LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Irene Jill McGinn upon the occasion of
her retirement from the Long Island Developmental Disabilities Services
Office

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body seeks to acknowledge those individuals
whose professional lives and civic endeavors serve to enhance the stat-
ure of the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Jill McGinn has rendered faithful, conscientious and valuable
service to the Long Island Developmental Disabilities Services Office;
and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Irene Jill
McGinn upon the occasion of her retirement from the Long Island Develop-
mental Disabilities Services Office, to be celebrated on Thursday,
September 16, 2010; and
WHEREAS, Jill McGinn was born in Virginia and raised in Pennsylvania;
she began working with Transitional Services in Pittsburgh after college
where she coordinated services for people transitioning from psychiatric
institutions and state schools into the community; she later accepted a
position in Buffalo, New York, with a not-for-profit agency that
provided a range of services to people with developmental disabilities;
and
WHEREAS, In 1977, Jill McGinn began working for the New York State
Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, formerly the Office of
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in Albany, developing
community-based services statewide; and
WHEREAS, Jill McGinn transferred to the Long Island DDSO in the fall
of 1984; her primary focus was on local development of a variety of
community services with not-for-profit agencies; she transitioned back
to the Albany Central Office for three years on special assignment as
one of three staff charged with establishing the Home and Community
Based Services Waiver program in New York State; and
WHEREAS, In 1991, Jill McGinn returned to the Long Island DDSO and
served under several administrations; in November of 2000, she assumed
the role of Coordinator of DDSO Operations with responsibility for state
operated residential and day programs as well as providing oversight to
80 not-for-profit agencies in Nassau and Suffolk counties; and
WHEREAS, In April of 2001, Jill McGinn was formally appointed as
Director of the Long Island Developmental Disabilities Service Office;
she has never wavered in her commitment to providing quality services to
persons with developmental disabilities, and has worked to support the
evolution of supports and services on both practical and philosophical
realms; and
WHEREAS, In her capacity as Director, Jill McGinn served with loyalty,
honor and distinction; and
WHEREAS, In her official acts, Jill McGinn was governed by a keen
sense of duty and always showed a unique grasp of human problems; and
WHEREAS, During her tenure with the Long Island Developmental Disabil-
ities Services Office, Jill McGinn earned the admiration, esteem and
affection of her colleagues; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Jill McGinn upon the occasion of her retirement from the Long
Island Developmental Disabilities Services Office; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Irene Jill McGinn.