December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 11 Approved 3/9/12 Minutes SILC Quarterly Meeting Friday, December 2, 2011 • 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Salem Conference Center • 200 Commercial Street SE • Salem, OR INTRODUCTIONS Attendees: Sherry Stock (Acting Chairperson), Tony Ellis, Randy Samuelson, Cindy Campbell, Ryan Green, Dodie McKenzie, Susan Melero, Janet Lowther, Mike Volpe and Stephanie Parrish Taylor. Absent: Jackie Hovey, Barry Fox- Quamme, Angel Hale and Ann Balzell. Staff Present: Joan Claypool, Shelly Emery, Joette Williams, Ashley Paul (ASL interpreter), Damon Thayer (ASL interpreter) and Mark Beasley (Cascade Sound) Guests Present: Ted Wenk (Disability Rights Oregon), Mies Matz (ADA Coordinator for the Department of Human Services), David Campbell, Ben Luskin and Margi Morgan. AGENDA REVIEW Medicaid Long-Term Care Quality and Reimbursement Committee Report will be added to the agenda following Agency Reports. ACTION • Motion by Samuelson, second by Green to accept the agenda as modified. In favor: Ellis, Samuelson, Campbell, Volpe, Green, McKenzie, Melero and Lowther. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. SILC GENERAL ACTION ITEMS September 9, 2011 SILC Meeting Minutes Susan Melero pointed out that her name was in the attendance twice. ACTION • Motion by Samuelson, second by McKenzie to accept the minutes as corrected. In favor: Campbell, Ellis, Green, Lowther, McKenzie, Melero, Samuelson and Volpe. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. Financial Report Year End; Fiscal Year 2011 The SILC spent 75 percent of the budget with approximately $108,000 to carry over into the 2012 fiscal year. Even though the SILC Executive Director line item showed an over expenditure due to the increased benefits costs during the year, the overall staff expenditures still were within budget. December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 11 ACTION • Motion by Campbell, second by McKenzie to accept the financial report as presented. In favor: Campbell, Ellis, Green, Lowther, McKenzie, Melero, Samuelson and Volpe. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. SILC Proposed Budget Revision 2012 Each year after completing the year end financial report, the exact amount of carry over funds for the next fiscal period is established and staff then adjusts the proposed budget for the next year. ACTION • Motion by Campbell, second by Lowther to accept the revised budget. In favor: Campbell, Ellis, Green, Lowther, McKenzie, Melero, Samuelson and Volpe. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. SELF-ADVOCATES AS LEADERS (SAAL) • Susan Melero Susan Melero has been a member of Self Advocates as Leaders (SAAL) and gave a presentation about SAAL and other organizations involving people with developmental disabilities. SAAL is a statewide organization of people with developmental disabilities who are interested in training and developing strong leaders to become equal partners in creating policies and legislation that affect the lives of people with developmental disabilities. SAAL has been put on hold due to recent budget cuts. Susan is also a member of Self Protection, Advocacy & Rights Council (SPARC), the League of Women Voters and graduated from Partners in Policy Making (PIP). Susan’s goal is to become a State Representative like Sara Gelser. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTION An Executive Committee (EC) vacancy has been created due to Wendy Howard’s resignation from the SILC. This is an At-Large position. Susan Melero expressed interesting the position, and Sheila Thomas, a CIL Director who has been elected by the AOCIL to fill as the vacant CIL Representative position on the SILC,I s also interested. The duties of the EC were explained. Since Sheila’s appointment to the SILC has not yet been processed by the Governor’s Office, there was discussion about waiting to vote on the position until Sheila and other members could be present. ACTION • Motion by Samuelson, second by McKenzie to table the Executive Committee election for the At-Large position until the March, 2012 SILC quarterly meeting. In favor: Campbell, Ellis, Green, Lowther, McKenzie, December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 11 Melero, Samuelson and Volpe. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. 