[nfbmi-talk] Fw: misilc epacket as just recd
David Robinson
drob1946 at gmail.com
Tue Feb 10 18:10:05 UTC 2015
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From: joe harcz Comcast
To: David Robinson NFB MI
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Sent: Monday, February 09, 2015 10:31 AM
Subject: misilc epacket as just recd
SILC Council Meeting
Capital Area Center for Independent Living
10:00 a.m.
February 13, 2015
MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council, (SILC)
CC: Partners, members of the public, interested organizations
FROM: SILC Executive Committee
DATE: January 19, 2015
SUBJECT: SILC Business Meeting Materials
Friday, February 13th, 2015 the regular SILC Quarterly Business meeting will be convened at 10:00 am. The meeting is at the Capital Area Center for Independent Living, 2812 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Lansing MI 48906.
Cart will be provided during the business meeting. SILC will be offering a light working lunch at noon. Please advise Tracy at 517-371-4872 or Tracy at misilc.org if you will not be attending to assist us with the meal count.
Teleconference Information:
Dial in #:1-800-582-3014
Conference Code: 96966697
Work groups will be meeting from 9:00am until 9:45am am at the same location.
I hope everyone will have an opportunity to review meeting materials prior to the business meeting and if there are questions, contact #517-371-4872 so we can ensure you have the information necessary to actively participate in the meeting. Do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything SILC staff can do to enhance your participation.
SILC staff is looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday, February 13th.
OPEN MEETINGS NOTICE
OUR VISION
To Champion systemic change creating inclusive communities across the state for all Michigan citizens.
SPIL MISSION
To promote independent living opportunities across all spheres of life.
The SILC Membership
is pleased to announce their upcoming
Business Meeting
February 13, 2015 at the Capital Area Center for Independent Living
2812 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Lansing MI 48906
Work Groups: 9:00 – 9:45 a.m.
Quarterly Business Meeting: 10:00 a.m. 3:30 p.m.
Working Lunch: 12:00 p.m.
Call In: #1-800-582-3014 Conference ID: 96966697
NOTE: To be responsible stewards of public funds, we ask that if you plan to join us for lunch, you contact our office at: 517.371.4872 – local or 800.808.7452 – toll free
NOTE: If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in this meeting, please contact our office no later than Friday, February 6, 2015.
Posted 1/13/15
Neon Pink
SILC Council Meetings Calendar
Open Meeting Notice
May 7, 2015
Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting
Crowne Plaza Lansing West
May 8, 2015
Quarterly Business Meeting
Crowne Plaza Lansing West
September 11, 2015
Quarterly Business Meeting
Capital Area Center for Independent Living
November 12, 2015
Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting
Crowne Plaza Lansing West
November 13, 2015
Quarterly Business Meeting
Crowne Plaza Lansing West
February 11, 2016
SPIL Development
TBD
February 12, 2016
Quarterly Business Meeting
TBD
May 12, 2016
Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting
TBD
May 13, 2016
Quarterly Business Meeting
TBD
September 9, 2016
Quarterly Business Meeting
TBD
Contact Tracy Brown at (517)371-4872 or by e-mail at tracy at misilc.org if you require assistance. Members please contact Tracy before the meeting if you will not be attending.
This meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. People needing accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting should notify the contact person as soon as possible prior to the meeting.
For more information please visit our website at: www.misilc.org
SILC VISION: To champion systemic change creating inclusive communities across the state for all
Michigan citizens.
SILC Quarterly Business Meeting
DRAFT AGENDA
February 13, 2015 - 10:00 a.m.
Capital Area Center for Independent Living (CACIL)
2812 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Lansing MI 48906
CALL TO ORDER (10:00am) Sara Grivetti, Chair
Welcome, Introductions and Opening Remarks
Roll Call/Declaration of a Quorum Tracy Brown
Approval of February 13, 2015 DRAFT Agenda
Recommendation for Motion: The February 13, 2015 Quarterly Business Meeting Agenda be approved
Approval of November 21, 2014 Draft Quarterly Business Meeting Minutes
Recommendation for Motion: The November 21, 2014 SILC Council Business Meeting minutes be approved.
PUBLIC COMMENT (10:10am)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESENTATION & RECOMMENDATIONS Sara Grivetti
1. SILC/CIL Strategic Vision Draft and Review of Recommendations (attached)
2. Staffing Recommendations
OPERATIONS REPORT
1. Fiscal Reports (Watermelon) Michael Hamm
a. FY 14/15 1st Quarter (October-December) Statement of Fiscal Activity (attached)
Recommendation for Motion: The FY 14/15 1stQuarter SILC Fiscal Reports be placed on file.
2. Consent Agenda Sara Grivetti
a. Executive Committee (Pink) December & January Minutes (attached)
b. Staff Operations ~ 1st Quarter Report (attached)
Recommendation for Motion: To accept and place on file the SILC Consent Agenda.
STATE PLAN Kellie Boyd
1. FY2014-16 SPIL 1st Quarter Report (attached)
2. FY2017-19 SPIL Development
a. SPIL Writing Team
b. Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination: Issue Brief (attached)
3. SPIL Workgroup Reports:
a. Children, Youth & Family Services Workgroup Report – Lisa Cook-Gordon
b. Service Delivery Workgroup Report – Steven Locke
c. Transportation Workgroup Report - Robin Bennett
PRESENTATIONS
o Capital Area Center for Independent Living Presentation Mark Pierce
o DD/Autism Council Presentation (tentative)
o Bureau of Services for Blind Persons Older Blind IL Program (tentative) Leamon Jones
o SILC Congress & Sara Grivetti &
o Transition on Moving to the Administration on Community Living Rodney Craig
WORKING LUNCH – Reports
DSU Reports
Michigan Rehabilitation Services – Sue Howell/Kevin Green
Bureau of Services to Blind Persons – Edward Rodgers
Round Robin Q & A Information Sharing ~ Ex-Officios & IL Partners
OSA –Wendi Middleton MDCH – Cindy Kelly MSHDA – Vacant
121 Project – Mia Smith DN/M - Kellie Boyd MDHS - Denise Stork-Phillips
MDE – Collette Bauman MPAS – Brian Sabourin
LARA – Mike Zimmer MCRS – (written report included)
NEW BUSINESS Sara Grivetti
1. Conflict of Interest Statements (attached)
2. SILC Succession Planning
3. Executive Committee Nominations/Officer Positions
OLD BUSINESS
1. SILC Recruitment Process (attached)
2. SILC Structure Workgroup Report Sara Grivetti
3. Update on MISILC Corporation Mike Hamm
4. Draft Freedom of Information Policy for SILC (attached) Rodney Craig
5. CIL Representative as voting member on Executive Committee Sara Grivetti
OTHER
Agenda, plans, theme suggestions for future meetings.
PUBLIC COMMENT (2:45pm)
ADJOURNMENT
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
SILC contact list, CIL Network contact list, Acronyms.
CART accommodation can be accessed at URL site: http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=SILC during this meeting.
The next SILC Committee of the Whole Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7th, 2015 at Crowne Plaza Lansing West, 925 S. Creyts Road, Lansing MI 48917
The next SILC Council Quarterly Business Meeting will be held on Friday, May 8th, 2015 at Crowne Plaza Lansing West, 925 S. Creyts Road, Lansing MI 48917
This meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. People needing accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting Contact Tracy Brown at #517-371-4872 or tracy at misilc.org if you require assistance. ** Members please contact Tracy before the meeting if you will not be attending. **
The times stated are estimates and subject to change. Anyone interested in a particular item should plan on attending the entire meeting.
