OPWDD Support Broker · New York State

You decide who's in your circle. I help you build it.

Self-Direction puts you in charge of your OPWDD supports. As your Support Broker, I help you shape a plan and a budget that follow your own goals — not a system's.

Family& friends Chosenstaff Communitysupports Fiscalintermediary Supportbroker You are the center
Budget Authority — you direct the funding
Employer Authority — you choose your own staff
Your goals — the plan is built around them

The role, in plain terms

What is a Support Broker?

A Support Broker assists people with developmental disabilities who choose to Self-Direct their OPWDD services with Budget Authority. My job is to help you develop a Circle of Support and to complete and manage a Self-Direction Budget — so the day-to-day of running your own supports feels workable, not overwhelming.

The model

Self-Direction

A service delivery model that gives people with developmental disabilities greater responsibility in managing their own supports and services — including which supports they want and how the funding for them is used.

My part in it

Your broker

I work alongside you and the people you trust to build a Circle of Support, then help you draft, submit, and keep managing a budget that reflects the life you're building.

Two kinds of control

The authority stays with you

People who participate in OPWDD's Self-Direction model can hold two kinds of authority. You can take on one or both — and I help you carry them.

01

Employer Authority

Self-hire and co-manage your own staff supports. You choose the people who work with you and help decide how they support your goals.

02

Budget Authority

Decide on the mix of supports and services you need — and how the funding allowed for them is allocated across your plan.

Working together

How the process tends to go

Every person's plan is different. This is the shape it usually takes.

01

We talk about your goals

What does a good week look like for you? We start there, before any paperwork.

02

We build your Circle of Support

Family, friends, chosen staff, and community supports — the people who'll help you carry the plan.

03

We develop your Self-Direction Budget

We turn your goals into a budget that matches OPWDD requirements and reflects what you actually need.

04

We manage it over time

Plans change. I stay on to help you adjust the budget and keep everything on track.

Portrait of Jonathan Leibert

Meet your broker

Hi, I’m Jonathan Leibert.

My path to this work started at home. As the father of two inspirational children, I came to understand OPWDD’s Self-Direction model not from the outside, but as a parent navigating it — and that experience is what led me here.

Before becoming a Support Broker, I spent my career in finance as an equity trader. I hold a Master’s in Accounting from St. John’s University and am a graduate of Binghamton University. That background matters: building and managing a Self-Direction Budget is real financial work, and it’s work I know how to do well and explain clearly.

Whether you’re just exploring Self-Direction or you already know you want Budget and Employer Authority, I’ll meet you where you are and walk the process with you — from that first conversation through managing your budget over time.

Let’s build your circle together.

Get started

Ready to talk about self-directing your services?

Reach out and we'll set up a time to talk through your goals — no commitment, just a conversation about what Self-Direction could look like for you.

Contact Jonathan Jonathan Leibert · OPWDD Support Broker · Serving New York State