[il-talk] FW: DRS Dec 2010 Community Partnership Update

[David Meyer]

  _____  

From: Zenner, Lori [mailto:Lori.Zenner at illinois.gov] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 3:57 PM
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Subject: DRS Dec 2010 Community Partnership Update



<<CPU Dec 2010.doc>> 


DRS Community Partnership Update

December 29, 2010

Budget Update:  We continue to work with the DHS Budget Unit and the
Governor's Office of Management and Budget on refining the FY11 budget and
developing a proposed spending plan for FY 12.  The Governor's Budget
Address to the General Assembly is scheduled for February 16.

Field Services:  Changes, changes, and more changes. Several personnel
changes have been made in the past several weeks.  Louis Hamer has been
named Acting Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Field Services, replacing Jeff
Standerfer, who will retire December 30th. Mr. Hamer assumes his new duties
on January 3, 2011.  Mr. Hamer has over a quarter century of experience in
the field of rehabilitation.  He has been a Rehabilitation Counselor,
Manager of Community Resources Unit responsible for over 600 contracts, and
Assistant Bureau Chief for Region 2.  The Bureau Chief job is a major
responsibility, and we are very confident that Lou is up to the task.  We
wish him the best in this new role!

Dorothy Neal has been named Acting Assistant Bureau Chief for DRS Region 5.
Dorothy is the Rehabilitation Services Supervisor in Olney.  We thank
Dorothy for stepping up to the plate and assuming these additional duties.
At the same time, we wish to thank Paula Ferguson for her leadership as
Acting Assistant Bureau Chief for Regions 4 and 5.  Paula did a yeoman's job
and will settle back to her duties as Rehabilitation Services Supervisor for
the Jacksonville DRS office.

As part of a recent BFS restructuring, Ron Sazone is now the Assistant
Bureau Chief for Regions 3 and 4.  Ron is a very good manager and will
perform very well with his additional responsibilities.

The Return of Mike Scott:  Mike Scott has been hired as the Manager of the
Rehabilitation Technology section at DRS.  Mike is an important asset to our
field staff in providing technical assistance for individual customer issues
and leading the Tech Unit into the next decade.  Mike, who has worked for
DRS previously, has his formal training as a Rehabilitation Engineer and is
a national expert on accommodating individuals with disabilities, especially
those who have Visual Impairments.  Welcome home, Mike!

A Big HSP Thanks:  Sharon Johnson will be retiring from her job at the Home
Services Program this year.  I remember working with Sharon and some of her
cohorts for the past twelve years.  Sharon has been instrumental in working
with the Centers for Independent Living on the Community Reintegration
Program.  We wish Sharon the best in her retirement status and thank her
tremendously for her contributions to HSP over the past couple of decades.

News Update:  The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors approved a new license
plate image review contract that will bring 100 new jobs to Illinois and
provide employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and veterans.
In addition, the new contract is expected to reduce costs to the Illinois
Tollway by more than $1 million annually.  Under the new $9.7 million,
three-year contract, Bridgeway will hire new employees for facilities in
Galesburg and Rockford to review approximately 46 million license plate
images annually as part of the Illinois Tollway's toll violation enforcement
system. 

The contract brings together two not-for-profit companies with established
reputations for providing employment opportunities for workers with
disabilities: Bridgeway through its Galesburg location and Loves Park-based
Illinois Growth Enterprises (IGE).  Bridgeway is a not-for-profit human
services organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with
disabilities in west central Illinois and southeast Iowa.  IGE is a
not-for-profit corporation that has been providing comprehensive vocational
services to persons with disabilities since 1970.  

Letter of Appreciation:  DHS' EEO/AA Officer, Anna L. D'Ascenzo, writes
"Because of everyone's commitment, hard work and efforts, we can say that we
began our year with an underutilization for people with disabilities at 33.
In October we hired 7 Persons with Disabilities, November we hired 13 and to
date in December we have hired 5.  This brings our total just in FY11 second
quarter to 25 people!  We had an underutilization of 33 and we've addressed
that underutilization 25 times!  I think this is an awesome achievement
which shows DHS' dedication and desire to reach our goals."