SILC COUNCIL QUARTERLY BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES - DRAFT
November 21, 2014
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Lansing
SILC Voting Members Present: Robin Bennett, Kellie Boyd, Gabriella Burman, Lisa Cook-Gordon, Dominic Dennis, Sara Grivetti, Miranda Grunwell, Constance Kiggins, Steven Locke, Dawn Reamer, Mia Smith, Michael Hamm
SILC Voting Members Absent: None
SILC Voting Members Excused: Rebecca Parten
SILC Ex-Officio Members Present: Sue Howell (MRS), Denise Stork-Phillips (DHS)
SILC Staff: Rodney Craig, Tracy Brown
Guests Present: Annette Blough, Leamon Jones, Joe Hartz, Kevin Green, Pat Love, Ann Davis, Tamera Collier, Lesia Pikaart, Susan Cloutier-Myers, Wanda Travis, Brian Sabourin
SILC BUSINESS MEETING
S. Grivetti called the meeting to order, 11:00 am, a quorum was present.
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
S. Grivetti welcomed Council members, Ex-Officios and guests, introductions were made.
AGENDA
The November 21, 2014 quarterly business agenda was reviewed.
Motion by C. Kiggins, seconded by D. Dennis to approve the November 21, 2014 agenda as presented. Carried.
The September 12, 2014 Draft Closed Session minutes.
Motion by D. Reamer, seconded by M. Smith to include closed session minutes into September 12, 2014 Draft Quarterly Business Meeting minutes. Carried.
The September 12, 2014 SILC Council Business Meeting Draft minutes.
Motion by D. Reamer, seconded by M. Smith to approve the September 12, 2014 meeting minutes, as mailed. Carried.
Recognition awards were given to Constance Kiggins and Sue Cloutier-Myers.
OPERATIONS REPORT
4th Quarter Statement of Financial Activity was reviewed.
BSBP ~ SILC Operations Contract is in process. It has been approved by Ed Rodgers and will be signed within the next couple of weeks. R. Craig will follow up with BSBP early next week.
Motion by C. Kiggins, seconded by D. Dennis to accept and place on file the 4th Quarter SILC Fiscal Reports. Carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Executive Committee October & November Minutes and Staff Operations 4th Quarter Report were reviewed.
Motion by M. Hamm, seconded by C. Kiggins to accept and place on file the SILC Consent Agenda reports. Carried.
STATE PLAN
Monitoring Report FY2014 – 16 – Kellie Boyd
• Outlines the different objectives and the measurable indicators and where we are as of the first year in the SPIL.
• S. Grivetti ~ There is an objective in our state plan, approved policies and procedures for BSBP and intermediate activities are making sure it's accessible to the disability community and currently in the process of revising your policy and procedure manual with anticipated draft date of December of 2013 and the update, the status of that is BSBP continues to work on making all materials accessible. I'm hoping BSBP can give this Council some more detail on specifically what is being done because we continue to hear lack of accessibility with the BSBP system.
• L Jones ~ This is a team that BSBP has established to work on to accessibility of materials and that is through the department of DTMB and working with them in regards to making things accessible. The material that BSBP asked for as being accessible, all of our materials are accessible in those four basic formats, Braille, electronic, audio and large print. Audio is not as much as it you know has been in the past but if someone requests something of that nature we would meet those needs. As for our policy manual and we did complete a draft of the policy manual at that date. Currently we are finalizing the completed manual as well as our procedure manual and we are working diligently trying to hopefully have that out at the first part of December.
SPIL Workgroup updates:
Transportation, Robin Bennett - Unfortunately as of this meeting transportation has stalled, as of last time our position paper was sent out and that was huge. We haven't gotten any feedback from the DSUs and entities that received our position paper. We have been communicating with SILC staff to try and get connected with some of the regional transportation authorities that have been set up and we continue waiting on hearing from them. It was suggested that we attend a Future Transportation Communication Meeting in Lansing and throughout the state.
Children, Youth & Family Services, L. Cook-Gordon – At the last meeting we had given recommendations to revise the SILC website, if anybody has visited it you will see all of the work that has been put into it. We are also developing a brochure and hoped to have it to you for this meeting today but we decided to take a step back to take a look at what the SILC's mission is around children, youth and families because when we are developing this brochure we want to be able to give it to college partners and providers that service that age population,
Service Delivery, R. Craig – We've been taking a look at trying to get some more additional updated data to take a look. We've come up with some very preliminary looks at the data but we would like to take a look at some updated data which will require us to get with MRS, BSBP and DHS to get the next fiscal year's data. We've also been taking a look at using it as a discussion point in the disability network program evaluation team. We've been looking at that group as an expertise in looking at data related things. And so we have been engaging that group to try and take a look at some trends and some other things coming out of that.
And we hope to have at the next Council meeting some more specific recommendations as to things we are seeing from that data.
Common Disability Agenda
There is a few things in our state plan that specifically address putting think tanks together, doing consumer or customer forums to get feedback, to help develop a more coordinated effort around public policy, to develop this common disability agenda or to update it. The Executive Committee will bring some recommendations to the Council in February 2015.
DSU Reports
MRS- S. Howell (Attachment A)
BSBP- L. Jones (Attachment A)
Partner Reports
121 Project - M. Smith (Attachment A)
MDE – Pat Love (Attachment A)
DHS- Denise Stork-Phillips (Attachment A)
DN/M – K. Boyd (Attachment A)
MPAS – Brian Sabourin (Attachment A)
MCRS– Written report attached.
ACTION REQUIRED ITEMS
OLD BUSINESS:
SILC Structure Workgroup Report
· Our understanding is that the two remaining resignations are forthcoming. Once that occurs, M. Hamm will seat a new board with Council members. The Executive Committee recommends the MiSILC Board of Directors be comprised of all voting Council members and that we would change our bylaws accordingly. We presented some documents to the Attorney General's Office of other state's Executive Orders where they actually had language that reflects that in their Executive Order.
· We will need to reconvene the SILC Structure Workgroup at some point to make a formal recommendation. I'm hoping by February we can make some of those recommendations and in between that time if Mike can seat the corporation board with Council members we can move to even have draft bylaws together so we can make a recommendation, you guys can accept that and we can look at bylaws and get those adopted.
· So essentially we wouldn't have separate SILC bylaws and MiSILC bylaws and operating as one entity.
Update on MiSILC Corporation
• R. Craig and M. Hamm met with the MiSILC Corporation back in October and agreed to a financial audit. Once the audit is complete the two remaining MiSILC Board members will be submitting their resignations to M. Hamm. The financial audit is to begin on November 24, 2014.
• Once the resignations are received, M. Hamm will be able to appoint members of the Council to the MiSILC Board.
• The individuals that have resigned from the board and ones potentially resigning made huge contributions to the independent living movement. It absolutely has to be recognized in one way, shape or form.
NEW BUSINESS:
CIL/SILC Strategic Planning Report
• Starting last night and continuing this morning, we had an opportunity where several CIL Directors came and several of the SILC members were here and we went through what is called the future scaping activity and future scaping really starts with that ideal future you are trying to create and it's a process that engages your whole brain, it helps you stay more in that abstract visionary and after doing the mapping that Amy Mayes led us through we were able to identify trends and we worked on dream statements and collectively agreed on dream statements around four themes and this morning we engaged in the beginning steps of the design phase of this.
• And so what I can report to you today is that the four themes that we came up with are: Common Vision/Collective Impact, Resources, Communication/Telling our Story, and Relationships.
• Under the Common Vision/Collective Impact is we want to make sure that customer control and involvement is the standard of excellence for all collaborations and that we have a state that is totally and completely accessible for all and that we live in a world where the independent living movement is absorbed in society and is no longer an issue or thought.
• This is a very great dream and so some of the design phases, some of the design ideas that came out of that will be reflected and we discussed it this morning and reflected in notes that will be sent out to everybody.
• Under Resources, the group dreams of CILs being the hub for disability concerns in our state, a dream that SILC and DN/M (Disability Network of Michigan) strategies how they can leverage resources to fulfill the unmet needs at the state level and dream that legislatures support consumer choices through resource allegations that creates barrier for communities.
• Under Communication we dream that people with disabilities are engaged in telling their story and that SILC and CILs provide opportunities to educate communities and work to remove the barriers structural barriers sorry attitude and communication barriers that keep people with disabilities from fully participating in life.
• And then we dream that we have a cohesive communication strategy to the legislature filled with data-driven outcomes and impact stories.
