NC Statewide Independent Living Council Meeting Minutes July 15, 2016 Country Inn & Suites, Burlington, NC Welcome/Mission /Minutes The meeting was called to order at by Chair Kay Miley at 9:05am. SILC Accessibility Reminders was read by Kay Miley SILC Mission was read by Debbie Hippler Introductions: Introductions were made by all. Absent members: Joshua Kaufman, Oshana Watkins, Barry Washington, Ping Miller are all absent due to travel or family death. Approval of Agenda – Change, at 10:45 Mary Ann Salmon will present. (Kimlyn Lambert/Paul LaVack) moved to accept the agenda with the added change. Motion carried unanimously Are there any corrections to the April meeting minutes? Kimlyn Lambert, I am marked as absent but was present. We had a discussion, if everyone would read through the minutes and verify your comments; that would help out a lot. (Action) Approval of the minutes as corrected– (Paul LaVack/Sandra Hicks) Motion carried unanimously Executive Committee The slate of officers for the upcoming year is as follows: Keith Greenarch – Chair Rene Cummins – Vice Chair Ping Miller – Secretary Kimlyn Lambert – Treasurer Are there any nominations from the floor? There are none. Keith Greenarch - I open the floor for nominations for the Member at Large position. This is a major role representing the members of the council. Kimlyn Lambert – I nominate Kay Miley. Paul LaVack second. Action: Approval to accept slate of officers was carried, Kay Miley abstained. Goal Committee Reports Goal 1 Provision of Quality Services Rene Cummins, chair A second Center Directors retreat was held on May 2 and 3, which fulfills the outcomes for the first activity under this goal.  For the second activity of Staff Development, funds were used to attend ILRU training on Financial Management for CILs, a Southeast Center Directors Association meeting in Mobile, Alabama, a webinar on Systems Advocacy, training on Front Desk Safety and Security, the NC Transitions Institute, and these SILC quarterly meetings. Since the Performance & Expenditure reports were available for all 8 Centers on Wednesday prior to this quarterly meeting, the percent of budget remaining were examined.  With the first 9 months of this fiscal year over, the remaining Part B funds should be approximately 25% of the total budget. For the 8 Centers, the remaining balances in ascending order were reported as follows: 9%, 17%, 31%, 32%, 37%, 39%, 52%, and 61%.  The annual conference of the National Council on Independent Living will occur at the end of this month, and we all know this is a very important but expensive conference because it is in Washington, D. C.  Some of these Centers with high percentages of remaining Part B funds might be planning to utilize the funds for staff to attend this conference. Goal 2 Leadership and Empowerment of individuals with disabilities: Gary Ray, chair John Marens was asked to read the report. John Marens - On behalf of Gary Ray I am reporting for Goal 2, Leadership and Empowerment of individuals with disabilities. The first objective is, youth are prepared for leadership roles. Our report on the Youth Leadership Forum is that it did occur in June at NC State. We don’t have any other information. Rene would you like to add any information? Rene – I defer to Keith who was present the last day. Keith - I was there for the Youth Leadership Forum graduation. It was very heartwarming as usual. I do hate to see that this is in jeopardy of not being held next year. I hope we can find an organization that can step up and use the funds the SILC provides to hold a 2017 Youth Leadership Forum. It is a great life experience that I wish every youth could have. Gary Ray - It was our understanding that as part of the contract someone from the Raleigh center would be here to report. Mark Steele – David Wickstrom is sick and unable to attend Dave Wickstrom – I can give a report that it went off really well. I believe it will be significantly under budget. Objective 2 – people with disabilities are educated on disability policies and regulations on federal state and local levels. Three of the centers have not spent any of their $500. They are to have at least one disability history and awareness presentation and one skills training with youth. Once goals in their contract are met only then can any monies be moved to another line item. Goal 3 Growth and Improvement of Independent Living Services: Helen Pase, chair This goal committee has not met in the last couple of months. We are at the end of the year and don’t have a lot to talk about. We are looking forward to starting on the new SPIL. Part B Center are still rocking and rolling having been real busy lately. We have transitioned five consumers since Oct. 1 and 1 conversion. Our funds are coming in a timely manner. Goal 4 Support NCSILC office: Oshana Watkins, Chair No report Goal 5 Promote Community Living: Gloria Garton, Chair No report Goal 6 DSUs Provide Independent Living Services: Teresa Staley, Chair The last meeting we had was April 1 at the last quarterly meeting. The developing goals from DVR and Division of Services for the Blind for possible inclusion in the new SPIL were discussed. It was agreed that the draft of the proposed goal would be sent to the committee members for comment. We will resume meetings in August. CIL Director’s Report Mark Steele The CIL directors had their second retreat for this fiscal year. It was successful. We worked on the two priorities, a united orientation and similar job descriptions. The CIL directors signed the SPIL. We discussed ongoing discussion since Independent Living Summit with following up with local and communities representatives