Draft Minutes
Statewide Independent Living Council Meeting
9/10/08
Guests: Colleen Wilkinson, Disability Program Navigator, David Foster, community member and Delaine Valoshin, SWAP Coordinator.
Members: Bill Aceves, Pat Going, Billy Allen, Carol Hunter, Judy Neal, Faith Gross, Debbie Petersen, Jan Ward, Larry Williams, Julia Beems, Kristie Braaten, Linda LaPointe, Linda Taylor, Georgeanna Chapman.
Excused: Terrance Turner, Hope Krause,
Staff: Patricia Yeager
The meeting started at 9:05 with introductions of everyone in attendance.
Chairperson remarks
Debbie welcomed everyone to the first meeting of this fiscal year. She indicated that because of costs the SILC was reducing its meetings to 4 this year from 6 last year. Thus, she expected that each meeting would have a full agenda. Debbie also indicated that everyone should be on at least one committee.
Approval of Minutes
Kristie moved that the minutes be approved and Pat seconded the motion. There were no changes so the minutes passed unanimously.
DVR report
There is a new person taking over as Manager of Provider Relations which includes the IL Coordinator’s position. Diana Pratt Wilson, from Youth Corrections has been on the job about two weeks. Her background is in budgets and contracts. She seems interested in learning about IL. Judy will invite her to the next meeting
All 10 CILs have bee reviewed with 8 certified. There are two under corrective action. The Southwest Center has corrected their issue by hiring a director with a disability. The other Center has some work to do and document before getting its certification. Judy went through a short review of the standards and indicators from Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act.
Judy also outlined the problems that continue to crop up with monitoring the SILC budget. There seems to be another mysterious $3000 expenditure deducted from the SILC accounts. She indicated that the SILC expenditures were tracked outside of the State fiscal system and never reconciled. We may not know until October when the State closes its books on 2007-08 fiscal year. One person suggested that it might be the NCIL travel costs that may be causing the problem. A short discussion was had about sending a letter to DVR asking for better accounting and monitoring services. The Finance committee will draft it and submit to SILC for review and vote before sending it.
Lastly, Judy spoke to the Cost Containment memo that DVR sent out in August. She explained that while DVR’s funding is the same as last year, costs have significantly increased and no cost of living increase was given. This puts DVR into a budget crisis as there are not enough funds to pay for services from third party vendors. The 3 top services that are contracted out include job seeking skills, job placement, and job development, which the counselors will now take on. There may be more wiggle room for other services that are contracted out. As a policy, DVR is not spending any money until Oct 1, other than for things that relate to immediate employment placement. DVR hopes to start spending again October 1.
SILC Coordinator
Patricia began her report by passing out copies of the letterhead, business cards and issue brief templates. These are the products of the $3000 branding/logo development funds. Everyone was pleased with the outcome.
Next, she reported on the SILC website. The address is www.coloradosilc.org (.net and .com also belong to the SILC). The website is almost ready for prime time and she hopes to put out a press release around October 1 announcing the site. Several people do not have bios including: Linda Taylor, Larry Williams, Amy Allred, Billy Allen and Hope Krause. Meeting announcements, agendas, schedules and minutes are up on the web as well as a list of all the CILs, The Area Agencies on Aging will be up shortly. The Centers with Older Individuals who are Blind programs are identified. The Centers that set up AT Network programs will also be identified.
We are working to set up a members only section which will contain all the committee minutes and will be accessible by password. Patricia also indicated that giving everyone a SILC email address that links to their private email may be inviting SPAM. Georgeanna suggested, at the Executive meeting, that we consider having generic boxes. That would include silcchair@coloradosilc.org, silcstaff, Financecommittee, StatePlancommittee, etc. Everyone agreed that sounded reasonable.
Patricia informed the group that she had talked to Beth (holder of the SILC Coordinator contract) that she would like to search for an assistant to work with the Public Policy committee. This person would be paid out of Patricia’s subcontract and hopefully, would be able to work toward replacing Patricia at the start of next year.
Patricia and Judy have begun work on a SILC policies and procedures manual which will describe how the SILC operates and be placed on the website when approved. She hopes to have it to the council for their approval at the November meeting.