• Under Relationships we dream that SILC and CILs are thinking together, playing together to achieve a shared vision to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in Michigan and SILC and CILs have a common message to all state wide partners in that we have a common disability agenda with the focus on birth through age 26 and that we dream relations ships support fully accessible communities for everyone.
• We had some pretty exciting dreams that came out of this activity and I think that everybody felt very engaged in the process and feel real excited in moving this into some actionable items.
• We don't have to wait until the next SPIL is put together to start implementing some of these ideas but I think it was really important to get everybody coalesced around a common vision, does anybody from the Council want to reflect on those dreams and just thoughts around what we accomplished.
2015 Meeting Locations
• We have four meetings throughout the year, two of which have kind of a two-day component similar to the meeting we had last evening where the Committee of the Whole meetings to take a look at SPIL monitoring. But it leaves two meetings, one in February and then one in September which are not, which are just one day, one afternoon meetings.
• And looking at some cost analysis and some other ideas, we have been proposing those two meetings be moved to the Capital Area Center for Independent Living, in Lansing and I have spoken with Mark Pierce the Executive Director there and he was very excited about hosting the Council there.
• We can bring the video conferencing system over there being the next meeting is in February for weather possibilities.
• Mark was also excited that he could possibly show the Council what a working active CIL looks like during a normal workday which we would be attending.
• So we would like to put that out as an option for the February and the September meeting coming up, and that would affect what contract we would sign with the hotel here so we kind of need a decision on that because they need a decision on their contract.
Motion by G. Burman, seconded by D. Reamer to move the February and September 2015 SILC Quarterly Business Meeting to SILC or a to be determined Center for Independent Living Office. Carried.
FY2014 704 Report Submission
· SILC completes what is called Part One 704 Report and that report is covering statewide programs, IL Services and status on the State Plan for Independent Living and putting forth that our Council is in compliance.
· Part Two of 704 Report is completed by Centers for Independent Living in Michigan that are funded by Part C dollars.
· We are unique because all the CILs in Michigan are considered part C centers which means they receive certain amounts of funds directly from the Federal Government and they have to file the 704 Report to account for the services for those funds.
· We have to have this report completed by December 10th. It has to be in to RSA by December 31st.
· We would like to give the DSU Directors ample time to review the report for their signatures. The report will be signed by Sara Grivetti, SILC Chair, Ed Rodgers, BSBP and Sue Howell, MRS, the Directors of our DSU Agencies.
Motion by S. Locke, seconded by L. Cook-Gordon to empower Sara Grivetti to sign the completed 704 Report on behalf of the SILC Council. Carried.
Governor Snyder Executive Directive 2014-1
· Essentially what the state is going to be working at doing is hiring more individuals with disabilities.
25th Anniversary of ADA Celebration
· July 26 will mark the 25th Anniversary of the signing of the act.
· CILs and DN/M are planning an ADA celebration on the Capital lawn on September 17th.
CIL Representative as voting member on Executive Committee
· Dialogue.
· Tabled, further discussion needed with the Attorney General’s Office.
Draft Freedom of Information Policy for SILC
· SILC has been receiving Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests.
· Tracy Brown has been designated as the Freedom of Information Officer.
· Previously, SILC did not have a written policy on how requests should be handled internally and administratively.
· This written policy will give staff administrative steps whenever we receive Freedom of Information requests.
· SILC has started logging these requests as the policy adheres to.
· The Executive Committee reviewed this draft policy and are bringing it forward for your consideration for adoption as a policy for Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council.
· Tabled, further discussion needed with the Attorney General’s Office.
PUBLIC POLICY
Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act (WIOA) of 2014 Update
· Sara Grivetti and Rodney Craig attended a NCIL training webinar on changes in the Workforce Innovation Act.
· Independent Living will be moved from the Department of Education under the Rehabilitation Service Administration to the Department of Community Living under Health and Human Services.
· Some of the highlights of what they have talked about that has changed for Centers for Independent Living, they added a fifth core service and this goes with the four core services that are currently in existence of systems advocacy, peer support, information and referral, IL skills training. The fifth core service transitioning which includes nursing home transition and youth transition programs as well as providing services for those at risk of entering institutions so there is actually three parts to that additional core service.
· For SILCs it has changed fundamentally I think how SILC is going to be functioning going forward.
· For our State Plan for Independent Living, it now requires 51% of CIL Directors to sign the SPIL.
· The plan will describe essentially strategies for the provision of independent living services on a statewide basis that is differ than what the current SPIL does right now.
· It describes some new working relationships and collaborations with community-based organizations that provide IL services and support for persons with disabilities.
· One of the changes is we at SILC no longer required to show the working relationship with the state VR agency.
· That is kind of changed and that includes the coordination that we used to have to do with the state Rehab Council that is kind of changed in how that flows out.
· The plan also one additional recommendation on the plan is that it needs to show how we promote full access to community and show how state IL services will promote full community access.
· And the other big change for SILC is we as a Council can conduct resource development activities as described in the SPIL to support the provision of independent living services by CILs and that resource development that is still up in change but as Mike had talked about earlier, that used to be one of the main reasons why that corporation board had to be separate and since we now have the authority to do this, that separation is no longer necessary.
· The other thing that would be necessary is if we have to amend for whatever reason our current SPIL if the Council decides it would like to add an objective or make an amendment to it, they stated this law is now in effect so if we have to amend our SPIL for whatever reason we have to go through and get the 51% of the CIL directors' signatures so that law is actually in effect right now and going forward.
SILC Membership Recruitment Workgroup
· The workgroup met last night.
· Created a draft invitation letter for potential candidates. T. Brown will send out to Council members for their review.
· Workgroup to talk through what the best process could be research what other states are doing and bring a recommendation forward for an ongoing process in February 2015.
Disability Network/Michigan – 2015 Public Policy Priorities
· Disability Network/Michigan and CILs identified that if we develop a collective voice around public policy issues that would be a priority for our network. We do that through the public policy leadership team which is made up of many individuals from our centers.
· The purpose of the Leadership Team is to enhance and shape public policy that has a benefit on people with disabilities of Michigan. The form for setting the strategic direction around our public policy is led by the Leadership Team but it's endorsed by all of the directors of the CILs.
· We got to this process by doing the survey, Disability Network/Michigan sent out a survey to gather some information about some of our public policy priorities and as a result of the survey what you see here is part of the plan that was developed in order to communicate our priorities and our strategies to move our policy agenda forward.
· There are three different tiers and for each tier there is an issue and desired outcome.
· For instance under tier one, mobility, you will see there is a long-term and a short term outcome.
· And what that means is that the CILs and Disability Network will be heavily engaged in these issues, first being mobility.
· The second issue is long-term community supports and services and the third issue is employment.
· We have a second tier of issues and those are mental health, auto no fault reform and a certificate versus high school diploma and also national health and trust fund.
· And for these second-tier issues, Disability Network/Michigan and the CILs will collaborate with others on the issues and will engage the network as necessary but we will not be leading the charge on any of these issues so we will be providing the support as needed.
· Tier three we have one issue and the med swipe Technology and DN/M and CILs will follow the issue and will provide updates but we will take minimal action on those.
OTHER
• Suggestions for future meetings ~ L. Jones from BSBP on their Older Blind Program, Autism Council, Developmental Disability Council, Michigan Inner Agency Coordinating Agency.
PUBLIC COMMENT – (Attachment B)
ADJOURNMENT
SILC Business Meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m.
ATTACHMENT A
MRS- Sue Howell
• At the end of December Director Corrigan is retiring from the Department of Human Services. Last week she presented the Better off Working Implementation Plan we all have been involved in and the purpose of this important document is to break down the solos and barrier force people with disabilities in array of areas.
• One of the things that I am most excited about is within state Government, the Governor last month issued an Executive Directive that is really taking the State of Michigan where we need to be and that is to increase and encourage the hiring of people with disabilities within the civil service process but also more than that to really talk about competencies within every state department where we have the knowledge of that staff that are working in those positions are aware and are sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities and how to incorporate that workforce into the state workforce.