2011-2013 SPIL PROGRESS & COMMITTEE REPORTS Collaboration Committee • Joan Claypool The Collaboration Committee is working on a SPIL task that focuses on peer services and training. The committee is developing a comprehensive list of existing peer organizations along with programs that support peer organizations. As part of the SPIL task after completing the list, the committee will begin to identify any gaps in services, then with the support of the CILs, address those gaps to make sure that peer services are provided. Plans are underway for the MegaConference to be held again next fall. The topic for the MegaConference is intended to focus on employment for people with disabilities. They are in an information gathering phase at this point. They would like to set up a brainstorming team to set the direction and help develop a concept around employment for the MegaConference this year. Employment touches on a lot of issues such as generating jobs, selfemployment and getting job ready. Members were asked for suggestions on people they think would be good in this area. Names and contact information should be sent to Joan Claypool. The Collaboration Committee is watching the development of the ADRCs (Aging and Disability Resource Centers). There has been some discussion on how the ADRCS are going to be developed in Oregon. In other states the CILs have a strong presence and participation in the services provided through the ADRCs. Here in Oregon, there is not an existing relationship between the CILs and the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) and Seniors and People with Disabilities (SPD) branch offices, so it has been more difficult for Oregon to develop that strong partnership and have an ADRC that includes both the state offices and the CILs. The Special Project Work Group (SPWG) is set up to promote collaboration between Vocational Rehabilitation and the Centers for Independent Living (CILs). This group has a meeting scheduled on January 4, 2012 to select and discuss the next project that will be worked on by the SPWG. Last year’s project was to develop cross-training videos for VR and IL program staff. Executive Committee • Sherry Stock Tina has had discussions with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Director, Erinn Kelley-Siel, as part of a State Plan activity to review the SILC’s December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 11 location and appropriate autonomy. Director Kelley-Siel was given background on the SILC’s role, legal requirements and partnerships. Membership Development Committee • Margi Morgan introduced herself. She is here as a SILC applicant. Margi is from Salem. She was born deaf. She has been involved with the deaf community for many years. She is a past President and Vice President for the Oregon Association for the Deaf. She is impressed with the SILC program and likes the mission of encouraging people to be independent. Margi does volunteer work at her church with outreach and advocacy for the deaf and hard of hearing community. As President of the Oregon Association for the Deaf, people would call her for resources. Margi adds to the SILC’s diversity and increases the opportunity to connect with the deaf community. Ben Luskin introduced himself. He is a SILC applicant from Eugene. His experience with disabilities goes back to growing up with a brother with autism. His mother was very involved and was president of the Minnesota Autism Society. When Ben was twelve, he sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and entered a life of recovery. He found his niche with martial arts. Martial arts is about finding the strength within instead of looking at what other people can give us; it is about what we can we give ourselves. Under that notion, he has become a certified life coach. He works a lot with the mental health consumer/survivor community. He is affiliated with Mind Freedom International and Oregon Consumer/Survivor Coalition. Ben adds to the SILC’s diversity and is familiar with the work of CILs. He has knowledge about cognitive disabilities and is highly involved with a variety of disability related organizations. ACTION • The Membership Committee recommends Margie to the Council for membership. This is in the form of a motion. Randy Samuelson seconded the motion. In favor: Campbell, Ellis, Green, Lowther, McKenzie, Melero, Samuelson and Volpe. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. ACTION • The Membership Committee recommends Ben to the Council for membership. This is in the form of a motion. Ryan Green seconded the motion. In favor: Campbell, Ellis, Green, Lowther, McKenzie, Melero, Samuelson and Volpe. There were no votes in opposition or abstentions. Motion carried. SPIL (State Plan for Independent Living) Committee • Shelly Emery There are two branches on this committee. One branch covers the monitoring and evaluation of SPIL implementation. Another branch assesses needs for IL December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 11 services in order to help the IL program develop goals and objectives to put into the next SPIL. Currently the Needs Assessment Work Group is trying to identify areas that would be high on the list of priorities as far as the needs of people with disabilities for IL services. As of now, a couple of high priority areas have been identified. The first is making information about services and supports easier to locate. Then after the information has been located, the consumer may need to go somewhere and meet with someone, so the second area would be around mobility, both personal mobility and transportation. The expectation is that the committee will take these broad categories to consumers