Finance Committee
Kristie presented the updated new budget for 2008-09 (09 Fiscal year) for the SILC’s approval. After some discussion, Pat moved that the new budget be approved as presented. Larry seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
ACCIL report
The group hired a director who lives in FL. He is retired and working with the association for free. He will use the salary funds to travel here as needed. He has been involved in disability issues nationally. His goal is to get the association into a place where they are ready to hire a director. The ACCIL Retreat is September 17th and 18th in Glenwood Springs. There is a teleconference call scheduled during the retreat with Debbie, Nancy and Judy at the retreat to talk about the relationship between the three entities. ILCPueblo.org, the website for the Pueblo center is up, Larry announced!
Committee Reports.
Membership
Pat will be working to bring new members to the SILC. He has asked Julia Beems to join the committee and she has agreed. With two members leaving the SILC at the end of September, the SILC will be looking for several people to represent persons with mobility and mental health disabilities as well as wounded veterans, youth and those of different ethnic backgrounds and representatives of the Native American VR program (121 program). The SILC is losing several Denver residents so that geographic area could be considered. Patricia will be putting together a new SILC membership snapshot to show the gaps in representation.
Public Policy Committee
Patricia gave the report as Linda Taylor was still on her way to the meeting. The committee has two interns working on writing issue briefs for housing and emergency preparedness. Those briefs will be put into the new template, placed on the website for downloading and disseminated to the appropriate public policy makers and the press. The third issue brief will probably be on the lack of funds for CILs in Colorado. Billy talked about work he was doing in Colorado Springs and Denver with first responders and being trained as a first responder. He indicated that the Springs police was collecting identifying information about people with disabilities that would show up in a bubble message in the computer when that address came up. For example, if deaf people lived there, that information would come up and inform the emergency personnel trying to reach the occupants. New member Jan Ward will join this committee.
Finance Committee
Nothing else to report until there is financial information to review. Billy Allen was asked to join the committee and he agreed.
State plan
Linda LaPointe reviewed the minutes and the accomplishments of the first year under the SPIL. Patricia talked about the needs assessment and there was discussion about what the purpose of the IL needs assessment would be. Judy responded that it would identify gaps in services across the state and serve as a starting point in identifying progress for persons with disabilities. She also mentioned that the information would be very helpful for each CIL in writing its funding proposals. Patricia stressed that this is not about the CILS NOT doing enough; it is about what more needs to be done so that the case for funding can be made. It will also be the basis for the next three year SPIL. For example, if it is found that not very many people know about their CIL, the SILC could budget funds for a statewide media campaign in the next SPIL.
Executive Committee
Patricia reviewed some of the work that the Executive Committee had been doing. Most notably, the meeting dates of the full SILC was discussed.
Old Business
NCIL trip
Linda Taylor, Linda LaPointe, Judy Neal and Amy Allred attended the NCIL conference. Amy was not at this meeting so her report will be given at the November SILC meeting. Linda, Judy and Linda all talked about the conference and the workshops they attended. Linda and Linda wrote about their experiences which Judy will publish in a future newsletter. Everyone was very appreciative of the verbal reports. Pat suggested that the Policies and procedures for conference travel require members who travel to write a report as well as a verbal presentation.
Mission Statement
Debbie Petersen presented the mission statement report. The Ad hoc team consisted of Debbie, Linda LaPointe, Billy Allen and Judy. Debbie explained the mission statement and asked for feedback and discussion. Everyone was pleased with the statement: “Colorado SILC: Paving pathways to full participation for the community of persons with disabilities served by the Colorado Centers for Independent Living.” Carol Hunter moved that the statement be accepted and Faith seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Committee assignments
All members have now been assigned to committees. The Chairs were reminded that having other people from the community on the committees is allowed and a good way to share the load of the committee work.
Recognition of Members work
Terrance Turner and Bill Aceves’ terms are completed and they were thanked for there work. A Certificate of Appreciation will be mailed to them. Also, Faith Gross was recognized for her work as chair of the SILC last year with a plaque containing the new logo. Thanks to all three for their work on behalf of persons with disabilities in Colorado.