• We are now working to break down some of the silos we had within our own Bureaus and within Michigan Rehab and also we are doing that working with the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons and happy to have Lisa Kisiel, Shannon McVoy, Leamon Jones. Thank you for working closely with us as well as the Department of Education, Department of Community Health, so there is an array of partners within the state that are coming together around the better off working implementation plan.
• February 9th we will all be part of the Governor's Summit on Employment of people with disabilities. We are looking at 100 plus businesses statewide coming to Lansing for that event and are very happy that we are all collaborating together to work on the employment part but also looking in house at ourselves, one of the things the Governor said was that in order for us to stand up before business and encourage hiring of people with disabilities the State of Michigan needed to kind of get our house in order so I'm really proud to tell you that we are taking those steps and we are going to be very assertive in trying to demonstration ongoing progress with that.
• Michigan Rehab has some initiatives, one of the initiatives that we are really working on and making good progress is the swift and sure program, this is a diversion program for young people with charges against them and not put in prison. We are starting that pilot in Allegan County.
• We are looking at possibly next week moving that forward and then all in all there are 18 of these courts in the state, we are looking at piloting at 10 of them this fiscal year where we have Michigan rehab as an option for those young people to come in and get assistance with going into employment rather than going to jail.
• All of the other programs are moving forward very well. I have to say that I think that if I could highlight one thing that this would be the year of implementation and collaboration of the Bureau of Michigan Rehabilitation Services and we are really proud to share the development of these programs with the Centers for Independent Living and with our Community Rehab organizations.
BSBP- Leamon Jones
· The Bureau of Services for Blind Persons continues to look at all of its programs and to assess ways in which we can continue to increase services to the population we serve.
· We had about 7 counselors and teachers vacancies and recently filled those vacancies and we are looking for more increase service delivery across the state.
· BSBP had a two-part new staff training that really emphasized the importance of understanding the philosophy of BSBP, service delivery and those requirements.
· BSBP had a number of community partners participate and share with us to help the new staff build relationships with our community partners; such as, Community Mental Health, Michigan Works! Department of Ed, Developmental Disability Council and other community rehab agencies that we work with on a regular basis.
· BSBP currently has a Technology Training Program beginning next week at the Training Center in Kalamazoo. It’s a two-day training program focusing on providing updated skills for staff to increase service delivery.
· Today, BSBP completed their third Mini Adjustment Program in the state here in Lansing. This program provides skills for students and individuals that are newly blind. This program is for independent living students and VR consumers.
· Soon, BSBP will have a Parent Night with one of our school districts and it will provide an opportunity for the schools, parents and the students to become familiar with the agency and services that we provide.
· BSBP had an Honor Roll Awards event back in October for individuals that achieved their vocational goals. Community partners and employers were invited to this event.
· BSBP continues to work with System 7 providers to increase data collection.
Partner Reports
121 Project – Mia Smith
· We are in the process of gathering data for our annual report.
· We seem to be right on track with all of our new staff.
· We have continued efforts to open joint cases with MRS throughout the year. We have two new staff so our numbers took a dip and it was a little overwhelming for a little bit but we are back on track.
· 121 staff attended the KNR Conference along with approximately 80 tribal programs for the US in Panama City Beach, Florida.
· Our Supportive Housing Program just started and we have ten participants in the program right now.
· Our big to-do for the holidays right now will be preparing the Thanksgiving lunch for all of them on Monday.
MDE – P. Love
· The Department of Education Outreach as published guideline force teachers of visually impaired and blind students and this document is now on our website for teachers and school directions to be able to access and this document was based on the Michigan technology standards the MDTS.
· Some of the activities that we have that are coming up, on in December is a power hour and that is with the audio logical with the pediatric patient and January 26 we will presenting an impairment workshop and that will be held in Oakland county.
· Then on January 31st, there will be a winter family camp at camp T and that is for families of students that are blind and vision impaired and held in Greenville, Michigan.
· February on February they will be hosting a Braille literacy at the Waterford Risa-tri county swap meeting and presented by staff from Lois out reach.
· Also in January there is going to be a collaborative effort with Oakland ISD and Loiston outreach to host a Braille challenge and that's for students that are blind and visually impaired in the State of Michigan to work on their Braille skills and to be able to compete with other students around the country.
DN/M – Kellie Boyd
· ADRCs: Each of the ADRCs (which is the Aging and Disability Resource Collaborative) were required to be fully functioning by September 30th, 2014. To date all 16 of the state's ADRCs are fully functioning.
· For those that don't remember what ADRC is it's a no wrong door collaborative between the Area Agencies on Aging and the Centers for Independent Living.
· CILs are providing information and referral and options counseling and we are moving forward to make this more of a reality across the state.
· Three CILs received funding from the legislature for the Access Empowered Design Program. Disability Advocates of Kent County, Disability Network Southwest Michigan, which is located in Kalamazoo and Disability Network Oakland & Macomb are working together to create communities of practice to advocate for and educate our local businesses and municipalities about accessibility and universal design.
· Each of our CILs will be hosting a community focus group and hoping to identify barriers to accessibility and we are looking for best practices with businesses or buildings that are accessible or those that utilize universal design.
· We have been funded for this fiscal year and we are hoping to provide the necessary education, assistance and referrals about accessibility to businesses, builders and venues where people live, work and play.
· We just officially kicked this project off November 1st so we don't have much in the way to report.
· But we are hoping to make these three counties, accessible for people with disabilities and those without.
· Independent Living Guide Pilot Program received a second-year funding for fiscal year 2015. Each CIL has staff dedicated to the Guide Program and in Fiscal Year 2014 our goal was to work with 750 consumers. We actually worked with 562 which means we reached 80% of our goal.
· The IL guide program for those that don't remember is designed to work with individuals to address individual and systemic barriers; the outcome is to assist consumers with increasing their self-sufficiency and reducing community and service barriers that the consumers are facing.
· Just another point to bring to your attention is that Amy Maes who was our Project Manager was working full time at Disability Network Michigan, she has now moved back to part time employment and Amy will still be coordinating the project management for the IL Guide but she is just a part time employee now.
· New legislators: with the election that just happened a few weeks ago we have new legislators. Many of the CILs are going to start meeting with our new legislators probably early next year after they get in and get settled so we can start to educate them about independent living and to start connecting them to our network.
CIL Funding Strategies – S. Grivetti
· I am presenting this to you as part of our shared vision on trying to ensure that our -- the services that we provide through independent living are fully resourced so each year the Centers for Independent Living who have a state appropriations in the independent living line item through MRS Michigan Rehabilitation Services budget which is now in DHS, each year we identify what we feel is a good amount of increase to our core funding to request from the legislature. We have determined that our overall goal to be a fully funded network is to have $25 million in funding for core services.
· We have 15 CILs and cover all of the counties in Michigan but there is a significant number of counties that are not receiving adequate services because total core funding is right around $5.8 million so you can see we have a big discrepancy between $25 million and $5.8 million and I say there is never any harm in dreaming so we always have a big goal and we have done, we actually have a CIL prototype that we worked with the department on MRS on years ago and SILC and CILs that were getting ready to update that prototype and really we evaluate what our needs are to be a fully functional network of CILs in Michigan.
· We decided that we wanted to go to the state budget office to meet with representatives of the state budget office and share with them what our need for funding is, what our impact is, what the outcomes are that we have and we asked them to and we took the strategy in hopes of the Governor when he establishes his budget will put the recommendation forward and we recommended an increase of $6 million and take us to roughly $11 million in core funding.
· It's a very high hope but we felt that we needed to shoot high because every year we have shot high we have gotten something so we it's a strategy that the network directors agreed on is shooting high so we went and met with the state budget office.
· We engage with a lobbying firm and Michigan has a lobbying firm and sandy Jones is our lobbyist and so that she took our message to the state budget director John Roberts and also provided that recommendation to lieutenant Governor's Office because the CILs are working on a very, very, very beginning stage of something that I can't even talk about but it engages, it aligns with the Michigan mental health and wellness commission report.