Home Services Program:  SEIU Local 880 notified DRS that "fair share" for
non-union Personal Assistants increased as of January 1, 2011.  The rate has
been increased to 78.82 percent of the full members' dues.  As of January 1,
2011, 2.6 percent of gross monthly pay with a maximum of $29.56 per payroll
has been withheld from the Fair Share contributor's checks.  There is no
change in the union member dues.

The Fletcher Arbitration decision continues to present challenges to the
management of the Home Services Program as we deal with turnover and
vacancies.  However, the program continues to do its best to move forward
with important chances and improvements.  Here are a few highlights:

In recognition of the great need to get information and training out to the
field, HSP will start weekly webinars for field staff.  This will allow us
to communicate with field staff regularly on the most important issues as
well as provide training.  This technology can be used to get information
out to the field while being cognizant of the need to limit travel costs.
It also is a very flexible tool.

  

HSP and VR are using technology to minimize the amount of paper we must
transfer back and forth.  Both programs feel the pressure of dealing with
cumbersome, expensive, paper-intensive processes.  Technology exists to help
address this problem.  

 

We have received approval to make changes to the way our CRP/Money Follows
the Person program operates.  Some changes have already been implemented.
Over the next year we will be moving to manage the CILs the same way we
manage other case managers in terms of process, technology, and financial
reimbursement.

Community Reintegration/Money Follows the Person:  Cathy Buchanan left her
position as CRP Coordinator in October.  We are in the process of requesting
to fill this position.   Effective December 1, all consumers eligible for
Money Follows the Person were served in this program operated by the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services.  The Community Reintegration
Program, which DRS has managed for the past fifteen years, will be available
only for those individuals with disabilities who do not meet MFP eligibility
requirements.  Training will be provided to Center for Independent Living
staff relative to MFP, upon request.

Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing:  DRS purchased
UbiDuos using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) monies to
improve communication in offices.  The UbiDuo is a two-screen, two keyboard
electronic communication device.  It is completely portable, wireless,
stand-alone and operates in real-time.  The UbiDuos are at the VR offices.

Each person using the device has a keyboard and attached screen, and the
conversation appears in front of both of them in real time.  The UbiDuo is a
tool which provides communication access between hearing and deaf or hard of
hearing people.  Here is a real life example of how the UbiDuo was used to
assist a customer in obtaining their employment outcome:

"A deaf customer called his counselor early in the morning to let him know
that a job interview was scheduled for the same day.  The counselor agreed
to meet the customer at the Old Country Buffet with the UbiDuo in hand.

The customer arrived for his interview with the food service manager.  The
counselor and customer provided a brief demonstration to the prospective
employer on how the UbiDuo provides communication access.  The customer and
the manager used the UbiDuo to effectively communicate during the interview
process.  The manager was impressed with the customer and offered him a
job."

This is a great communication tool and we look forward to receiving more
success stories!

ARRA VR Update:  DRS has now implemented 91 ARRA VR Phase 2 contracts in the
areas of job placement for adults with disabilities and services to
transition age youth with disabilities.  These projects will create over 500
direct service jobs in community agencies to serve VR customers through the
end of the ARRA funding period.  In addition, there are three new ARRA
initiatives directed at specific populations of people with disabilities to
promote employment and education.  The largest is the Community College
Initiative, which provides up to $2,500 per year for tuition and fees at an
Illinois community college for VR customers.  Launched in November, this
project has already begun supporting students who might not otherwise have
had the opportunity to attend college.  We have also implemented the
Employer Training Initiative, which provides a subsidy to employers to
assist with the costs of training a new employee placed by DRS.  The third
initiative is the Job Stability Pilot Project, which provides community
service providers with funding to support long-term job stability to
individuals with a serious mental illness.  These initiatives will continue
through September 2011.