Presentation: Birding for the Blind
Carol Hunter presented information about PAW-Partners for Access to the Woods- a program to create access to the woods for persons with disabilities. The goal is to open public lands to people with disabilities using universal design principles. Carol is working with individuals and groups across the country that are interested in creating listening posts at birding sites. Identifying birds is usually done by listening to their song, secondarily by sight. So PAW is developing a curriculum including sounds and sculpture of birds for all students, including those with visual impairments. She brought several examples of bird forms for everyone to experience. She is looking for blind individuals and groups to test the curriculum. A number of suggestions were given to her.
New Business
By Laws change
After lunch, the group took up the by-laws proposal before breaking for the public comment period. Patricia explained the Executive Committee’s request to change the section of the bylaws on the number of absences accruing before being asked to resign. The reason for the change is that this year the SILC will be meeting 4 times instead of 6 so missing three meeting of the four would not be acceptable. The section to be amended is Section I, number 2. Here is the language that the SILC approved to go out for 30 day notice before a vote:
2. Members may be subject to removal for failure to attend Council meetings or to carry out his or her Council responsibilities. If a member fails to attend three (3) 50% of the Council meetings, during the course of any fiscal year, without an excused absence, it is incumbent upon the Chairperson to recommend to the Governor and to the Director of DVR to terminate the individual’s appointment to the Council.”
The procedures for requesting an excused absence will be placed in the Policies and Procedures. Linda LaPointe moved that the language be accepted for circulating among the members. Kristie seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
AT Partners’ Projects
Julia Beems reported on two projects that involve the Centers for Independent Living. First, AT Partners received funding from JVA to begin to set up an AT Network by placing Senior Community Service Employment Program participants (Seniors over the age of 55 who are paid) in CILs and Area Agencies on Aging that wish to be a part of the program. These staff members will be trained to provide information and referral and assistance related to adapted equipment or assistive technology. They will be part of a network of training, sharing adaptive equipment, outreach materials, etc that will be coordinated by Julia. Right now, only one or two CILs and AAA’s have agreed to participate but as the program begins to show its potential for helping people with disabilities find out about and get equipment, it is hoped that more organizations will take part. The staff person, training and materials are free to participating organizations.
Julia also mentioned that the DNCC was donating its wheelchairs to AT Partners to get out to consumers (not organizations) who need them. Julia’s AT network person is coordinating the give away.
Accessible Voting Update
Faith talked about problems in voting that occurred during the primary and what the voting access advocates are anticipating this fall. She had brochures to distribute, Feel the Disability Power tee shirts for sale and indicated that the League of Women Voters and The Legal Center would once again be putting together a manual that explained the ballot in easy to understand language. She encouraged everyone with visible disabilities to use the new accessible machines because they were not much used in the primary, much to the dismay of the county election officials. Finally, she asked that if anyone saw an inaccessible voting site to let her know. The Department of Justice is looking for places to send accessible voting monitors to observe.
Public Hearing
David Foster, Craig, spoke to the need for services to youth with disabilities in schools and during transition so that they find out what services and options are available to them. He gave several examples. Parents of students with disabilities also need this information. David requested that the SILC needs assessment include questions for youth.
Stacy Nichols, Craig, came to speak about the needs of deaf people in the area. She said there were not enough interpreters and they are hard to find. She also mentioned that she felt the school system was not serving deaf students very well. There were reports of interpreters doing the school work for the students. She indicated that deaf students did not know their rights to interpreter and other services.
Needs Assessment
This was discussed earlier during the State plan committee report. However, Julia offered several CU initiated reports on persons with disabilities in Colorado that would be helpful. Questions were raised about the disability questions on the new Census which Patricia will try to find out about. A study done in Illinois by a University there looked at the rate of poverty in each ILC catchment area to set up a funding formula that put more funds into areas with high poverty rates. Members of the SILC thought this had promise in Colorado so Patricia will try to get more information. It may be that we can get a CO university to do a similar project.