· So what we presented to the Lieutenant Government's office is with enhanced resources and be a better partner in the Governor's revisions and recommendations in the report.
· So I wanted you to know some activities we are engaging in at this current time before the new legislature goes into session and we then do our ongoing meetings with our legislature representative and share our message talking about our impact stories and wanted to go in detail with you guys and with SILC is because I wanted you to think about how you can engage with us on that shared message and how you can use your relationships with your legislators in your community and partner with your CIL and help us in sharing that message.
· So there are some, we have not completely refined what that message will be for next year with the new legislature but that will be developed hopefully in the next few weeks, that we will share it with the directors, there is a workgroup working on it and share with the directors and we will get it out to the SILC members so you can see what our talking points are and numbers and return on investment is and all that good stuff.
MPAS- Brian Sabourin
· Last quarter MPAS received 40 information and referral calls. Many were referred to their local CIL for assistance.
· This past quarter there were 17 Advocacy level cases, most of those dealt with Michigan Rehab Services.
· This past quarter, MPAS provided MRS Executive Team with an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for review. The purpose of this agreement is to document the cooperation between two participating parties, that being CAP and MRS.
The MOU also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of each agency while working together to assist individuals and obtain appropriate vocational services. The current MOU was signed October 15, 2004.
· A recent issue MPAS was having with BSBP was there was some misunderstanding that some of the offices and some of the staff were saying that our release of information did not allow them to speak with us, it only allowed for us to obtain written information. We did have a meeting with the administrative staff of BSBP and that issue has been resolved.
· MPAS and CAP brochures and information are available in all accessible formats, our web page is accessible, we do have our brochure available in large print, Braille, and audio if needed or when needed. All the information in the brochure is available on our website which is accessible to all persons with disabilities. www.mpas.org
· Miranda Grunwell ~ I want to say thank you, I requested a Braille copy of the CAP brochure and I got three of them and requested one and it was great and I passed one on to consumer and to in our office at Disability Network Southwest Michigan and we got those very quickly.
DHS- Denise Stork-Phillips
· Director Corrigan went and testified before the House Ways and Means Committee about our report which is our strategic plan to move forward our disability collaboration with MRS and BSBP.
· We are implementing our strategic plan and had a great meeting yesterday with BSBP and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Council, talked about ways we could collaborate with them and it looks like there is just going to be a lot of opportunities.
· We would like to encourage some people from CILs to possibly also participate so if anyone is interested let me know.
MCRS – Written report attached.
3490 Belle Chase Way Suite 110 Lansing, MI 48911
November 2014 Report to the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (MiSILC)
1 – Business Meeting - The next business meeting will take place on Tuesday November 18, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the MCRS Office in Lansing. It is anticipated that office suite renovations will be completed by then, allowing for more space for business meetings and other events to be held at the office.
2 - Work Teams - The Council’s advisory work teams have met via teleconference over the last 2 months and have made huge strides with moving their work forward. The Customer Experience Work Team has been reviewing and revising Draft Dashboards containing data from both the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) and Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS). The Executive Team has been working to manage the business of the Council, while Regulatory Guidance Work Team Members have been focused on drafting and finalizing content for the Council’s Annual Report.
3 - Membership Vacancies - The Council’s one vacancy for a Disability Advocate has been filled, with Sharon Bryant recently being appointed to the MCRS. Sharon comes to the Council following a professional career that was dedicated to providing person-centered and customized vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to people with disabilities.
4 - MCRS Resource Plan/Budget/Contract with MARO - The Council’s FY 2015 budgets with BSBP and MRS have been finalized.
5 - Partnering with BSBP - The MCRS has been involved with BSBP in the following activities, assuring that the customer voice is represented: scheduling is in-progress for meetings with BSBP Administration to determine a partnership work plan and meetings to educate field managers and staff about the Council.
6 - Partnering with MRS - The MCRS has been involved with the following MRS activities, assuring that the customer voice is represented: Consultation with the DHS-MRS Administrative Hearings Coordinator, Idea Stream Team, Idea Stream SharePoint Site Meetings, Marketing Team, Strategic Planning, and Meetings to discuss Customer Focus Groups.
On October 2nd, the MCRS hosted the 6th annual MRS Champion Awards Event in downtown Lansing. Customers, Partners, Business Partners, Employers, and MRS Staff were celebrated for their accomplishments and outstanding commitment to the MRS Mission. Numerous legislators and their staff were in attendance to congratulate the recipients. During the event, David Price, the MARO CEO, was presented with the MCRS Beacon Award. On an annual basis, Michigan’s state rehabilitation council has awarded the ‘Beacon Award’ to recognize extraordinary efforts that have impacted the public VR system in Michigan. As the CEO of MARO, David has a long history of working within the field of VR. Also, David served as a Council member from 1996 – 2002.
7 - Partner Activities - The MCRS was represented at the following activities: Michigan Rehabilitation Association (MRA), with the MCRS Executive Director (ED) serving as an MRA Board Member; and the event at the Capitol for Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services’ recent release to the public of their report outlining issues related to employment for individuals with disabilities in Michigan.
8 - National Initiatives –The MCRS Executive Director continues to serve as Chair of the National Coalition of State Rehabilitation Councils (NCSRC) Steering Committee (SC) and participates in monthly SC and bimonthly national teleconference calls. The Assistant Director continues to offer expertise and technical support through management of the website and list servs as supported by the MCRS.
Submitted,
Sara Grivetti
SILC Liaison to MCRS
ATTACHMENT B
Joe Harts, advocate.
There is a whole lot to go over in five minutes.
One, I notice that the Americans with Disabilities Act is on the agenda and in celebration there isn't a single, a single state entity federally funded for a single Center for Independent Living and I found that policy let alone includes people.
Everybody knows I've got issues with access to information and so do all blind people throughout the entire system.
This goes to SPIL as well, when I see comments, you know, that cap information is supplied, in accessible formats and the four accessible formats are Braille, audio, large print and electronic and that is accomplished and yet from my Center for Independent Living or from the Bureau of Blind Services or from capit self, we do not get that information.
This should be in every office, every one.
Period.
That's the law.
That's a civil right.
Then I see the executive 2014-1 and they talk about it at the end or we are working on making all information accessible throughout all state entities including BSBP, including DHS, including all these state entities.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was supposed to be accomplished 25 years ago under the ADA and 40 years ago under section 504.
People particularly my population are barred from access to everything.
That is documented.
I've sent this out to the chair.
I've sent this out to the SILC; I sent this out to everybody.
First order of business is thou shall not discriminate against people with disabilities and yet we see that happening all the time, including on a management and information related to our systems.
I've written and I've requested from DHS the board certification of the disability network and other accompanied information here up front.
That has not been provided.
I get on a merry go around about public operations and expenditures and the Federal funds.
I -- we have 150,000 people who are legally blind in this state, alone.
They do not have access to these very important independent living and other services.
I don't get them.
The elephants in the room, ladies and gentlemen.
And it's documented, it's system wide.
What the first order of business about the SILC and of each CIL and everything else is to provide systems and individual advocacy.
And that is to garner our civil rights.
We are supposed to be at the table, we are supposed to be included, we don't even get in the front door.
I can't repeat the mantra any more except for that is a mass scale violation of civil rights of an entire population.
Civil rights that are hard fought for.
Civil rights, ladies and gentlemen, are not chopped liver.
We are not agencies.
We are people with disabilities speaking for ourselves and being empowered for ourselves and we are not allowed through the front door.
That's insidious and goes against everything Holy in an independent living movement and I think you will see some comments from Darma Canter related to that and I hope they are read into the public record.
The other thing related to the open meetings act, madam chair and what not is that a final agency determination must be held on a vote of what people did.
I thank you for trying to address that issue and I thank you personally for trying to give me some information and accessible form.
But, and there is a but and you probably knew it was coming, we need to hold everybody accountable for the civil rights of people with disabilities across the board and we need to hold ourselves and our individual office accountable.
The other thing that has not been addressed and I have written a gazillion times.
>> Rodney: Time is up.
>> Joe: 704 B saying through the record we have 200,000 more last year and we served 60% less roughly.