DRS' Asians with Disabilities Outreach Project:  DRS has embarked on an
18-month "Asians with Disabilities Outreach Project Think-Tank" to assist
Chicago-based Asians with disabilities gain meaningful access to the state
VR system and to increase the quality of service through culturally and
linguistically relevant outreach efforts.  Funded by ARRA, the project was
awarded to the Center for Capacity Building on Minorities with Disabilities
Research (CCBMDR) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which is
collaborating with DRS and many local Asian-serving agencies.

Asians with Disabilities are under-represented in the U.S. rehabilitation
and disability system.  In Illinois, the proportion of Asians being served
by the state VR program is less than 1.09%.  To address this service gap,
the project has established a strong network of Chicago-based immigrant and
disability groups that support Asians with Disabilities who are striving to
achieve self-sufficiency, community integration, and a better quality of
life, by identifying outreach strategies to secure access to employment and
training.

For more information, contact Rooshey Hasnain, Ed.D., Visiting Research
Assistant Professor and Project Director, CCBMDR, roosheyh at uic.edu,
312-413-0416 (Voice) or 312-413-0453 (TTY).

Independent Living Unit:  The Federal 704 Report for Centers for Independent
Living has been completed and submitted to RSA.  Highlights of the report
include that over 7,600 direct services were provided to persons with
disabilities by Independent Living Centers in Illinois.  This is slight
decrease from last year because of funding reductions and funding delays
which resulted in staff lay offs in some Centers.

Training Unit:  The training unit has been busy fielding incoming calls from
the Media and Advertising Initiative.  This initiative was designed to
educate the public about DRS services through television and radio
commercials.  In just the first month, DRS has received and referred over
250 customers to offices throughout the state.  In addition, DRS has
replaced its Annual Report Calendar with a new website titled "Success:
Making it Work Together."  This website incorporates DRS Annual Report
information, as well as success stories from customers and employers, and
other important related links.  In just the first month, the website has had
well over 1,250 visitors.  Please feel free to visit our website at
drs.illinois.gov/success. 

In addition, the training unit is preparing the final report to RSA on
activities and expenditures for the 2005-2010 In-Service Training Grant.
This was a five-year award and enabled DRS to develop and implement training
sessions that provide opportunities for all staff to enhance their knowledge
and skills.  Funds were also used to conduct the Director's Statewide
Regional Forums, New Employee Orientation, sponsor conferences, and
establish a resource library loan program.  An In-Service Training Grant for
2011-2015 was applied for and approved, and trainings are being developed
for next year.

Award Winners/Nominees for 2010:  The following staff have been recognized
by their peers as deserving awards this year.  As we have been unable to
convene regional meetings this fall and winter, DRS would like to recognize
the following individuals for their commitment to the Division:

2010 Award Winners/Nominees:

Against All Odds - Region 1 - BFS

Julie Somers, Avalon Park

Also nominated: Berta "Mae" Richard Wood St.; Motise Jones-Baker, Milwaukee
Ave.

Values/Passion - Region 1 - BFS

Charlene Black, Evergreen Park

Also nominated: Pamela Geddes, Wood St.

At Your Service - Region 1 - BFS

Nicole McNeal-McGee, Evergreen Park

Team Work - Region 1 - BFS

Nominated: Michelle Rainey, Avalon Park

At Your Service - Region 2 - BFS

Ardath Randle, Aurora

Also nominated: Terri Mock, Sterling

Against All Odds - Region 3 - BFS

Community Resources Unit Project Officers

Rookie of the Year - BFS

Carlynn "Quinn" Edwards, Harrisburg (Region 5)

Also nominated: Jennifer Escorcia, Galesburg (Region 3)

Rookie of the Year - BBS

Mary Watkins, Arlington Heights (Region 1)

Also nominated: Carmen Calderon, Wood Street (Region 1); James "Les" Dillow,
Decatur (Region 4) 

 Congratulations to all and here are wishes for a Happy New Year!

 


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