Maria Lisi-Murray, the Acting Executive Director of the NYS Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs, recently joined BTPM Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins for a conversation. They discussed the agency's recently-released 2026-2031 Strategic Plan, how the agency operates, and challenges the agency faces.
Interview Q & A
This interview transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Emyle Watkins:
I know the Justice Center has been around since 2013. Can you talk about what the Justice Center does and the evolution of the Justice Center?
Justice Center Acting Executive Director Maria Lisi-Murray:
Yes, absolutely. So as you said, the Justice Center was established in 2013 with the goal to provide independent oversight over agencies and providers, and the providers that provide the care for populations that would be vulnerable to abuse and neglect. So, these [populations] would be people including those with disabilities, addiction disorders, and people receiving mental health treatment. We investigate allegations of abuse and neglect. We ensure appropriate prevention measures are put in place to prevent future or potential abuse and neglect, and we ensure that wrongdoers are held accountable through our investigations.
Emyle Watkins:
Is this [strategic plan] new for the agency, and what was it like getting the ball rolling on this plan?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
I've been in this role approximately two years now. The agency did have a prior five-year strategic plan, but when I stepped into this role, I thought it was important to look at the agency in a new and modern way, build upon the past successes, my past predecessors' successes, and create a new strategic plan for 2026 and the five years following. It made perfect sense, also, knowing Governor [Kathy] Hochul is extremely focused on making sure New York agencies worked better for New Yorkers and provided services in a more efficient and straightforward manner. So, that was part of the impetus and our new strategic plan definitely aligns with Governor Hochul's objectives.
Emyle Watkins:
Talk to me a little bit about how you developed this strategic plan. What went into getting feedback and information and setting these priorities and these goals?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Sure, absolutely. So, we looked at our internal data to see what we could glean from 13 years of serving and protecting New Yorkers. And we also met with our internal groups. We utilized our boots-on-the-ground Justice Center staff, so the people that do the work every single day here, created a strategic planning collaborative to get guidance and recommendations from our internal people. We've also met with different providers to get feedback. We've met with our advisory council. We have a council that we meet with, at least quarterly, who — this council consists of self-advocates, representatives from providers, and different entities that we would engage with as part of our work. So we really tried to take a collaborative approach in developing this new strategic plan.
Emyle Watkins:
One question or criticism I've seen online, I've seen it posed as both: It's noted in the strategic [plan] that the Justice Center “conducted regional listening sessions with agency staff.” I know people were wondering why not have listening sessions with the public, with people served, with families?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
That's a great question. And we have had listening sessions with individuals, different provider groups. One of the things that we looked at, specifically, was we have an internal unit called the Individual and Family Support Unit or IFSU. And this specific unit has been providing support and advocacy for individuals receiving services, parents, guardians, family members, throughout the course of the 13 years. So, we took a good look at that data to identify what the needs have been, what the concerns and criticisms have been. So, in addition to that resource and our advisory council, as I mentioned before, those were the groups that we felt represented that viewpoint. That being said, this strategic plan is an agile document. This is something that we've outlined for the next five years, but it's certainly more of a living, breathing thing, in that we will continue to do outreach and we will continue to listen to the concerns, criticism, the calls for more information, and for transparency.
Emyle Watkins:
Are there ways for [individuals listening] to get involved with the agency or provide that feedback?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Absolutely. The first thing I would suggest, if they wish to give feedback or learn more about what the Justice Center does, is I would recommend that they go to our website. We have a very comprehensive website that provides a lot of, I think, really good inconsumable information. I would start there. There are also links to the different units within the Justice Center. So, if an individual wanted to get in touch with our individual and family support unit, they would be able to find the way to do that there. Of course, you can always send an email or snail mail. I think that it is really incumbent upon state agencies to listen to what the needs are of the stakeholders, the people that we serve. And that's definitely part of my viewpoint and part of my vision for moving this agency forward.
Emyle Watkins:
I'd love to dive into goal number one. According to the plan, it's expanding how the Justice Center “prevents and protects through innovative approaches.” Can you talk a little bit about what that means and where that goal was born from?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Absolutely. So we are looking at new ways to prevent and protect through innovative approaches. And that means utilizing the data that we've accumulated over the 13 years to look for different trends, identify where maybe a toolkit or a training would be useful to a provider. And it's really a comprehensive, proactive approach. We really want to move the agency to looking at preventing abuse and neglect through the use of identifying the trends and the data.
Emyle Watkins:
Looking at goal number two, that's focused on creating, as the plan says, new ways to share the Justice Center's expertise and learn from others. Tell me a little bit more about that goal as well.
