a missing curb cut at the airport terminal. Director Horowitz noted that the OPD had previously made recommendations to the airport modernization study team, including a hearing loop system, and will follow up to include accessibility recommendations in the current study.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: The minutes from four prior meetings were approved unanimously.
  • Action Items for OPD:
    • Assess ADA contact knowledge in County departments and provide training as needed.
    • Conduct a training session with Parks and Rec on accommodating employees with disabilities.
    • Continue outreach to County departments for job descriptions and intern placements for the PII program.
    • Finalize the new brochure with QR codes and update the disability resource guide.
    • Schedule a mini-training session on accessible events and flyers.
    • Follow up on the airport curb-cut request and contact the airport modernization study team to incorporate accessibility recommendations.
    • Explore collaboration with senior centers and other community organizations.
  • No other business or public testimony was heard.

Meeting Transcript

So do you see that? I'll send it to you right now. I'm fine, you guys could start, but I'm gonna join from another device before I hop off this. Okay, thank you. No problem. All right. And we're gonna go now. This meeting is being recorded and summarized. Okay. Thank you. All right, good morning. This is the Committee on Social Services, Disability, and Human Rights. I'm the NC Bar, I chair the committee. And uh we are going to take attendance here. How about our vice chairwoman? Williams Johnson. And legislator in Mamora. Yeah. Legislator. Who Jeff? Here. Excellent legislator Williams. Excellent. And Sher Gashi. Alrighty. So we are ready to begin at another clock in here at the end. 1104. Okay. And today we have two interns joining us. We have Reese Postach, who's one of my interns. And we have Zach. Who doesn't want to say his last name on camera? Okay. We're anonymous in the one of David Remember. All right. And we are very pleased to have with us the uh director of the Office of People with Disabilities, Karen Horowitz. Um, and we're going to hear about all the things that your office is up to these days and what we can do to help. Thank you. Am I on or do you have other business first? No, you are on. I do not have other business. And uh I send uh Jeff Satoshi's uh apologies. He's our program administrator and he is ill today. He's downstairs with his mask on and I'm closed doors, so to keep everyone else from getting sick. But he shared all his notes with me as well, so I'll share on behalf of both of us. Um thank you again for having me. Um it is now my I've entered my eighth month on the job. Yeah. Um so it has been great to really see from this perspective from this seat uh how things are operating. Uh I was chair of the advisory council on people with disabilities for about four and a half years prior.

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