Leadership Message February 2025

As many of you know, we have been advocating for the creation of a registered transporter position through a regulatory amendment. In New York, a change to a regulation can only be made by the agency that created it. In this case it is the New York State Department of Health. As such, we have been working with them as they have reviewed our proposal. After a lengthy review process, the Department informed us that they will not submit the requested change for public comment. This decision, in essence, means that creating a registered transporter position through a regulatory amendment is not feasible. Despite this news, NYSFDA leadership remains committed to conducting due diligence on methods and solutions to the workforce challenges being faced across funeral service in New York, including any other avenue for creating this position. We continue to believe that addressing the workforce is best done through a multi-faceted approach and, therefore, will seek additional and different avenues to ensure we are providing the tools and resources to help membership.

As these discussions continue at the board level, we currently have a committee exploring licensure to determine if there are any opportunities, supported by membership, to pursue. A few months ago, this committee surveyed the members for feedback on some aspects of licensure and workforce. In an effort to increase transparency throughout this process, we want to share the survey results with you. Visit our website to view the results. These survey results provide another data point for us and are helpful to ensure we are making informed decisions. We will continue to conduct research and seek additional member feedback through this committee and, likely, through various other means. As we do so, please know that we welcome your thoughts and encourage you to contact us either through your regional director or NYSFDA staff.

In partnership,

Michael A. Lanotte
Executive Director