ARC will not pursue merger plan

SCHUYLER, YATES COUNTIES--A previous plan to merge the Arc of Yates and the Arc of Schuyler Counties has been suspended. Following months of discussions looking into the merging of the two facilities, the news broke last week the two non-profits would no longer be considering a merger.

"The Arc of Yates board of directors and the Arc of Schuyler board of directors have made the decision to suspend merger discussions," Arc of Yates Executive Director Kate Ring said. "While the planning has been in process for a number of months, the final outcome is that both chapters will remain, serving their respective counties, as separate entities under the auspices of the NYSARC Corporation."
The initial plan was for both the Yates County and Schuyler County chapters of the New York State Arc (NYSARC) to proceed with plans to unify and become "The Arc of Schuyler-Yates" sometime in 2015. NYSARC is a statewide non-profit organization supporting people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Both The Arc of Yates and the Arc of Schuyler provide services in their communities and are the service provider of choice for families and people with developmental disabilities.
A merger is a big undertaking," Arc of Schuyler Executive Director Jeannette Frank said. "There are a lot of complex issues involved. It didn't work out this time but we are open to other collaborations and opportunities."
Frank said the two groups automatically have collaborative opportunities by being part of the NYSARC Corporation. She added these opportunities expand to include all the non-profits involved with NYSARC in addition to the Arc of Yates. Frank said it is too soon to tell in what areas the Arcs will collaborate on, but added the services offered are not expected to change.
Ring said both boards came to the decision based on there not being as many opportunities as previously thought."We didn't have all of the compatibilities we thought there may be," Ring said.
Ring said despite the decision to not merge the organizations later this year, they will continue to look at ways the two non-profits can work together to enhance the services they offer in each county.
"Both boards remain open to exploring the feasibility of future shared services that would lower costs while providing higher quality outcomes for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities," Ring said. "Both boards are also grateful for the significant efforts of the respective chapter personnel in working toward this end."