No explanation of that.
Joe Harcz, anybody saw the movie it's a mad, mad, mad world where seizure is in bed with his mistress and the wife are staying in the motel room and Sid goes hey who are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?
And this goes to public comment made earlier in the responses, A, BSBP does not remit information proforma and upon request to clients in accessible format all the way through the process.
It is a lie.
It's a documented lie, ladies and gentlemen.
They even admit to it in their so-called consumer satisfaction report.
B, as regards to Mr. Sabourin question I Joe Hartz of the National Federation of the Blind to distribute all of these cap documents from related to cap activity and the four ultimate formats at our state convection in October and I have yet to receive those.
C look at your own centers for independent living, do you have all this information in accessible format, period?
Let alone upon request, do you have it there in your offices?
D, you're going to be holding an event at the state capitol to celebrate the ADA, do you know the state capitol is in substantial violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act like most facilities in the state are?
And on one account alone it does not have raised character and signage on every permanent room according to ADAX or new uniform accessibilities or the new standards that have come out.
That's a fact, ladies and gentlemen and as a matter of fact it's not in most MRS offices and throughout the building and I mean every room the sight of people have access to low vision and blind people are supposed to have access to.
Something as simple as a room number plus there are major compliance issues and every one of these state facilities that were supposedly taken care of years ago.
Years ago.
That is still accessible to wheelchair users.
My God, people, we talk about the accessibility and we talk about having that as a goal and in these very institutions are not accessible.
Fooling 100%, totally, we also have heard again you know about this new Governor's directive, where does it say at the bottom?
It talks about we are going to work on a long-term strategy for things that are supposed to have been done years ago.
We say our websites are accessible.
Oh, really, I can tell you, you know, that there are tens of thousands of patients upon State of Michigan websites including related to people with disabilities that are not accessible, one case in point I went up yesterday to the LARA barrier free compliance design board, you know, and their public meeting package everything were image based filed and not accessible and say call this number XYZ you know to get things accessible.
You call them up, they don't know what you're talking about and get around the merry go round.
Then we go to the provision of due process and what not and information and referral from clients systems program and we don't get any complaints against centers for independent living but wait a minute when people like Joe Hartz call up or other people call up or they give you information and referral and they refer you right back to the person that is perpetrating.
That is madness, my ladies and gentlemen.
There is no due process here.
And there is no, no and I repeat no compliance with Federal civil rights laws.
And by the way every agency here is not simply being represented, all the CILs, everybody else, their recipients are copious Federal funds and 504 is at play, we are private nonprofit, no, you would not exist without the Federal funding.
>> Your time is up.
>> 504 are civil rights laws.
>> Joe your time is up.
>> Thank you.
Since the last MiSILC meeting, I read the Rehab Act and accompanying Federal Regs, the MI SPIL, the State survey, the 2013 SPIL Report, the SILC by-laws, and reviewed in detail some of the local CILs' 704 Reports. As a citizen and taxpayer, I am stunned by the hundreds of thousands of public dollars spent locally with so little actual change in the lives of people with disabilities, and as a member of the disability community I am offended on behalf of the founders of the IL movement about the lack of passion or commitment to change. I am sorry to be so blunt.
In the first twenty years of the IL movement, an empowered disability community re-envisioned the Rehab Act, passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and disability rights laws in many states, including Michigan. This was twenty years before funding for a national Center for Independent Living program.
Impressive as that is; it's not the most important accomplishment. The IL movement was to revolutionize the way people with disabilities are viewed in society and the way people with disabilities view themselves.
How did that happen? They changed the language we use to describe the disability experience.
Naming, describing yourself and your community with respect and pride is the first act of empowerment.
My review of CIL web sites looks like the language of the IL movement has been largely abandoned. People First terms; Americans with disabilities, students with disabilities, employees with disabilities, was the language that replaced handicapped, feeble-minded, wheelchair bound, victim, and sufferer. I know “access for all” is supposed include me but historically it hasn't. IL is for and about the power of disability identity.
Let's think through some other words that are disappearing from CIL public image. Do you really want to disconnect from your history?
Consumer: Decision maker, an individual with a disability who makes decisions about the products and services he/she uses. Consumer implies a paradigm shift; it is a word of power.
Disability Community: An identifiable political entity, individuals with disabilities, often segregated, actually belong to a community of power and dignity with a history and culture that empowers them.
The first principle of IL is Consumer Control: 1. The inherent human right to make one's own life choices, 2. The right to represent one's own interest, to be self-determined, 3. Services are delivered by and for consumers.
Community-based: (Not a reference to geography) 1. The practice of people with a problem collectively defining the problem and designing the solution as a process they own, 2. Power and authority is vested in the people to set goals, advocate for systems change, and evaluate their strategies.
Peer Support: Interactions of individuals who have a shared experience, 2. Relationship between individuals of equal power, 3. In a peer relationship, the mentor and mentee can switch roles, each contributing to the others wellbeing.
CILs are not simply charitable non-profits. I think the founders would be offended to have CILs described as charities. Centers for Independent Living were meant to be training camps for proud systems advocacy and, unlike other agencies, Centers and the people they serve are one and the same.
The IL movement was created by young people with disabilities; their role models were the civil rights activist of the time, other young people who didn't feel obligated to follow the government off to war, advocates who wanted to know what was being added to food, and radical women who wanted equal pay for equal work. And just like those other political movements, the Independent Living Movement has changed social context for people with disabilities. Also, like the other movements, the bulk of the work is still ahead of us.
Do I have any right to hold you, the MiSILC, accountable for the status of the IL movement in Michigan? You as individuals are probably not responsible for the half-hearted, ineffectual state of the Michigan CILs, but I'm pretty confident that any significant change in the system will have to start here with you.
In the last business meeting Sara stated the changes in WIOA contain, “more of an emphasis on consumer input through public forums”, Steve addressed “the challenge…. Getting information from a grass roots level” and reminded us “this Council was created for consumer control for Federal funds that flow into this State”. Joel stated “again, the value of the plan… is only there if there is engagement from a larger number of folks across all 83 counties in Michigan”, and Gabrielle suggested “consumers from every market, invite them to the November meeting and let's hear from them, let's have our own forum, community education events that partner agencies or CIL are hosting in the next month or two”. Council members are interested in conversations about broader involvement of disability community, more training on the history and philosophy of IL advocacy, and yet you had a closed strategic planning meeting on Thursday. Who are the decision makers here? Is there Consumer Control at the MiSILC?
I strongly encourage you to create opportunities for cross-disability dialogue across the state. And I'm looking forward to my invitation.
And signed by Dawn Canter.
ILC COUNCIL QUARTERLY BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
September 12, 2014
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Lansing
SILC Voting Members Present: Robin Bennett, Kellie Boyd, Gabriella Burman, Lisa Cook-Gordon, Dominic Dennis, Sara Grivetti, Miranda Grunwell, Constance Kiggins, Steven Locke, Rebecca Parten, Dawn Reamer, Mia Smith, Michael Hamm
SILC Voting Members Absent: None
SILC Voting Members Excused: None
SILC Ex-Officio Members Present: Denise Stork-Phillips (DHS), Collette Bauman (DOE), Sue Howell (MRS)
SILC Staff: Rodney Craig, Tracy Brown
Guests Present: Annette Blough, Leamon Jones, Marlene Malloy, Joe Hartz, Kevin Green, Joel Cooper, Lisa Kietsel, Brian Sabourin, Wendi Middleton, Gwen McNeal, Sherri Hiebeck.
SILC BUSINESS MEETING
S. Grivetti called the meeting to order, 11:00 am, a quorum was present.
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
S. Grivetti welcomed Council members, Ex-Officios and guests, introductions were made.
AGENDA
The September 12, 2014 quarterly business agenda was reviewed. One addition, Council vacancies and process for nominating appointments.
Motion by C. Kiggins, seconded by G. Burman to approve the September 12, 2014 agenda with addition. Carried.
The May 16, 2014 SILC Council Business Meeting Draft minutes.
