COVID-19 UPDATE: November 20, 2020
Dear Cantalician Community:
I want to update you on how Erie County's "Orange Zone"
designation affects all of the services we offer at Cantalician Center for
Learning. As always, we remain committed to ensuring the health, well-being,
and safety of our students, individuals, and staff. I want to ask you for your
patience and understanding as we navigate all the changes the Covid-19 Pandemic
continues to bring.
Safety plans and up-to-date information for all of the services
offered at Cantalician can be accessed on our website under its respective
service area. Please read the following information carefully.
- As per the announcement from Governor Andrew Cuomo, our School Age and Preschool Services have pivoted to remote learning as of Monday, November 16, 2020 and will remain in a remote learning model until we obtain a Limited Service Laboratory (LSL) certificate which would allow our school nurses, or other contracted personnel, to administer the test that should be provided by the New York State Department of Health. This is a daunting and potentially expensive task and we are not getting the support we anticipated from the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH). Members of the Safety Committee are hard at work researching all possible solutions to get a testing plan in place that would allow us to return to hybrid instruction. For additional details on testing please refer to the letter that can be found on our website entitled; "Orange Zone & Testing."
- Under the guidance offered through the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), our Certified Day Habilitation Services at 2039 George Urban Boulevard, Depew, NY have been suspended until the county moves back to a "Yellow Zone." Staff members are working to support people who receive services through remote and in-home opportunities. At this time, Day Habilitation Services Without Walls is able to continue to operate in-person, but must limit its outings in the community (Feed More of WNY and Drive-Thru/Curbside) and only 10 people are allowed in a group maximum at each time.
- The DLS Team continues to work hard to ensure the needs of its customer base is met. However, people receiving support through our OPWDD funded Employment Services are also being limited to a 10 person group maximum (Operating two groups per day at two different time slots) with many also receiving job exploration and skill building opportunities remotely.
- Our Daycare currently remains open to our staff members and to families/caregivers in the community that utilize this service. At this time, these Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) services are not impacted by the "Orange Zone" designation for the county.
- Early Childhood Community Services (ECCS) will only operate utilizing Teletherapy Services. The ECDOH has prohibited face-to-face in-facility (i.e. on-site at Cantalician) sessions, as well as sessions within other approved daycares, preschools, and Universal PreK's (UPK) programs. We will be sure to notify families/caregivers of the change in service delivery though ECCS as it becomes available.
- Our Facilities Team continues to work non-stop to clean, scrub, and sanitize our school building, 2039 Day Habilitation Services location, as well as continue best practices for cleaning at our Diversified Labor Solutions (DLS) location at Tri-Main Center to ensure these facilities are prepared for services to resume on-site.
- Our Covid-19 Response Team and Safety Committee continues to hold regularly scheduled meetings to assess the needs of our entire organization and pays very close attention to State, Federal, and County regulations and how they guide our plans for reopening each service area of our organization.
Please continue to monitor your email, our website, and social media for updated information regarding our services. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to [email protected]. Thank you again for remaining flexible and understanding during these unprecedented times.
Wishing you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving.
Please stay safe and stay well!
Anne Spisiak
Executive Director, Cantalician Center for Learning
