AccessCNY and Spaulding Support Services to Formally Merge

The Board of Directors of AccessCNY and Spaulding Support Services voted recently to merge the two agencies. The combined agency will serve over 3,200 people with disabilities and operate under the name AccessCNY.

Beginning January 1 Spaulding will become a subsidiary of AccessCNY. In the intervening months the agencies will begin to share staff, space and administrative tasks. The two agencies are expected to fully merge in the summer of 2018.

AccessCNY and Spaulding both have strong programs and stable finances and come together proactively. The combined agency will employ over 1,700 Central New Yorkers and have a shared budget of over $42 million. Together the agencies have provided support to individuals with disabilities for more than 145 combined years.

“We are excited for this new partnership with Spaulding Support Services,” said Michael Wirtheim, President of the AccessCNY Board of Directors. “The agencies have collaborated over the years and a merger was the next natural step. By being bigger and broader we are better prepared as the funding of services for individuals with disabilities changes. While we’ll be a larger organization our focus today and always will be on providing the best person-centered services possible to individuals with disabilities.”

Julie Frawley is the President of the Spaulding Board of Directors. “Spaulding was founded to meet the needs of people with disabilities and their families and this merger will continue that tradition. The Spaulding Board was eager to find a partner that would advance our legacy of high quality community services; we found that partner in AccessCNY. We are stronger as one and are able to provide a wider range of services as the needs of people with disabilities change.”

Paul Joslyn will continue to serve as the Executive Director of AccessCNY. “As one agency our programs will be broader, our staff more experienced and our resources richer,” said Joslyn. “This collaboration was a focus of both agencies over the last several months and was made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication by both organizations’ staff and Board of Directors.”

No job losses will occur as a result of the merger.

The Central New York Community Foundation provided key funding for this collaboration through their Strategic Partnership Fund. The merger is being facilitated by the New York Council of Non-Profits.

For questions or coverage opportunities, please contact Matt Seubert, Associate Executive Director of Development at: (315) 657-0133.

 

About Spaulding Support Services:  Spaulding supports the evolving needs of people with developmental disabilities by helping people live in homes of their choice; assistance in locating and utilizing supports to accomplish personal goals and needs; and assistance to families and caregivers in the day to day care of their loved one with a disability. Spaulding Support Services advances this mission by focusing its efforts in community habilitation, service coordination, residential housing options and respite services.