Motion by L. Cook-Gordon, seconded by D. Reamer to approve the May 16, 2014 meeting minutes, as mailed. Carried.
Closed Session/Employment Matters begins at 11:28am – concludes at 11:58am
Quarterly Business Meeting resumes at 12:26pm
Lunch Presentation - Independent Living Guide Project – Amy Maes, Disability Network Michigan.
OPERATIONS
Transition Plan – Sara Grivetti
· Rodney Craig is the Interim Director of the Statewide Independent Living Council.
· Council is not going to rush into a replacement of the Executive Director position on a permanent basis due to several variables such as, the structure of the Statewide Independent Council, the relationship with the MiSILC Corporation, the changes to the Rehabilitation Act, which is now the Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act.
· The Executive Committee will be sharing with the Council on an ongoing basis thoughts, ideas, findings and recommendations for consideration of the Council.
SILC Fiscal Reports (watermelon) – Michael Hamm
· Financial reports were reviewed.
Motion by R. Bennett, seconded by C. Kiggins to place on file the 3rd Quarter Fiscal Reports. Carried.
FY 2015 Grant Submission
· The FY 2015 work plans were submitted to MRS and BSBP in August.
Motion by C. Kiggins, seconded by M. Smith to authorize the council staff to make expenditures, encumber funds, and participate in activities as detailed in MRS and BSBP operational agreements. Carried.
Consent Agenda
· Executive Committee July Minutes and Staff Operations ~ 3rd Quarter Report.
Motion by G. Burman, seconded by M. Grunwell to accept and place on file the SILC Consent Agenda. Carried.
STATE PLAN
State Plan Objective Dashboard & Governor’s I & R Dashboard – Kellie Boyd
• FY 2014-2016 State Plan for Independent Living and Communication Dashboard outlines the different SPIL objectives and indicators that we measure and the status of where we are so far in the plan.
SPIL Workgroups:
• Children, Youth & Family Services, L. Cook-Gordon – The Children, Youth & Family Services Group has been working on developing links for the SILC website so it's more user friendly and so people that are getting there can look to see that there are resources listed. Rodney has included those resources that include education, early intervention, transition, and family support.
• Service Delivery, R. Craig – We now have one complete year of data, and we noticed that is from FY 2012 so we are going to be working with agencies that we receive data from to get updated data for FY 2014. And at that point we can take a look at those on top of each other and see if any service areas are shifting or if any other relevant information is going to come out of that. We are also going to do a comparison with that data regarding census data as well to see where things are. Then we are going to begin the process of preparing the report on what we are seeing and bring that back to the Council for review.
We have been interacting with the Program Evaluation Team of Disability Network Michigan. Some of this information is coming from barrier discussions from the Independent Living Guide Program. And what we are discussing is ways to take a look at barriers.
• Transportation, Robin Bennett – Our group met this morning and we joined with Children, Youth & Family Services discussing how we could add in the transportation menu to what they are working on with the SILC website.
Our group has finalized the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council Transportation Position paper that we have worked on over the summer and today we are asking for Council acceptance of this paper.
Motion by M. Hamm, seconded by M. Grunwell to accept the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council Transportation Position paper as written by the SILC Council Transportation workgroup and place on file. Carried.
Common Disability Agenda – Lisa Cook-Gordon
· The Disability Network has a Public Policy Committee that I will be working with as the liaison from this Council to begin looking at how to engage partners and talk more strategically on how to update the Common Disability Agenda.
· The last time the Common Disability Agenda was updated was in 2008 and there are many new partners coming on board that we can connect with.
FY2014-16 State Plan
· The next Committee of the Whole meeting is Thursday, November 20, 2014.
ACTION REQUIRED ITEMS
OLD BUSINESS:
SILC Organizational Structure Workgroup
· Structure workgroup met on August 4th and 11th.
· Dialogue.
· The decision was made to bring on two additional Executive Committee members to the MiSILC Corporation Board. And based on the composition of the My SILC Corporation, it would put the Council-appointed members would have a majority vote on the Corporation. And be able to start making further changes to meet the request of the Governor’s Office.
NEW BUSINESS:
Treasurer Position
• Michael Hamm was nominated.
Motion by D. Reamer, seconded by G. Burman to affirm Michael Hamm to fill the Treasurer vacancy. Carried.
Member at Large Vacancy
• Gabriella Burman was nominated.
Motion by M. Hamm, seconded by G. Burman for G. Burman to fill the Member-at-Large position on the SILC Executive Committee. Carried.
SILC Council Nomination Committee
· Create a nomination committee to develop a process for nominating future appointees and to vet potential Council members.
· Committee to include: C. Kiggins, M. Grunwell, D. Reamer.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
· On October 1st the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act will go into effect.
· It's the guiding piece of legislation for Statewide Independent Living Councils, Centers for Independent Living, Michigan VR Program, MRS and BSBP Program, Michigan Council Rehabilitation Services, and the Michigan Work System and many other programs.
· This bill impacts and allows for a two-year transition period after the Federal regulations are developed.
· In 2015, they are going to be essentially promulgating the rules and writing all the regulations.
· One key change is the State Plan. The new regulations state: As appropriate, coordinate activities with other entities in the State that provide services similar to or complimentary to Independent Living Services, such as entities that facilitate the provision of or provide long-term community-based services and supports.
· The next State plan needs to be signed by the SILC chair on behalf of the SILC and at least 51% of the CIL Directors. The Designated State Unit is now going to be referred to as the Designated State Entity. And the State plan identified who that designated state entity is. And the DSE will always sign the plan as the fiscal intermediary.
· The changes in the bill do not impact any funding.
DSU Reports
MRS- S. Howell (Attachment A)
BSBP- L. Kietsel (Attachment A)
Partner Reports
OSA - Wendi Middleton (Attachment A)
121 Project - M. Smith – Written report attached.
MDHS- Denise Stork-Phillips (Attachment A)
DN/M – K. Boyd (Attachment A)
MDE – Collette Bauman (Attachment A)
MPAS – Brian Sabourin (Attachment A)
MCRS– Written report attached.
OTHER
•
PUBLIC COMMENT – (Attachment B)
ADJOURNMENT
Motion by M. Hamm, seconded by G. Burman to adjourn. Carried.
SILC Business Meeting adjourned at 3:21 p.m.
ATTACHMENT A
MRS- Sue Howell
• MRS has just been through a reorganizational process, and that reorganization was approved. It will be going to affect October 12. What that means is that we are going to be realigning some of the duties of staff. Marty Hatsell and Jim Bunton, who had central office duties will be more field focused and we will be moving to a more central office.
• MRS in alignment with the department is looking to move to a mobile worker concept where appropriate. And as a pilot we are starting in our Detroit area with 13 of our staff out of the Wayne County office. We are very excited about this because we are looking at rehab in a new way and that means that we are going to be going to where the customers are more located. We are also going to be working more closely on exporting more services to the field for Michigan here at the Technical Institute.
• In Benton Harbor we had individuals involved in the CMA Program who were in danger of falling out of the program because of reading and literacy problems, so MCTI went in and brought in the CNA instructors, provided literacy support. These are also instructors that wrote the certification for CNA and they were very helpful. And out of the 13 that originally started, 12 of those ladies graduated.
• MRS has started a Strategic Planning Commission looking at statewide programming to bring our partners, Community Rehab Organizations, CILs together with other state agencies and form strategic plans for programming.
• Director Corrigan has a Statewide Transportation Committee and I'm very happy to be part of that. This committee will work to identify resources and other kinds of benefits that we can bring to the field. And this is to enhance the transportation experience for MRS customers and we feel that we can do that. We will be looking for mass transit representation as well.
BSBP- Lisa Kietsel
· I am Lisa Kietsel, the Training Center Division Director for Division of Services for Blind Persons in Kalamazoo. Edward Rodgers is our official Director who is out on sick leave until October. He had a knee replacement. All indications indicate he is recovering well.
· Just real quick update: We are nearing the end of our fiscal year and we are doing well regarding closures and making our numbers this year so we are excited about that.
