Minutes
State Independent Living Council
March 15, 2007
Greeley, Colorado
Present: Terrance Turner, Mike Rooney, Pat Going, Georgeanna Chapman, Brent Belisle, David Foster, Debbie Peterson, Kristie Braaten, Amy Allred and Faith Gross. (Absent: Larry Williams (illness), Amy Jo Denning (childcare), William Aceves, Carol Reynolds, Clarence Miller)
Staff: Patricia Yeager (SILC Consultant), Greta Walgrave (DVR staff)
Guests: David Hood (DVR), Beth Danielson, David Bolin, Nancy Jackson, ACCIL
The meeting began shortly after 9:30 when Terrance welcomed everyone and asked for introductions.
Policy on Interpreters
A discussion occurred around the policy of having sign language interpreters all day at the SILC meeting. The cost is about $700 a meeting which is quite a bit if no one is there to use the interpreting. It was finally suggested that our agendas and public notice contain a statement to the effect that interpreters will always be provided during the public comment period of the agenda. Interpreting for the rest of the agenda will be provided upon request to Greta Walgrave, DVR, with XX days of notice. Pat Going made the motion, Georgeanna seconded it and it passed unanimously. This does not affect the SILC’s responsibility to provide interpreting for the full meeting for a SILC member who is deaf or hard of hearing.
Next the January 18 minutes were reviewed. Kristy Braaten asked that her name be correctly spelled. Several people mentioned that their committee assignments from the 1/18 meeting were different than their current assignment. Patricia explained that the assignments changed slightly after the meeting when Terrance put out the new list. The document, “SILC Committees for 2007” contains the correct listing.
Pat moved that the minutes for January 18, 2007 be approved with the changes. Georgeanna seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
DVR Report
The DVR report was next and David Hood was present to give it since Judy Neal was in Washington DC for a conference on the Older Blind program. David reported on the public notice process for the SPIL that had been started. Judy sent the notice to state agencies and statewide groups concerned with disability issues. David briefly reviewed the SILC’s part of the most recent 704 report in which we reported that things had pretty much fallen apart at the SILC last year. However things were getting better with the arrival of a new IL Coordinator at DVR, new SILC members and a new consultant for the SILC.
Resource Development Committee Report
Pat Going reported on the Resource Development Committee’s (RDC) work since the last full SILC meeting. Just before Joyce left, Pat met with her, Judy and Patricia to project out the rest of the 07 budget year. Notes from that meeting were in the board packet and Pat reviewed them in order to show how we arrived at the figure of $19,000+ to be available for sending CIL staff, consumers and SILC members to the Region 8 IL conference this June in Casper WY. A networking session on Tuesday night with heavy appetizers just for Colorado attendees is also being planned with the funds.
Pat also talked about the process of developing a budget for the next three years which will be due by April 15 to be a part of the SPIL public hearings. He met with David Hood and Patricia just before the meeting started and will be revamping the line items and putting together a draft budget based on the SILC financial history which he has. This will serve as a starting point. Pat anticipated several telecom meetings of the RDC prior to the April 15 deadline.
Old Business
Review of Committees
Terrance and Patricia reviewed the document, “SILC Committees for 2007” to make sure all the committees understood their charge. The Executive Committee and State Plan Committee were up and running. The Resource Development Committee was about to get started. Mike Rooney reported on his committee charge and handed out his goals and objectives. Basically, he is concentrating on developing and streamlining the membership recruitment and review process, with an eye toward collaborating with the Governor’s office.
It was thought that there were not issues for the Advocacy Committee but later in the agenda several came up that will call for reviews of letters and perhaps a meeting before the end of the fiscal year. The Youth and Training committees will probably wait until the new state plan as we work to get realistic goals for it and more members.
Deaf Services Report and Recommendations
Faith Gross presented the Deaf Services report and recommendations, one of the last objectives the SILC will finish from the current SPIL. The recommendations were sent out electronically as a part of the SILC package. Basically they revolved around gaining funding to put a culturally sensitive, sign language fluent staff person in each CIL, making video relay available at the CILs and several specific outreach activities. After much discussion (old ground covered a number of times at previous meetings over the past three years) Pat moved that the recommendations be accepted and Debbie Petersen seconded the motion. The motion carried with 9 yes votes and 1 no vote.
SILC members attending IL Conference
Patricia tried to get a count of SILC members who were planning to go to the Region 8 IL Conference in June. It appears that 5 or 6 plan to go and need travel funds. Georgeanna also requested travel funds for her son, who is disabled and will be accompanying her. CIL directors and staff on the SILC will be supported through their individual CIL allocation. Patricia will develop a form to get at questions such as how many nights, pre conference attendance, travel expenses, etc.
Report from State Plan Committee
In Larry Williams’ absence, Patricia reported on the Committee’s work. She reviewed the timeline put together by the committee and the public notice/public hearing process and budget. It was noted that the address was incorrect for the Grand Junction CIL. Patricia indicated that she was going to be writing a press release for CILs to use but the formal public notice was set for the Rocky Mountain News over the weekend of March 16,17 and 18. David Hood said he would try to get the correct address inserted in the public notice before it ran in the newspaper. Patricia asked for a vote of approval on the budget. Pat moved that the budget be approved and Georgeanna seconded the motion. It carried unanimously.