and the CILs to have them help focus these areas into more specific objectives to work on during the next State Plan period. The Monitoring and Evaluation Work Group is watching the progress of the ADRCs. In Oregon their Web based resource is called Aging and Disabilities Resource Connection. In trying to get a stronger partnership between the AAAs, IL and the state team working on the ADRCs, an ADRC staff member has been contacting the CILs to work on a way to make better partnerships between the CILs and the AAAs. With funds being limited for the ADRC project, it may be that an ADRC needs to be seen not as a place, but as a method of partners working together. When one organization’s area of expertise ends, they hand the consumer to the next partner for their expertise and so forth. What needs to be avoided is a partner telling a consumer, “Sorry we don’t do that.” As far as the Oregon on the Move Project ,which is part of the Money Follows the Person funding structure, the project was designed to help a specific number of people with disabilities move out of institutions and into least restrictive living environments. The CILs contracted with the On the Move (OTM) project to provide peer mentoring services for targeted individuals. Midway through the project, it was suspended. There was an investigation into the management of the project. The project manager resigned and two top managers with the Seniors and People with Disabilities Division lost their positions. The program did not shut down, but suspended use of the funding for service delivery during the period that information was being gathered. They are trying to determine what needs to be done to get the project back on track. They also need to determine the populations that would benefit by continuing the project. The intent is to restart on or before July 1, 2013. Tina Treasure was told that people would continue to be transitioned out of institutions with OTM dollars. MEDICAID INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (MIG) STATUS • Paula Fitch December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 11 The MIG grant moved into the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (OVRS) in 2005. The funding for the MIG was through the Ticket to Work legislation. The grants are being phased out in the 40 states that they are in. Officially, the grant ends December 31, 2011, but Oregon has applied for a no cost extension, as they have leftover funds. There are enough funds to carry the grant through 2012. They will use these funds to extend the Peer Mentoring Project that is being done in partnership with Portland State University and the Employment First Project, which they are working on with Seniors and People with Disabilities. The grant also provided some funding for the Washington Initiative for Supported Employment (WISE). This year the grant funded nine projects around the State. The MIG is probably best known for the Work Incentive Network (WIN). There are ten Work Incentive Coordinators (WICs) housed in six of the seven CILs around the State. This year the 10 WICs went through the Social Security Benefits training so all of the WICs are becoming certified WIC counselors (CWICs). They have a partnership with Disability Rights Oregon (DRO) and will refer people to them when there is a wait list. The WICs are required to take an annual test to remain certified. Approximately 33 to 38 percent of their consumers are referred from the mental health field. The grant’s main focus right now is to sustain the WIN program after the grant has gone. The MIG funds the technical assistance portion and the non-VR consumers and OVRS funds the contracts with the CILs. MIG also ran the Think Beyond the Label campaign. This is a media campaign in Oregon focused on Oregon businesses. It has been on the evening news, Castle, the Civil War game, public radio, ESPN and the Discovery Channel. It is also in print and digital ads. A major focus of this campaign is the Portland Business Journal‘s most admired company luncheon. The MIG will have a vender booth and a table in the luncheon. OVRS Staffing Solutions is one of the sponsors of the lunch. There will be over 800 business people at this luncheon. Stephaine Parrish Taylor will be giving one of the awards. PUBLIC COMMENT Ted Wenk is a staff attorney for Disability Rights Oregon (DRO). DRO is a state protection and advocacy program. They also house the Client Assistance Program (CAP). This is where consumers may go when they have a question about rehabilitation funded services. Ted also serves as the PABS (Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security) coordinator which is a Ticket to Work Act funded program. Within their state protection and advocacy program there is also the WIPA (Work Incentive Planning Assistance) program, which is similar to WIN. WIPA was initially called the Benefits December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 11 Planning and Outreach Program. Ted spoke about WIN and suggested calling your