SILC Minutes
Colorado SILC Meeting
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Present: Linda LaPointe, Julia Beems, Andy O’Riley, Linda Taylor, Jan Ward, Hope Krause, Judy Neal, Debbie Petersen, James Tucker, Billy Allen, Ana French.
Staff: Mark Cloer
Guests: Sandy Pratt
Excused: Patricia Yeager, Cindy Powell
The Council meeting started promptly at 9 AM with a quorum present. Linda LaPointe chaired the meeting. Linda welcomed everyone and established the expectations for the meeting.
Minutes
Linda asked for any changes to the minutes of the January SILC meeting. Hearing no comments or corrections, Julia moved for the acceptance of the January 2010 minutes. The motion was seconded by Hope. The minutes were approved unanimously by the members in attendance.
Committee Reports
Membership: Chairperson Cindy Powell was unable to attend the meeting and so there was no presentation from this committee
Public Policy: Andy O’Riley, chair, reported that the committee has been working hard on the creation of several issue briefs. He reviewed the process for the release of each of the issue briefs and thanked committee members for all of their efforts on behalf of the SILC.
Andy announced that Laura Hershey has been selected as the contractor to produce a summary issue brief.
Finance Committee: Chairperson, Billy Allen, reviewed the January and February financial reports. The Colorado SILC is currently behind on spending, with only about 30% of the budget being spent to date.
State Plan Committee: Julia Beems, chair, said that she would review what this committee has been up to later in the day, during the afternoon presentation.
Executive Committee: Linda LaPointe has appointed a new ad-hoc Public Relations Committee which has been tasked with the creation of a unified message and branding of the Colorado SILC.
The 18th and 19th of May will be next scheduled meeting of the entire SILC. The 18th of May will consist of the regular SILC meeting and agenda. May 19th will be a joint meeting with the ACCIL and the Department.
Linda Taylor asked for permission for Jan Ward to be allowed to attend meetings on behalf of Linda’s Center. The group she would like to send her to meets on the second Wednesday of each month. The Executive Committee will discuss the possibility of a potential conflict of interest and inform Linda Taylor and Jan Ward of their decision.
Finance Report
The SILC’s current balance is $34,495.00.
Authorized projected spending is as follows.
- Retreat $15,000.00
- ADA Symposium $2,000.00 (Members who would like to attend and who have committed to going include Jan Ward, Julia Beems, Debbie Petersen, Linda Taylor, and James Tucker.)
- Public Hearing (Amendment) $250.00
- Public Hearing (New) $1,000.00
- Zarca $2,000.00 (actual cost may reach to over $3,000.00)
for a grand total of $20, 250.00
Additional funds which have already been committed are as follows:
- Billing for SILC Website $1,200.00
- Issue brief writer $1,000.00
- Catering bill from January $2,000.00
- The current SILC General Meeting $4,000.00
- The creation of a needs assessment review booklet $1,200.00
Additional Spending Ideas include:
- Contracting with a firm to other marketing experts to aid in the process
- Future Budgets may need to include additional money for web design and support.
Billy moved to accept the recommended budget changes. Julia seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously.
SILC Coordinator’s report:
Mark reported on the flurry of activity he has been involved in. Several of the committees have been extremely active. The Public Policy Committee has been pushing out a series of informative issue briefs. Mark took the time to remind the committee of the purpose of these briefs and of their general nature and intended use. He also took a moment to remind members that most of these briefs have been created by Public Policy Committee members, who have given much of their own time to develop them. In addition, Mark is working on the creation of the Housing Brief.
The State Plan Committee has also been extremely busy as they continue to work on the new State Plan (SPIL).
Committee times and dates have been moved to better accommodate the needs of the department and to assist Judy in accomplishing her work. The Executive Committee will now meet on the first Monday of each month (3:30PM). The State Plan Committee will continue to fluxuaite to accommodate the needs of the SPIL creation, thru the end of June (3:30 PM). The Public Policy Committee will continue to meet the third Tuesday of the month (3:30 PM), while the Finance Committee has been moved to the last Friday of the month, starting at 4PM.