Patricia then ran through the four goals and asked for any comments. Faith Gross asked that the SILC look at going back to 6 meetings a year in order to accomplish the next three year SPIL. The RDC will plan it in and see if there are funds to cover it.
The SILC will be getting copies of the SPIL Goals and Objectives as they are written and as public comment comes in. The final vote on the SPIL will be at the June 14 meeting. Patricia indicated that all SILC members should be at their local hearing which will held on Wednesdays, 4-6 PM starting April 18 and running through May 9th.
New Business
Feedback on Materials Distribution
Patricia asked for feedback on the electronic distribution of minutes and so forth. She has been distributing the minutes of meetings as they occur and the reports or recommendations at the full SILC meeting. Sometimes this results in people getting things more than once. In general everyone seemed ok with this but asked that the material already sent be marked as such.
Advocacy Issues
Brent Belisle had several issues for the SILC to consider taking a stand and writing a letter.
CIL/DVR Employment Program
The first one had to do with a contract program that DVR put in place with the CILs to deliver employment services. Several ACCIL members also presented information on the problem. It seems that DVR is planning to “pull the plug” on these contracts without any feedback to the CILS about their performance or even any deliverables in place. Apparently, the CILs all have different contracts and services. Some have been unable to get referrals from their local DVR counselors. ACCIL would like the Department to continue the program, build a strong set of deliverables with each CIL and have regular communication/feedback on the services being provided. A one year trial is not enough.
There was much discussion about whether this was an appropriate issue for the SILC to weigh in on. There was no information from DVR about their concerns and the SILC did not have information on the performance of the CILs either. While employment is a very important goal/outcome for consumers it is not one that is mandated by federal or state legislation. A contract is different than core services. However, it did seem unfair that, according to ACCIL members, the contracts were so loosely constructed and no feedback or suggestions for improvements were given. David Foster made a motion for the SILC to write a letter to the Director of the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation expressing the SILC’s concern about how the employment contracts with the CILs were being handled. The letter should support the CILs continuation with a defined set of performance measures. Amy Allred seconded. The motion passed with 6 yes votes, and 2 abstentions (Chapman and Gross). Patricia will draft the letter and circulate to the Advocacy Committee. Time is of the essence-David Bolin suggested that it be sent no later than March 23.
Community Transition Services Certification Process
Brent, Beth and David Bolin presented this issue. It has been three years since the Governor signed the Community Transition Services program into law. Health Care Policy and Finance (HCPF) was charged to develop and implement a process for certifying organizations to provide services to transition people with disabilities out of institutions. It has been established that for each person moving out into the community, state taxpayers save $925 a month. Since the bill passed, CILs and other community agencies have been trying to get certified but HCPF has not implemented the certification process which would pay organizations for their transition work. ACCIL requested that the SILC write letters to the Governor and members’ local state legislators calling on HCPF to implement the certification process and get on with the transition program.
SILC members discussed the problem and agreed that it was appropriate to write about this issue. It was also suggested that the press be alerted to this given the significant tax dollar savings. Faith indicated that she had a relationship with a TV reporter who was interested in disability issues. This strategy was added to the SILC motion. Faith moved that the SILC write a letter to the Governor and HCPF which would also be made available to the members of the SILC who could use it with their local legislators and we would alert the media (Patricia will write a press release with the assistance of ACCIL) with the goal of getting HCPF to start certifying agencies to be able to provide and bill for transition services. Pat seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Public Comment
David Foster spoke about his informal survey of professionals working at the SWAP programs around the state as to what issues youth with disabilities were facing. He restated the need for a youth leadership forum and would like to see the Youth committee of the SILC get active. Faith indicated that The Client Assistance Program would be interested in working with David on issues with the SWAT. Mike Rooney indicated that there was a group in Denver that was beginning to work on a Youth Leadership Forum and promised to get David connected to that activity.
SILC Training
The SILC received training from members of ACCIL on the hallmarks of a Center for Independent Living using the federal standards and indicators (also found in the members’ orientation notebooks). The history of ACCIL was given and a review of past and current legislative activities was given. At the end of the SILC meeting, members visited Connections for Independence in Greeley to see the CIL and learn first hand about the services there.
Miscellaneous
Patricia announced that RSA had contacted her for a volunteer from the SILC to be a part of the review team coming in to review Atlantis in May. This is a courtesy invitation but the RSA staff really encouraged the SILC to send someone who is not connected or affiliated in any way with the CIL being evaluated. It is a good way to learn about how a CIL operates and the volunteer will be put to work reviewing specific things for the RSA reviewers. The review will be May 22-24. Several people volunteered including Georgeanna Chapman, Faith Gross, Kristy Braaten, Brent Belisle and Mike Rooney. The Executive Committee will make a decision at it’s April meeting.
Recorded by Patricia Yeager