The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) was created in 1978 as an independent cabinet-level state agency, largely because of the need for an autonomous entity to implement the closure and downsizing of residential institutions (i.e. Willowbrook, etc.). OPWDD serves more than 120,000 New Yorkers with I/DD. Because of family engagement, only 1200 remain in traditional “institutional” care.