about the state of CILs across the state. We are planning to follow up with legislators this fall. We had a recent meeting to get more information from Vocational Rehabilitation about requirements in WIOA regarding students with disabilities and pre employment transition services to coordinate moving forward. A follow up meeting is expected in the next month or two. Break – 10 minutes resumed at 10:02. Special Presentation – Finding Your Stories Dr. Mary Ann Salmon A short presentation was given. Personal stories both good and bad of experiences with guardianship were requested. Council members were asked to approach those that have been involved in guardianship situations. This is in conjunction with an initiative of the Developmental Disabilities Council. Standing Committees Executive Committee Kay Miley, Chair Report given by Keith Greenarch. We have been working on the SPIL; there have not been other activities. Now that the SPIL has been submitted we will begin meeting regularly to be proactive. It has been suggested that the Executive Committee have a face to face meeting. This will be done next month. To work on the upcoming SPIL, you will receive an email asking what on which committee you would like to serve. This is to monitor, review and evaluate each goal. Finance Committee Ping Miller, Chair No report was given. Operations Manager Report Debbie Hippler Over the last quarter the office has been very warm! The a/c has been out the majority of the month. We purchased fans, keep the lights turned off and keep the blinds closed but still average an office temperature of 85 or higher. In spite of this lack of comfort we continue to take care of the regular business, hosting or participating committee teleconference meetings: Policy, Membership, Executive and Finance. The major accomplishment was getting the SPIL completed and input into the mis system. This was accomplished on the 29th of June. Eighteen Information and referrals have been handled by phone, email and in person. When any request comes from a resident in a county served by one of the CILs I always refer the consumer to that center. I tell them that the staff will assist them in finding the information if not able to fulfill the request. I email the director to let them know to expect this contact. The website has had 4,562 hits during the months of April, May and June with an average of 50 views a day. The most used search engines to find us are Google, Yahoo and Bing. The most visited pages of our site are Veterans Resources, Centers and Council. A resource table was hosted by Keith and Rene at the Youth Leadership Forum. The items from the Youth Leadership Forum were delivered to our office the following week. The items were not inventoried, so this is has to be completed. The amount of items will necessitate a reconfiguration of the office and purchase of new storage bins to store properly. I will have to hire some help to accomplish this project. I look forward to attending my first NCIL conference in a few weeks. Please contact me with any questions etc. Discussion of the air conditioning, lease, the Youth Leadership Forum and information and referrals followed. Policy Committee Joshua Kaufman, Chair Report given by Keith Greenarch, we’ve been working on restructuring the mentorship program. There will be more hands on training in the future for the first year. In the second year then the member would be available to be a mentor. By-laws will be revisited starting in August. Ground work has been done and will continue. Membership Committee Sandy Ogburn, Chair Keith Greenarch - We are down a couple of membership and then we have some members who need to reapply as their term is expiring. Sandy Ogburn, we have had one meeting since the last meeting because we have not gotten new applications. We need to discuss recruitment of new members. I do encourage members to reapply in a timely manner. The membership committee will also meet to determine the new mentorship policy. The vote on this proposal will be tabled to the next meeting. SPIL Writing Committee Rene Cummins, Chair The State Plan was successfully submitted on Wednesday afternoon, June 29.  Keith Greenarch signed for the SILC, Claudia Horn signed for the Designated State Entity as the fiscal agent, and all Center Directors signed the plan. One difficulty in writing this State Plan, and one thing that might be confusing in reading it, was that the Office of Management and Budget has not yet issued a new form for writing the new plan that reflects all the changes that resulted from the passage of WIOA.  For example, in the Part II Narrative, Section 4.1, the old form addresses the Designated State Unit, which no longer applies, but all states had to respond to this approved form and no changes could be made; therefore, this is where all states addressed the identification of the Designated State Entity and the new role of fiscal agent.  