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Sure. So, we are exploring new ways to share our message and what it is that the Justice Center does. We are actively listening to a wide variety of individuals, groups, providers, family members, partners. We want to ensure that their voices are included in the strategic plan and reflected in our work in general. We have been out speaking at different engagements, and we're available to do trainings to providers. Just really trying to make sure that we're utilizing every avenue possible to get the word of the Justice Center out there and have people know what resources are available for them.
Emyle Watkins:
Your third goal is focused on the user experience. What are some specific elements of that? What are some things that the Justice Center will be focused on looking at?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Yes, thank you. So right, Justice Center processes, we're looking at those internally, and we want to use our experience and use what we've learned over the last 13 years to really drive better experience for our stakeholders and folks who utilize Justice Center services. Our plan is to look at our internal policies, we're looking at our internal processes, and also the processes that may be external. So how we interface with stakeholders. Are there any processes that might be duplicative with our sister agencies? So really nothing is off the table here for innovation and streamlining. And again, this part of our plan is in line with Governor Hochul's mission to make sure that New York is working better for New Yorkers.
Emyle Watkins:
I'm wondering, as you innovate and build on this system, what are some ways you're going to continue to make sure this system is accessible to the people served? You're working with a population that has very diverse communication needs and experiences. What are some ways the Justice Center's looking at moving forward and making things more accessible than they are now?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Sure. So, we are continuing to look at obviously language accessibility, looking at different options to make sure that our word and the Justice Center message is as accessible as widely possible. We continue to utilize any input that we receive from individuals receiving services, providers, family members, to make sure that we are reaching folks with our message.
Emyle Watkins:
In this day and age, we have a lot of conversations over data privacy, and I know that the Justice Center is handling some really significant cases and situations and personal information. Moving forward, are there certain ways that the Justice Center is looking to adapt and build on that security and that privacy to make sure that people's data is secure when they're reporting this information, when health information is being shared in these state systems?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Yes, and thank you for that question. Data security and ensuring that our information remains secure and confidential is of paramount importance. We have, obviously, protections that are in our statute that require us to retain confidentiality over certain information, and only certain individuals can see and access certain parts of our data. But we are very, very concerned and working every day to ensure that any information that might be stored in what would be our Vulnerable Person Central Register, which is our technology that we use here to move our cases through, we're constantly looking at security and making sure that we're moving in the most secure way possible with people's data and information.
Emyle Watkins:
You mentioned creating and publishing more data and reports, drafting new prevention materials, identifying trends. What are some ways the agency's looking to build on transparency and provide more information to the public? Can we expect to see more data dashboards or what kind of frequency of information might people be able to see on what the Justice Center is working on?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
So you've hit on a question that I think is something that we've heard a lot about, particularly when we've met with provider groups or sister state agencies. People want to know what their data looks like. We are working internally to enhance our data, to make sure our data tells a true and accurate story of what's going on. And we are definitely looking at ways to share that data, to make sure that trends are identified, in particular to drive, as I said, a proactive approach to preventing abuse and neglect. So yes, data is a very, very significant part of the strategic plan moving forward. And I think that in terms of ensuring transparency, yeah, I mean, we've published our annual report, but we're always looking to make sure that people know how it is that we are serving the New Yorkers that we have a responsibility to protect.
Emyle Watkins:
Is there any information you think people served and families and loved ones, or maybe you've heard that those groups want to have from the agency? Are there certain data points you're looking into or think that people are particularly interested in?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Well, I think that people are particularly interested in trends and what the agency is doing with respect to training and toolkits. It was interesting to me as I did this statewide tour, I met with a lot of different types of providers. The requests for data and looking at trends from a quality assurance perspective really dominated a lot of our conversations. So, I think that is a focus that we're going to particularly look to and hope to be able to provide more information so that, again, we can identify trends before things happen. That is the best way to prevent abuse and neglect.
Emyle Watkins:
One data point that is interesting to me in the strategic plan is, the plan says, that the Justice Center has fielded, investigated and closed “more than 125,000 abuse and neglect cases and preventing over 1,100 people from working in New York service programs.” I imagine some people look at the gap between those numbers and would say that's kind of large. Are the staff exclusions just one resolution to those abuse and neglect cases? And what is the threshold for someone to be put on the Staff Exclusion List?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Thank you for that question. This is a great opportunity to explain how we work in terms of ensuring that folks do not reenter the service system when they're really not appropriate to serve in these roles. So, when we get an allegation of abuse and neglect and we conduct our investigation, ultimately it gets evaluated and categorized as per our statute. If the subject committed, and is found to have committed, the most egregious types of abuse and neglect, so severe physical abuse with injury, sexual abuse, that would be put into what we call a Category 1 offense. In that circumstance, we are permitted to put that subject on our Staff Exclusion List or our SEL, and that individual can no longer work in the service system where they might have unsupervised protracted contact with individuals in the service system because they're really not somebody you would want to have those sorts of responsibilities.