James Tucker brought up the need for disability awareness and cultural understanding training. The comments lead to an extended discussion by members and staff as the need to better understand not just the differences of the disabilities in the community, but also the need to better understand the cultural differences which can lead to additional challenges for persons of color and people from different ethnic backgrounds. There was a general consensus that there is a clear need to address the issue of understanding cultural and ethnic differences. Sandy said that DVR has a disability awareness kit which may be helpful in helping members to better understand disabilities beyond their own. Members agreed that understanding cultural and ethnic differences is so important that we should consider finding a facilitator/presenter to lead a discussion/workshop on the issue possibly at the May meeting, or at least this fall.
ACCIL Report:
Linda Taylor, ACCIL representative to the SILC reported that…
- The ACCIL is hiring a part time coordinator.
- The ACCIL is tracking Healthcare Policy and financing legislation, including a possible future cut of 20% for Independent Living services. In addition, there may be additional cuts to Medicaid which could result in home healthcare agencies going out of business.
- ACCIL members will attend a meeting in New Orleans, in April, to discuss the funding formula and Part C funding.
State Rehabilitation Council Report:
Debbie Petersen is the SILC rep to the SRC.
- SRC reviewed the Mountain District and DVR eligibility.
- The “Significant Disability” waiting list has been opened and they plan to focus on employment issues.
- DVR has a new website.
- March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.
- SRC in not very involved at the current time. They have set a goal of meeting with the Governor.
- SRC currently has several membership slots which they are seeking to fill.
- SRC is looking to start their future meetings at 4PM and host committee meetings prior to the main meeting.
- SRC is seeking to clarify their status of autonomy.
- The Colorado SILC’s Issue Briefs were praised and the SILC was complimented on, “Doing the right thing”.
DVR Report:
Judy Neal presented the following information on behalf of DRV.
- The annual DRV Report was provided in members’ folders.
- The State Plan amendment was approved. It was posted on the Colorado SILC website for 34 days. There were no public comments on the amendment.
- Part B ARRA Funds are ready for distribution following final approval by RSA.
- SILC memberships are still under consideration. The department has expressed a strong desire for SILC membership to express geographical diversity.
Sandy shared that the figure setting meeting was held with Eric Kurtz. According to Joint Budget Committee (JBC) staff, ILC has been given a separate line item and JBC staff suggested that the line be given full funding except for the 2% across the board cut. The cut represents about $30,000.00 in provider rate reductions.
ARA funds are not necessarily slated for October.
Mark Cloer returned the Colorado SILC laptop computer to Sandy.
Old Business and New Business
Mark spoke to both old and new business. Mark will work with newly appointed the Public Relations Committee the flush out a way to create a plan, as to how to educate the general public on barriers to Independent Living.
Lunch
SILC Members watched the remaining two videos on the History of Independent Living.
Public Comment Period:
The only public comments that were made were that the Colorado Commission and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee are working on a sunset review. The bill is HB10-1255.
Presentation by Dr. Brittany Lane, PhD:
Dr. Lane was one of the Needs Assessment Contractors. Dr. Lane presented the following information.
- The premise of the contract was for gathering information.
- The question they were trying to answer was, “Who don’t we serve and why?”
- There was total of 20 respondents representing 12 cases or groups.
- The process revealed the needs to include, not knowing of the existence of Centers for Independent Living (CILs).
- The top needs which were expressed dealt with housing and transportation.
- Each member was given a copy of the final report.
Presentation by State Plan Committee:
Julia Beems provided the following information.
- The SPIL Assessment started with the premises that we wanted to reach out to those people who do not currently access services at their local CIL.
- Several centers have expressed a willingness to host a public hearing. Those interested center Directors include Beth Danielson of Fort Collins, David Bolin of Colorado Springs, Linda Taylor from the Western Slope, and potentially the Center in Boulder. Jan expressed a desire to work with Linda Taylor in her area.
- Public hearings may be held through the use of WebEx.
- Julia went on to explain how WebEx works.
- Another source for developing goals is from the current SPIL. Items which have yet to be accomplished may be rolled over in addition to those goals which we hope to continue.
That being the end of the business of the Council, Hope moved to adjourn the meeting and Debbie seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 3:55 PM.
The next meeting will be May 18th and 19th in Denver.
Recorded by
Mark Cloer
Mark Cloer
Colorado SILC Coordinator