Some of the assurances and other sections will be a bit confusing since they no longer apply, but everyone had to write the new plans using this approved but outdated form since OMB has not had time to update and approve a new form as yet. Designated State Units Reports Vocational Rehabilitation Independent Living Pamela Lloyd-Ogoke I will include two quarters in one. We have new Division Director, Tara Myers. Kenny Gibbs is now the Assistant Director, a newly created position. All contracts have been completed and are before the department committee on excellence. Jenny Pleasants, Money Follows the Person. I just hired a new person in the Durham office. I look forward to sending her out with Libby, our transition specialist in Wake County and having them work together as a team. A decision was recently made that any attendant would be paid minimum of $9.50/hour effective July 1. In other areas the wage is higher and will not change. Division of Services for the Blind Patricia Sikes We have exceeded our numbers of those who successfully completed their Independent Living goals. We have 31 mini centers, with 350 participants and served over 1100 individuals last year. This was accomplished with sever travel restrictions for three months. Our staff worked so well during a difficult year. We have a fulltime Independent Living specialist as of June 1 Crystal Jackson. We are looking to fill open positions in our Independent Living program. Cynthia Speight continues to serve as our interim program director. Full contact information is not currently on our website but will be posted soon. Discussion followed regarding filling the director’s position and of BEAM going away after a very involved process and how it will be managed and the Vocational Rehabilitation has been researching new options. Ex. Officio Reports Disability Rights North Carolina Vicki Smith, Executive Director No report was given North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities Steve Strom Adult Care Home Transition The Council partnered with Disability Rights NC to carry out the goals of this initiative. Now in its third and final year, Disability Rights has wrapped up the work on the initiative and will be presenting the final report and recommendations at the August Council meeting. At present, no state funding has been allocated to help the transition of the reported 1500 residents with me /DD from the ACHs into the community. In order to facilitate this transition, NCCDD is promoting the development of a “blueprint” that will incorporate the diverse needs of individuals across the state within the existing policy and budget restraints. Guardianship The DHHS Division of Aging and Adult Services along with the UNC School of Social Work Jordan Family Institute have been working on this initiative. Representatives from all agencies who have a stake in improving the self-determination of those with a guardianship order or at risk of having a guardian will have control over their lives. Family members and self-advocates are also part of this group. New members are invited to be part of this group. Thanks to Keith Greenarch for representing the Centers for Independent Living in this workgroup. Copies of the first year are reports are available in print and online: http://bit.ly/1RvF5T9 Medical/Health Homes for individuals with I/DD The Medical/Health Homes initiative is in its final year of funding and has made several recommendations that have been incorporated into Medicaid reform and still continues to influence the work in the State around Medicaid services for individuals with I/DD. This fall, the initiative will sponsor a forum that on integrated health. More information will be sent to the group prior to the date of the forum which is TBD. The work of this important initiative has been successful in: * The establishment of an NC chapter of DD Nurses Association; * Working with the dental association to train practices on the serving patients with I/DD and promoting the integration of oral health as part of medical health homes; and * Bringing other states’ models of medical/health homes to North Carolina policy makers at a recent summit on “Medical Health Homes and Managed Care for People with I/DD. The work of this initiative continues to inform policy makers as they consider major changes in Medicaid. Emergency Preparation The council has been working with the NC Department of Public Safety to build capacity for disaster preparation, emergency response, and related procedures and systems. The NC DPS has been successful in building additional capacity and promoting the changes made to emergency response in national meetings of other states. There are copies of the Show Me publication available at the meeting today. Conference Funding Support The NC Council supports individual with disabilities and their caregivers to participate in educational opportunities that will enhance their ability to be a better advocate or increase independence through the Jean Wolff Rossi Fund. This fund will provide financial support to attend conferences that will meet the goals of the Rossi Fund Program. Those interested in applying for funds may visit the NCCDD website for an application at www.nccdd.org or call the office at 919-850-2901 to have an application mailed. Self-advocates and family members who want to attend any of that national IL conferences such as APRIL in October are encouraged to apply for support though the Jean Wolff Rossi Fund! 5 Year Plan goals have been approved The Council works from a five year plan. At the February 2016, Council members endorsed the three goals for the next Five Year Plan. The Five Year Plan must be submitted to Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) for approval by August 15, 2016. The new Five Year Plan will take effect on October 1, 2016. The three large goals in the plan revolve around financial asset development, community living, and advocacy development. Funding for initiatives in the next 5 years will address these key goals. To download a copy of the plan, you can visit the Council’s website or click the link below: http://bit.ly/1MRMuGL Council Meetings are open to the Public and members of the general public are invited to attend The Council meets four times per year. The remaining two Council meetings in 2016 are: August 11-12; November 16-18. Agendas and handouts from the meeting are available on the Council website at www.nccdd.org. There is a public comment period on Friday where visitors can address the Council. Thanks to John Marens for addressing the Council at the May meeting. Meetings are held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 131 Columbus Avenue, Cary, NC. Please see our website for more information. Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Jan Withers 1. DSDHH Services a. Relay North Carolina b. Client Services (advocacy, information/referral, consumer skill development…) c. Services to Agencies and Organizations (Training, consultation) d. Outreach and Education 2. NC Council for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing * Legislatively-mandated advisory council a. Charged with providing guidance to DHHS Secretary and DPI Superintendent b. 27 members: appointed by Governor, President Pro Tem and House Speaker c. Anyone can present his/her issues and ideas to representatives d. For more information on Council: www.ncdhhs.gov/dsdhh/councils-commissions * Upcoming quarterly meetings in 2016: August 5, November 4 3. Legislative Updates * Proposal to sunset licensure for sign language interpreters o HB1007 (which retains licensure for SL interpreters) passed House o Senate version referred to Finance Committee – no further action 4. Service Updates * Increasing outreach to veterans, including via partnerships with veterans-related agencies and organizations * Partnership with NC Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) – increasing outreach to health care service providers via all-day training at AHECs (CEUs available) * ASL video on how to file a complaint on non-compliance with ADA by DHHS agency or provider (e.g. Medicaid healthcare provider) will be posted by end of July 2016 * Article on Video Remote Interpreting service under review – goal is to publish in DHHS Medicaid Bulletin (which reaches 75,000+ NC Medicaid providers). Intend of article is to educate providers on limitations of VRI, especially in reference to “effective communication” as noted in ADA. 5. General Updates * All seven DSDHH regional centers have a manager on board * Filling positions across DSDHH * Two critical vacancies remain: Telecommunications Resources Program Manager and Community Resources Program Manager – both currently posted Client Assistance Program John Marens In February 2016, an Independent Living counselor contacted NCCAP to staff a case related to a delay and potential denial of services based on an annual review of a financial needs survey (FNS). The client was waiting for vehicle modifications to a vehicle she and her family had already purchased. In speaking with the client, she reported that she was employed, that she had been waiting for several months for this service, and felt blindsided by the agency, and that her father had to transport her to and from her job, causing a hardship. This case relates to the increased complexity of completing financial documentation. CAP investigated the case and found that the Chief of Policy had put a stop to the progress of the case due to inaccuracies in the process of determining financial eligibility. CAP continued to monitor the case and acted as a mediator / liaison between the client, counselor, and Chief of Policy to correct the errors and get the appropriate information into the system. This took some time, but eventually, we were able to do so. CAP followed up with the Chief Rehab Engineer in Raleigh, and facilitated the bids getting out in a timely manner. As of this date (May 2016), the client’s van is being modified, and she should be in possession of it shortly. An Independent Living contacted the Client Assistance Program (CAP) in April 2016, with the concern that her personal assistance services (PAS) through the Independent Living Program (ILP) were going to be discontinued at the end of the month (April 30, 2016), based on a new financial needs survey which indicated that the family had too much income. She wanted to appeal the decision. Because the timeframe for discontinuation of the service was so close, CAP provided her with the necessary information so that she could request an administrative review and an appeal hearing so that she could continue to receive the service until the issue was investigated and resolved. CAP staff was able to gather new financial information from the client for the ILP, cite policy governing the completion of the FNS, and successfully negotiate with the Unit Manager to take another look at the data in an effort to continue PA services. A new FNS was completed and the client was determined to be eligible for continued PA services. Since all issues were resolved in her favor there was no need for further CAP intervention. Client was made aware that she can contact CAP at any time in the future if she feels she needs additional assistance or intervention. Laura Bartholomew was introduced as a new person in the Client Assistance Program office. Other Council Reports SRC report Rene Cummins The “take away” message from the June SRC meeting was a presentation from Dr. Trudie Hughes of the NC Community Colleges.  Dr. Hughes presented on Students with Disabilities and College and Career Readiness.  Since our proposed State Plan addresses youth transitions and the Centers have been given this core service under WIOA, I will pass along the contact information for Dr. Hughes with the suggestion that the SILC should invite her to address a future meeting on this same subject.  Commission of the Blind Sandra Hicks I am newly appointed to this position and want to thank Patricia Sikes. Meeting on June 17, the interim director, Cynthia Speight reported on summer programs and collaborations. 