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For the state’s network of independent living centers, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program was never about money. It was about individual autonomy and freedom. CDPAP – originally called the Patient Managed Home Care Program — was started by people with significant disabilities to give disabled people control over their lives.

Although the program’s growth has been attributed to fraud, CDPAP grew because traditional home care has failed people with disabilities. Frankly, CDPAP has been the only viable option for home care services upstate. CDPAP is also the only program that provides assistance with health-related tasks, which include something as basic as giving a disabled person over-the-counter medications.

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The 11 independent living centers........

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