And we've had over 400 individuals reapply to come into the service system after being put on the SEL. So, it shows us that this is working, that this sort of first line of defense, if you will, is working to keep people out of the service system who should not be providing care to individuals under our jurisdiction.
Emyle Watkins:
Do you feel like the bar for that list is where it should be or is it too high? Is that something that the Justice Center is looking at? Because, I think that some people would question, “well, even if someone does minor offenses, is that a possible indicator that they could move on to doing more major offenses in the future, if allowed to remain in the system?”
Maria Lisi-Murray:
So, the bar for the Staff Exclusion List and what would be a Category 1 finding is set in statute, and that would be the same for our other categories of offenses. But I hear what you're saying. We do utilize lower categories of offenses to ensure that retraining happens, to ensure that people understand that this is certainly maybe not acceptable conduct, maybe they need retraining, maybe they need to move to a different program, maybe they need more supervision. But if you have, and I don't want to get too into the weeds, but if you have two Category 2 offenses, which are slightly less than a category one offense, so think about events where you have maybe an inappropriate use of restraints. If you have two Category 2 offenses within three years, you are automatically moved to the Category 1 and you're put on the Staff Exclusion List.
So, there is some ability for the Justice Center to implement that and make sure that people who don't belong caring for our loved ones, make sure that they're removed from the system entirely.
Emyle Watkins:
I appreciate you answering that. I know it's a tricky question because I just really want to help people understand how this system works. And it sounds like because these things are in statute, it's not necessarily something the Justice Center, correct me if I'm wrong, could change yourself? It sounds like it would be getting the legislature involved.
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Correct. We have guidelines within our statute, which you could certainly look at that tell us where the lines are for the categories and what our authority is.
Emyle Watkins:
That kind of dives into another question I had. I was at a recent OPWDD [Office for People with Developmental Disabilities] forum in Buffalo, and one parent shared a really devastating story relating to abuse she claims was substantiated by the Justice Center. But then she questioned why it had taken months for her son to get switched to another residence through OPWDD.
I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about the Justice Center's role in resolution and what the Justice Center has control over and doesn't have control over? Because there are a lot of systemic factors that are throughout these different systems that you work with.
Maria Lisi-Murray:
So, I am saddened to hear that that family went through that. It is tough. And we deal with at the Justice Center some pretty tough cases. And I'm glad it was substantiated. That shows me that we did our job there and we had the right outcome.
Unfortunately, our scope is, it does not include being able to move people. We can make recommendations, we can send our quality review teams in if there are environmental concerns, and we can do onsite inspections and what we call our CAP audits. But we don't have control over whether a sister agency, state oversight agency, moves an individual receiving services to a different location.
Emyle Watkins:
I imagine that the challenges within each of these systems, the staffing issues, the other problems we see, those all have a ripple effect. And I imagine that must make resolving some of these issues challenging as well because you've got agencies with staffing issues and shortages and maybe not a lot of facilities to move people around?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
So, I hear what you're saying. One of the things, and it ties back to our strategic plan, is our intention to move in a proactive manner and really innovate how we protect and provide guidance, training, toolkits, to providers. When you have new staff coming in and they need to be trained and they need to understand the appropriate guidance for how to care for the people they're required to care for. The Justice Center has created, quite a volume at this point, of toolkits and guidance documents, best practices for supervision, guidance on how to prevent choking incidents, things of that nature that are, I think, helpful to providers and staff in these circumstances, because these things stand ready to assist in training and to make sure that people understand what the best practices are in the service system.
Emyle Watkins:
Has the Justice Center seen the effects of that training? Have there been instances where agencies that were maybe experiencing issues or reports have turned around because of that training or those resources?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
So, what I can tell you is during the many, many provider visits and speaking engagements I've had over the last year, there have been significant requests for additional trainings, significant numbers of individuals and programs who have downloaded our trainings. I think our most popular training is the professional boundaries training. But we have heard, I kind of laughed, because we heard, "Oh, we're going to plagiarize and steal your training." And I'm like, "No, this is for you. This is to help you train, help you make sure that best practices are being communicated and implemented across the provider level so that staff know what best practices they should be using."
Emyle Watkins:
Is there anything else that you want the public to know about this strategic plan and how it's going to evolve over the next five years?
Maria Lisi-Murray:
Well, we're going to continue, as I said, listening to the different voices, getting feedback, looking at how the strategic plan is working. We have some, I think, very significant, key goals that we want to achieve, but that will be informed continually by listening to providers, state agencies, family members, individuals receiving services, and of course our advisory council. Our plan really is in line with Governor Hochul's mission. She talked about Express New York, that portal, that folks were encouraged to provide suggestions about how to make New York work better, but we've taken that seriously. And we are also, I think, working to support that vision of Governor Hochul's. And we want to make sure that our agency is working better for New Yorkers.