legislators, as private individuals, to keep the WIN program in place beyond 2012. SILC COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS There was discussion about members rotating committee assignments to give each member the opportunity to learn more about the SILC by working on various committees. There are four standing committees, the Executive Committee, the Collaboration Committee, the Membership Committee and the SPIL Committee. There was discussion about the committees and whether there should be rotation of members. Staff will send a questionnaire out to SILC members about committee participation. Ann Balzell, the SILC Chairperson, along with staff and the EC, have been thinking of ways to get the SILC members to be more engaged at the quarterly meetings. Some ideas that have been suggested are to include a time in each quarterly meeting for each member to tell about one “hot” disability issue going on in their community; identify relevant issues from committee work that could use broader input, with specific questions asked prior to the meeting to give members an opportunity to think about the issue, then break into small groups to brainstorm on various topics that will then be used by the committees; or make time for discussion on different sections of the State Plan or the 704 report. Members suggested that the CILs could send a written report that includes relevant statistics for the packet each quarter. CIL PRESENTATION • Glenn Van Cise, ABILITREE Abilitree started in 1982 as All Outdoors. At that time they did outdoor recreational trips for people with disabilities. From the late 1980s until this year they did business as Central Oregon Resources for Independent Living, an assumed business name they also had registered. In 2000 they discontinued the outdoor recreational trips. For their thirtieth anniversary they wanted a name that would better explain what they do. The new name, Abilitree, focuses on abilities rather than disabilities, and suggests growth toward independence. Abilitree is located in Bend Oregon, serving Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties. Consumer Service Records (CSRs) or independent living plans were written for 386 consumers during the 2011 federal fiscal year. Abilitree offers the four core services: information and referral, independent living skills training, peer counseling and advocacy, both individual and systems advocacy. Some of the other services offered are STEPS training, December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 11 community education, WIN services, Job Club, travel training, driver Training (no behind the wheel training, but helping them to get to pass the test), Brain Train, computer training and point of sale cash register training. Fourteen people that went through the point of sale training became employed last year. ELIZA SHAAF’S COLLEGE EXPERIENCE • Video Presentation A video of Eliza speaking of her experience at Southern Oregon University (SOU) was shown. The video can be seen on Eliza’s web site at http://www.elizaschaaf.com/. There is also a link to a documentary made about Eliza and her experience at Southern Oregon University, titled “Hold My Hand”. This documentary was made by film students at Chapman University that had heard about Eliza. There is a campaign going on that can be found at www.thinkcollege.net . It focuses on college opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Joan Claypool mentioned that she learned at the last MegaConference that there is a belief that the family support services for people with developmental disabilities are diminishing. For that reason, the Council on Developmental Disabilities and the developmental disabilities program within DHS put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop family networks or family centers. This is intended to promote family supports for people with developmental disabilities, promoting community collaboration and partnerships. This may be an opportunity for the CILs to collaborate with the family centers. Shelly Emery mentioned that today, Susan Melero’s presentation, as well as this presentation on higher education for people with developmental disabilities were part of a package meant to help members stay in touch with what is going on in the developmental disability community. AGENCY REPORTS DSU/IL Coordinator • Joan Claypool There was a compliance review done at HASL this year. This is a review to verify that the center is following the Section 725 Standards and Assurances; that the center has good policies and procedures, good financial practices, that they provide the four core services of CILs, etc. State IL contracts were implemented, which run from October 1 to September 30, 2012. OVRS • Stephaine Parrish Taylor, Administrator December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 11 The issue on everyone’s mind right now is the budget. The latest revenue forecast was bad, though not as bad as some had thought it would be. This forecast means additional cuts to