30 participants were expected with 14 youth in transitions which focuses on Independent Living and social skills development. 8 in college prep for those about to begin college and 8 in world of work which provided work experiences such as grocery store, NC library for the Blind, Alliance of Disability Advocates, The Adaptables, NC Museum of Science and one thrift store. Division of Services for the Blind also partnered with NC National fed of the blind hosting the bell program. Bell is the Braille learning and literacy program. DSB provided the use of the mini centers in Raleigh and volunteer. The EYE retreat Envisioned youth empowerment retreat is being held in July on the Gov. Morehead school campus. DSB has provided funding to cover housing the participants. Officers were elected during the June meeting. Old Business: none New Business: Rene Cummins – Debbie and I sat in on a webinar about adopting the proposed SILC standards and indicators. The public comment is open till August 15th. This information will be sent out to you. One comment that I would encourage you to make, is that the SILC should maintain autonomy. This standard is missing. There are five very good standards and indicators but autonomy is important. Keith Greenarch – On autonomy, the SILC codification expired on June 16 of this year. That is one of our first orders of business is to get that reinstated and to get us into the line budget of the state. At the Independent Living Summit we laid the groundwork, to move toward this goal. Sandy Ogburn – I have reached out to our contact in the Governor’s office of Board and Commissions. They are working on the new executive order. I will follow up with her after this meeting. Anyone knows a senator who can help with this or if you would like to help or work with me on this please email or contact me. Steve Strom – There was a decision to create a Developmental Disabilities caucus, this may be a good opportunity for me to send you information about who is on that and who could champion this cause, people with Developmental Disabilities. Gary Ray – Chair of Goal 2, I have a concern as a committee chair. We are supposed to monitor review and evaluate and with the meeting cycle for the SILC and the reporting cycle it is very difficult to bring it all together to present cohesive reports that don’t embarrass me. I’d ask that the Executive Committee take a look at that. To consider this body to have the information is needs in a timely basis by looking at when we have our SILC meeting and the effects it has on the committees to get their stuff to report. Keith Greenarch – could you elaborate? Gary Ray – I was jealous of the Goal 1 report. Rene was able to go to the SILC office and dig up the numbers. I had my committee Tuesday afternoon and I didn’t have the numbers. The information comes from the CIL and it’s supposed to be in by a certain day and there is a lag to when the committees have access to the information. We got jammed up because we got our information on Tuesday and I’m reporting on Friday. I didn’t really have the numbers. Keith Greenarch – to reiterate and understand going forward, you were not getting the information in a timely manner? Gary Ray – there is not enough days between when the report is due and the date of this meeting when the committees report Keith Greenarch – we used to do a later meeting date and it got backed up into the month a little bit. We might need to bump it back. That would give you more time. We can work on that. Announcements: Mark Steele – if you are in the Winston Salem Stokes County area we are partnering with the Developmental Disabilities Council. The Hanging Rock State Park did some access studies not finding many accessible campsites and activities. They received some funding and have opened up an accessible shelter. The grand opening will be on the 24th. We are doing this for July 26th anniversary for the Americans with Disabilities Act. July 24th noon – 3pm. We will send the information to Debbie who can send it out to the council. Debbie Hippler – lunch is ready, would everyone present in this room please sign in. Kimlyn Lambert – I would like to thank Kay, this is her last meeting as chair. She has done a lot of good things for us and we all owe her a round of appreciation. Kay Miley – Thank you so much, I appreciate Keith taking over for me while I was sick. I’m glad I finished up early today for you. Public Comments: Meeting Adjourned at 12:12 Next Meeting: October 14 at the Country Inn and Suites in Burlington, NC. Attendees: P = Present / T= attending by Teleconference / A = Absent Members Ex. Officio Staff/Support Rene Cummins P Pamela Lloyd-Ogoke Vocational Rehabilitation Independent Living P Debbie Hippler P Tavonne Enoch T Steve Strom DD Council P Mark Lineberger ASL P Gerald Green P Patricia Sikes – Division of Services for the Blind P Sarah Wheeler ASL P Keith Greenarch P John Marens Client Assistance Program P Valerie Reiser–PA/LPN P Sandra Hicks P Vicki Smith – DDNC A Joshua Kaufman A Jan Withers – DDHH P Mark Steele P Guests Kimlyn Lambert P Center Directors/Reps Jenny Pleasants - VR P Paul LaVack P Julia Sain P Lauren Costello – BI P Kay Miley P Helen Pase P Laura Bartholomew P Clare “Ping” Miller A Eva Reynolds P Mamie Branch P Sandy Ogburn P Benita Williams P Veronica Reardon P Gary Ray P Dave Wickstrom T Mike Ogburn P Teresa Staley P Oshana Watkins A Barry Washington A Sabrina Dionne P Melea Williams P Respectfully submitted, Debbie Hippler, SILC staff The full recording of the meeting is available at the SILC office upon request e:\10 october 2016\july 15 qrt. meeting minutes draft.docx 15