New York Legal Assistance Group and Patterson Belknap request more time and more support for Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) participants still facing challenges
NEW YORK — On May 15, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP filed a pre motion letter proposing additional court intervention to protect continuity of care on behalf of older and Disabled New Yorkers at risk of losing access to critical in-home care services through the Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) following the State’s rushed and tumultuous transition from 600 fiscal intermediaries to one, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL). This effort represents the latest step forward in the Engesser et al v. McDonald case, a class action lawsuit filed in late March on behalf of CDPAP consumers by NYLAG and Patterson Belknap attorneys, who in April negotiated and secured a Preliminary Injunction agreement with the New York State Department of Health to extend the transition deadline.
In the Thursday filing, plaintiffs asked the court to make changes to the Preliminary Injunction ordered on April 12, and to extend the Preliminary Injunction so that it lasts until August 15. Judge Frederic Block of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York will hold a conference at 4pm on Tuesday, May 20. Click here to read the filing.
“Our team is hearing daily from CDPAP consumers across the state who are still unable to register with PPL, whose personal assistants are still unable to register with PPL, and whose personal assistants are not able to clock time or be paid correctly,” said Elizabeth Jois, supervising attorney in New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)’s Special Litigation Unit and one of the attorneys litigating the case. “What is crystal clear to everyone in the CDPAP community is that the transition to PPL has been chaotic, and has resulted in far too many CDPAP consumers losing services. These failures continue to jeopardize the safety of Disabled New Yorkers who rely on the CDPAP program, while forcing home care workers into prolonged financial insecurity. The bottom line is that CDPAP participants need more time, as well as drastic, immediate improvements in the level of support being provided to ensure consumers’ care is not further disrupted.”
The proposal, if ordered by the court, would improve continuity of care by requiring the Department of Health to identify every CDPAP consumer who has gone without some or all care for the last two weeks, and assign them to a facilitator for one-on-one assistance. This relief includes both consumers whose personal assistants have quit and those whose personal assistants continue to work but have not been paid at all or in full – regardless of whether the consumer and personal assistants are registered with PPL.
“The facilitators already exist; you can see a list of them here. However, we have heard from many consumers that the facilitators are not able to solve their problems because they do not have enough access to PPL’s systems,” said Jois.
The proposed changes to the Preliminary Injunction direct that the facilitators be given the tools they need to assist CDPAP consumers and personal assistants in getting registered, being fully onboarded, clocking time and getting paid.
The proposal also asks that the end date of the Preliminary Injunction be extended from June 6 to August 15. Plaintiffs additionally proposed changes to the PI to provide increased transparency and accountability around publicly available reporting.
As part of its continued advocacy on behalf of CDPAP participants NYLAG provided the following additional updates and resources for consumers and PAs:
- BLANKET PAPER TIMESHEETS EXCEPTION ENDS May 17, 2025: The blanket exception for Personal Assistants employed by PPL to use paper timesheets if they cannot log their time in Time4Care, PPL@Home, or by using the PPL Telephony system ends on May 17, 2025. This means that Personal Assistants must use Time4Care, PPL@Home, or Telephony to record the time they work. The only Personal Assistants who can continue to use paper timesheets are those who have requested an individual exception and have had that exception granted by PPL. Visit nylag.org/engesser for more information, including detailed instructions for requesting an individualized exception to use a paper timesheet after May 17.
- The Department of Health has created a CDPAP Transition Hotline which will be staffed Mondays through Fridays from 9am to 5pm: 833-947-8666. CDPAP participants can also email the Department of Health CDPAP Transition Team for assistance at StatewideFI@health.ny.gov.
- CDPAP participants still experiencing issues are encouraged to contact the NYLAG litigation team at cdpaplawsuit@nylag.org or 212-946-0359. NYLAG’s team will be watching closely to ensure the Department of Health and PPL comply with court orders and encourage affected individuals to report problems. The team continues to advocate on behalf of CDPAP participants for additional accountability, oversight, issue resolution and systems improvement by providing the Department of Health with a list of technical and logistical concerns regarding PPL’s operations that we have heard from the community.
- Updates will continue to be posted at nylag.org/engesser.
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About NYLAG
Founded in 1990, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy and community partnerships. Prioritizing client-centered, trauma-informed and community-rooted programming, NYLAG worked at more than 200 community sites and impacted the lives of more than 127,000 people last year.