the 2011-2013 budget. OVRS, as a program, was asked to submit a budget showing a ten and a half percent cut, over and above the cuts that were made going into the 2011-2013 biennium. At OVRS, those cuts will come out of case service funds, but because of funds received in the past there will be enough carry over that it looks like OVRS will be able to go through the biennium without closing any service categories. OVRS has stayed in an order of selection for the ease of being able to stop service categories if needed, though they are currently able to service all priority categories. The Governor is proposing a new budget strategy. He has set five priority areas. OVRS has been placed in the Economic Development area. The plan is for administrators to make forward plans to accomplish the goals of those five areas. Then, a panel would decide what would get funded. Stephaine believes that outcome measures will be increasingly important with this new budget strategy. OVRS met all of the Standards and Indicators for the last federal fiscal year, which they had not done for the year or two preceding. The Federal Standards and Indicators tell OVRS what their success rate needs to be in terms of the people they serve. OVRS then set standards for their counselors. Each counselor needs to write at least forty plans per year, and find employment for twenty-four people. SRC • Sherry Stock A written report was included in the meeting packet. OCB • Angel Hale Angel has moved to a new position, leading their training unit. Harvalee Hess is their new part time IL program manager. ODC • Tina Treasure A written report was included in the meeting packet. STAFF REPORT & UPDATES A written report was included in the meeting packet. Healthcare reform on the state and national levels and the impact that has on people with disabilities is still a hot topic for SILC staff. The Senior and People with Disabilities (SPD) program will now be called Aging and People with Disabilities (APD). It will also include the December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 10 of 11 Developmental Disabilities unit. An administrator for the new unit will be hired soon. Staff is watching federal funding shortfalls and issues that could impact the IL program and people with disabilities, in general. HOT TOPICS • Sherry Stock - Oregon Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Harrington Family Foundation and the Brain Injury Association will have the Annual Conference on Brain and Spinal Cord Injury and Disease March 1 – 3, 2012, at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel. Joey Harrington will be one of the key note speakers. Randy Samuelson - One of the recommendations from the compliance review suggested HASL get back into transportation. Randy and Ryan have been working together to get the transportation going again. HASL is very happy about their durable medical equipment loan program. They are starting a new outreach program in January called “Did you know”. Margi Morgan – She is enjoying hearing what everyone has to say today. Cindy Campbell – She is in the middle of working on something big, but it is not ready yet. Mike Volpe – He would like people to be watchful of the responsibilities given to CCOs (Coordinated Care Organizations) during this transformation process. Ryan Green – There was a Governor’s task force on veteran’s issues that was mandated by the previous governor. Fifteen recommendations came out of the task force. The number one issue was accessible transportation to veterans who use wheelchair transportation and the lack of service. Oregon Paralyzed Veterans of America made this their number one priority since 80 percent of their members use wheelchairs and a lot of them are in rural communities. They lobbied the legislature and were successful in getting a $100,000 dollar allocation to the Oregon Department of Veteran’s Affairs. They are writing up Memos of Understanding with existing providers around the state. Realizing the high cost of using the existing providers, they are collaborating with HASL and some other providers to take a proposal to the Department of Veterans Affairs and hope to set up a service at a more reasonable rate. Dodie McKenzie – Three new tribes are getting their VR program started. One just lost their director and will be starting over. Susan Melero – People with DD had budget cuts. Janet Lowther – Would like to back up what Mike said to monitor the CCOs and the responsibilities they are given. December, 2011 Approved SILC Meeting Minutes Page 11 of 11 Stephaine Parrish Taylor – Would concur with Mike and Janet on keeping an eye on healthcare. Stepping out of her government role, she thinks it is important to bring forward solutions to the state revenue situation. Ben Luskin – In listening to everything said about Eliza Schaaf and how wrong it was of the President of SOU to make the decision he di,d everyone should keep in mind how awesome the community support has been of her case. ADJOURNMENT - Next Meeting • March 9 - Salem, OR