Outsourcing upsets Ridgewood parents of special needs students
Friday May 24, 2013, 3:46 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood school district officials this week defended their decision to outsource home programming services to one private company at the end of the current academic year, a move that is drawing ire from nearly two dozen families with special needs students.
The Board of Education (BOE) approved a one-year agreement with Glen Rock-based Volt Wellness at its April 22 meeting. According to the BOE’s meeting minutes, the contract passed via consent vote and without comment.
The district now uses a combination of individual providers for therapy, while companies such as Maxim Health Care and Phoenix Health Care offer nursing and aide services. Under the new agreement effective July 1, the district will provide home services almost entirely through Volt. Programs include applied behavioral analysis therapy, speech and social skills, and wellness and exercise.
I guess this explains how Fishbein was able to “Scrape up enough money” to hire a new Technology Director.
I would bet that the individuals who provide these home services are not boe employees but are contracted. Often these individuals leave on short notice and the district and the family are left in a scramble to provide the IEp driven services. Having them managed by a central agency makes ultimate sense. The only thing I would have done differently was grandfather the providers so any new providers would have been provided by volt.
How much do we spend on fields and maintenance?