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2023 Legislative and Community Priorities

Brain injuries affect at least 2.5 million children and adults in the U.S. each year.  Any brain injury, regardless of severity, can change the way a person thinks, acts, moves and feels.  Even so-called “mild” injuries can have devastating consequences that require intensive treatment and long-term care.  New Yorkers with brain injuries face many problems on their journey to recovery, often falling through the cracks of the health care system when their injuries are misdiagnosed and misunderstood.

BIANYS advocates for brain injury survivors so that everyone has access to the services they need.  These are just a few of the issues we are working on in 2023:

Continuum of Care for Resource Facilitation

New Yorkers with brain injuries deserve to get the help they need from the time of their injury to the time they integrate back into their community.  BIANYS proposes a plan that details four recommendations to address the needs of the brain injury survivor as they make this transition:

  1. Enhance public knowledge of traumatic brain injuries and their impacts
  2. Improve access to community-based services
  3. Provide service coordination for non-Waiver participants
  4. Enhance TBI provider training to improve diagnosis and treatment

These four recommendations will be achieved through:

Prevention and Outreach: Create a statewide outreach and education campaign focused on prevention and connecting New Yorkers with brain injuries to resources they need.
Treatment and Rehabilitation: Create a care management program that includes outreach and education targeting health care providers, fostering a community of excellence.
Support Services: Make sure people with brain injuries return to the least restrictive setting in their communities.

Learn more about the Continuum of Care here.

Amend the 2011 New York State Concussion Management Awareness Act
Pass S3184 Hoylman-Sigal/A1977 Fall

The 2011 Concussion Management Awareness Act should be amended to focus on identifying and implementing paths to achieve a successful return to the community for all New Yorkers that have sustained a concussion.  The law should also be more inclusive to all New Yorkers with brain injuries.  These changes will address the current disparate nature of brain injury services and strengthen advisory and coordination channels. BIANYS, along with Assemblymember Fall and Senator Hoylman continue to advocate for these changes.  Proposed changes include:

  1. Expand the Concussion Management and Awareness Act to apply to non-public schools
  2. Mandate Concussion Management Teams in all school districts
  3. Require academic Return-to-Learn AND Return-to-Play policies
  4. Require bi-annual education in concussion management for additional Medical personnel at every school district.
  5. Recommendation for schools to have an Athletic Trainer available to students.
  6. Identify and report the number of concussions that occur each year.

Community Priorities

BIANYS is also working on the many issues that confront the brain injury community daily. We continue to monitor introduction into the State Legislature and continued contact with State Agencies. In addition to the legislative priorities, we are working on the following issues as well:

  • Keeping the TBI Waiver Outside of Managed Programs
  • Community Housing
  • Increase Services
  • Protective headgear while skiing

For a pdf version of the 2023 Legislative and Community Priorities, click here.

Get Involved

Join with us in working for change! Contact your representatives in the NYS Senate and the NYS Assembly and tell them why brain injury matters. Become a BIANYS member today and visit our Advocacy Tools page to learn how to take part in our efforts!