This is an independent guide, not a government office. We are not Orange County Government, the Orange County Department of Mental Health, or NYS OPWDD, and we cannot determine eligibility or enrol anyone in a program. For official help call the county Developmental Disabilities Services Division on 845‑291‑2600 or see orangecountyny.gov.

Orange County NY
DD Connection An independent guide for families

Orange County, New York

Getting developmental disability services, explained in order.

If someone in your family has a developmental disability or is autistic, the support system in Orange County is real and it is large. It is also confusing, and almost nobody tells you the order things happen in. This page does.

The pathway

Five stages, in the order they actually happen. The hard part is usually stage two, and the wait is usually at stage five.

  1. Call the OPWDD Front Door

    New York State

    Everything starts here. The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities runs an intake route called the Front Door. Call 866-946-9733 and ask to speak to a Front Door social worker.

    OPWDD asks that you watch its short introductory Front Door videos before or around this call. They are worth the time, because they explain the vocabulary that everyone will use with you from here on.

  2. Eligibility is determined

    New York State

    OPWDD decides eligibility by reviewing records and carrying out an assessment. This is the stage that takes the longest and frustrates people most, because it runs on documentation.

    Start gathering paperwork before you are asked: psychological and diagnostic evaluations, school records including any IEP, medical records, and anything showing the disability began before age 22. Missing documents are the usual reason a file stalls.

  3. You are connected to a Care Coordination Organization

    Your choice

    Once eligible, you work with a CCO. A care manager there helps you plan and find services. Four CCOs serve Orange County and you choose which one, so it is worth asking each how quickly they can assign a care manager.

    The county keeps the current list: CCOs serving Orange County (PDF).

  4. A person-centred plan is written

    You and your care manager

    The plan sets out goals and the services meant to support them: community habilitation, respite, day programmes, employment support, housing support. What you say you want here shapes what gets authorised, so go in with specifics rather than agreeing to a template.

  5. Services are authorised, then staffed

    Provider agencies

    Authorisation and delivery are two different things. Being approved for community habilitation or respite does not mean a worker is waiting. Agencies recruit against demand, and families frequently wait after approval.

    Ask your care manager to put you on more than one agency's list, and ask each agency directly what their current wait looks like.

Not sure where you are in this?

Start with the county. The Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Orange County Department of Mental Health does planning, advocacy, mediation and outreach, and can point you to the right place.

845-291-2600

30 Harriman Drive, Goshen, NY 10924 · Division page on orangecountyny.gov

Start with the question you actually have

How do we get services at all?

Eligibility, the Front Door, care coordination, and what to prepare before you call.

My child was just diagnosed autistic

What support exists at each age, from early intervention through adulthood.

The school is not providing what we need

Special education rights, where independent advocacy comes from, and who to ask.

Who actually provides services here?

The agencies and organizations operating in Orange County, with their own links.

Does this even apply to us?

What "developmental disability" means in New York, and why age 22 matters.

Wandering and 911 registration

Where safety registration for people who wander is handled now.

About this site

For years orangecountynyddconnection.com was the web address of the Developmental Disabilities Division of the Orange County Department of Mental Health. That site stopped being maintained and the domain lapsed.

This is a rebuilt independent guide at the same address. It exists so the links and references pointing here from schools, law firms, universities and news archives lead to something accurate instead of nothing. It is not the county office and has no role in eligibility or enrolment. Where the county or the state is the right answer, we say so and link straight to them.

More about who runs this and why.