Discussion on Travel Expenses for Policy
Patricia and Judy talked about problems with SILC members expenses for travel. Last year, several people elected to fly to meetings at the last minute which meant very expensive tickets. Rooms not used, rental car expenses were other unapproved expenditures. Because the SILC funding is tight this year and we need to control the travel expenses in general, it was asked if a policy and procedure could be developed to gain prior approval before these types of expenses would be approved.
Julia asked if teleconferencing was available. Patricia explained that there was a fear that everyone would want to teleconference in for the far away meetings. However, teleconferencing was available as a reasonable accommodation for health/disability issues of a temporary nature. Teleconferences are used for committee meetings. Julia suggested that for those whose expenses were too much to attend, perhaps teleconferencing would be acceptable. Patricia will put that in the policies. It was suggested that the Chair be the one to make the approval of expenditures after consulting with the Chair of the Finance committee to see if there were funds to cover the extra costs.
Procedure for Requesting an Excused Absence
SILC members must contact the Chair by phone or email to request an excused absence. In the past, under other chairpersons, members have gone to various DVR staff and to the SILC trainer or the Coordinator. They do not have the power to excuse someone from a meeting only the Chair does. If the chair is not contacted, it will be counted as an unexcused absence. Judy did ask that when contacting the Chair, please let the DVR Administrative Assistant know so that a room is not booked for the member.
SILC Advocacy Training
Patricia presented a short training on Systems Change and the SILC’s role in this activity. She sees it as a critical part of the SILC’s mission. The process to be used will be through the leadership of the Public Policy committee. They need to develop a way of prioritizing what the SILC will deal with. Letters and issue briefs will be overseen by the committee and submitted to the membership for a vote. Once approved the letters and issue briefs will be disseminated and put up on the web site. Julia Beems indicated that the newly reformulated Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities has a template for informing the Governor and Legislators about groups’ issues and concerns which she will get to Patricia.
The training notes are attached to these minutes.
Announcements
Linda LaPointe mentioned that she was attending the Southwest Disabilities Conference in Albuquerque the first weekend in October and would be writing articles about the experience if anyone was interested. She is particularly interested in the “Wounded Warrior” training thread as she is not seeing much out there on the subject.
Georgeanna Chapman announced her resignation effective immediately. She has accepted a job in Maryland and will be relocating by the end of September. Everyone wished her well.
The meeting adjourned at 3:00 PM to allow members to visit the Independent Living Center in Craig.
Recorded by
Patricia Yeager
SILC Advocacy Notes
What is systems change?
Systems change means developing solutions to an issue that meet the majority of disability groups’ needs. Individual advocacy means developing solutions for an individual person’s needs. SILC is all about systems change.
How do you go about creating systems change?
It takes a strategy that usually is specific to the issue. Information is researched and written about the issue, who it affects, how it affects, and what should change and why. This gets disseminated across the community affected by the issue as well as public policy makers who can fix it and the media who can educate others about it. Systems change is usually about working with others to create the solution and the change. It often takes both advocacy and lobbying.
What is the difference between advocacy and lobbying?
Advocacy is educating policy makers about the implications of a contemplated public policy action.
Lobbying is telling the public policy makers how to vote on a specific bill or contemplated public policy.
Which can the SILC do as a part of a state agency?
Advocacy! Advocacy! Advocacy!
What are the elements of good advocacy?
Respectful communication
Correct information
Clear communication
Suggest solutions
……to the entities that have the power to fix the issue!
What tools can the SILC use?
Letters to the appropriate people
Issue briefs or short papers on the issue
Meetings with public policy makers
Educating the public through postings on the website
Releasing our briefs and letters to the media
Sharing our thoughts and feelings about disability related issues with:
- Association of Colorado Centers for Independent Living (ACCIL),
- Colorado Cross Disability Coalition,
- ADAPT
- other organizations and coalitions.
The role of guiding principles:
- Identify what to take on
- Prioritize
- Gives us cover to say no
Managing the SILC’s advocacy process:
- The role of the public policy committee
- Developing the letter/issue brief
- Disseminating the letter/issue brief
- What happens if the proposed policy “goes south?”
- Conflict of interest