· We hve 99 people closed and another 100 or so in status 22. Status 22 means employed and hoping for 26, which means successfully closed by September 30. Our training center is moving along and we are putting forward a program starting in September that will be really dedicated to increasing the skill development of individuals in the adaptive computers technology area.
· Our Business Enterprise Program is looking for opportunities for new operators as we are having some retirements, people moving forward in their lives, in other directions, so definitely recruiting for that program.
· Braille and talking book library is working towards rolling out a currency identifier through the mint. And if you have someone that you know, is a participant with the Braille and talking book library, you are able to receive one of those currency identifiers free of charge when they start rolling those out.
· BSBP is looking forward to another good fiscal year with more work with our Centers For Independent Living. We are involved in several different programs around the state where we are doing employment readiness programs, job clubs, benefits planning. I do want to give a shout out to J. Cooper, since he is here, and our training center did some cooperation with Disability Network Southwest Michigan. And he may not even know this. We had a customer come to the center who needed a power chair and their family was not able to bring it with them and he was actually from Marquette and it was quite a distance and he really needed the chair. And we did outsourcing and looking around and our friends at Disability Network were able to help us to provide that to him so he could participate in a summer program at our center and do that in a way that was appropriate for him and his needs.
Partner Reports
OSA – Wendi Middleton
· For the past 7-8 months at the State level, OSA has been looking at State-Level Long-Term Supports and Services. Part of the federal requirements in past ADRC grants requires us to streamline access and eligibility. We realized that barriers to access and eligibility at the local level are the result of barriers existing at the State level. So using the LEAN process improvement method, OSA spent six months or so basically looking at where long term supports and services are located, policy and program wise at the State level. There are 21 different programs and services and they reside in nine different Departments, Bureaus and Agencies.
· After meeting with the different departments OSA an interdepartmental group started looking at specific services realized that we don’t know much about each of them and also started a process of looking at where we have redundancies, and asked whether we have very complicated systems that maybe are not necessary?
· We completed a process chart starting with consumer access for adult home help and Meals On Wheels. So, from our network, Meals on Wheels and from DHS services we completed the process for adult home help. We could clearly see differences in how a person accessed adult home help and Meals on Wheels existed in the areas of difficulty in becoming eligible for each and in the amount of assistance provided to consumer s in the process.
· OSA has applied for a Federal Grant called No Wrong Door Transformation Grant that will pay for a year long, 12-month process to come up with a three-year plan to transform services in terms of increasing access and streamlining access at the state level and plus it would support our ADRCs. NOTE: OSA has received this grant as of 9/30/14 for the 2015 Fiscal year.
· OSA has applied for a Dementia Capacity Building Grant that would provide training to ADRC options Counselors and information assistance workers to try and identify people who might be having issues with dementia quickly and then get them to services quickly. NOTE: OSA did not receive this grant.
· Last year OSA received $700,000 which, per federal requirements, is split between the Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP), the Area Agencies on Aging and the ADRC’s to find and enroll persons eligible for Medicare and Medicare Part D who may need low-income assistance to enroll.
· For the past few years, OSA has been working very hard to support the ADRCs, training option Counselors and getting ADRC’s ready for a deadline of September 30th for being fully functional.
121 Project – Mia Smith
· For the first time in over 12 years we had some staff changes in our office. There are only two full-time staff and two half-time staff. I'm the last remaining full-time staff that held down the fort until we just made a new hire, so we now have two Counselors and our Rehabilitation Assistant.
· Right now we have served 82 people this year. 29 have been 26 closure statuses, so we have about 35% success rate for employment in our program, which is really good for us.
· Our numbers are a little lower; but, like I said, everything is not entered yet.
· The other big project we had that opened in April is the Independent or the Supportive Housing Program, which is the collaborative effort of our Behavioral Health and Mental Health Services and Vocational Rehabilitation. So not quite a treatment center, or halfway house type; it's just to gain skills on living independently. And right now we have 13 apartments and 10 of which are finally occupied. So by the end of October we are looking to have 12 occupied.
DN/M – Kellie Boyd
· As far as our funding, the CILs have submitted all of our budgets, our work plans and all of our required documentation for Federal and State funding for 2015. So we will be ready to go October 1st.
· There are some changes with CIL Directors. In May, Angela Hoff retired from the Blue Water CIL and Jim Whalen has taken over as the new Director. And in late April, Mark Pierce took over the Capitol Area Center for Independent Living in Lansing. And we have another retirement coming up in the near future. In January, Sue Cloutier-Myers will be retiring from Disability Connection in Muskegon. So if any of the CILs are in your area, please stop in the near future and say hello to the new directors. And also wish Sue a happy retirement.
DHS - Denise Stork-Phillips
· There is a statewide cross state agency transportation work group being formed and the focus is age and disabilities and improving transportation.
· DHS launched a report recently, in August, Called Better Off Working. We looked at very specific ways to get people into the workforce and help them stay in the workforce and help employers work with people so that they can work.
· DHS Strategic Plan is now available. Our focus areas are – Assisting individuals to enter the workforce. This section is focusing on helping people to get past their barriers and supporting planning. The second area is to make work pay. This one is going to be the more difficult section to implement because it's going to take a lot of Congressional changes. Another area is to help the business community hire workers. This would be dealing with employers and giving them some navigating tools, actually putting navigators out there so they can work with individuals.
· Also, we are going to be working closely with Employer Resource Networks, which are groups of businesses that get together and have been putting DHS employees in a joint location so that their employees can go to them with any barriers that occur.
· Other things are vocational specialists to help employers locate, accommodate and retain employees.
· The fourth major part of this report is to assist youth to overcome barriers and transition successfully to higher education and the workforce. This section is focusing on using cross-agency employment, teams, work experiences and communicating strong messages about how youth with disabilities can succeed.
· DHS is very excited to see this plan move forward and working with agencies to implement it.
MDE – Collette Bauman
· I'm just going to give you a few highlights from Michigan Department of Education-Low Incidence Outreach. As you know, we service students that are blind/ visually impaired and deaf /hard of hearing, their families, local school district personnel.
· We provide lots of professional development opportunities statewide. We have Braille classes, independent living skill classes and assistive technology classes. In addition, we offer workshops in cortical visual impairment and do technical assistance to districts, facilitate Quality Programs for the Visually (QPVI) Whatever people need, we come and assist!
· I wanted to make an announcement regarding the Braille code. The Braille code is changing slightly and it is called the Unified English Braille Code (UEB). It has been adopted in Australia, Europe, Canada, and England. It is going to be officially -- according to the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) go into effect here in the U.S. in January of 2016.
· In preparation for the changes, our agency is planning regional workshops,( eight regional workshops,) starting in the UP next month. In addition, a national presenter, Dr. Francis Mary D’Andrea will be coming in May to present two statewide workshops to provide the proper training regarding the new code. Just a note: all of the books that are in existence today will still be valid books; but there are some changes that will be implemented that students will be learning. We need to make sure teachers, para pros, students, their family members, and transcribers are properly trained. This is a big focus and undertaking this year. It affects adults also, so consumers are also invited to join us.
· An expanded core curriculum workshop is being held October 10th at our camp in Greenville, Camp Tuhsmeheta. It's going to include a lot of independent living skill training. Participants will include; teachers, para pros, orientation mobility instructors and family members. The workshop is only $10 which also includes many giveaways. The items are all independent living skill items like, toaster tongs, a hot shot…The focus is to provide items that can be used with students in order to allow them to learn to be independent beginning at an early age.
· Deaf/Hard of Hearing: we have a lot of educational interpreter performance assessments set up statewide. This assessment provides valuable information as the skill level of Interpreters which is crucial to providing appropriate curriculum content to students. We also provide American Language Proficiency Interviews (ASLPI) for adults and Modified Sign Language Interviews (MSLPI) for students.
MPAS – Brian Sabourin
· When I came to my first meeting as the Client Assistance Program Director, I told you one of my first things I was going to do is get to all of the Centers for Independent Living and do CAP outreach. I'm happy to report that I was able to do another one with Mark Pierce and CACIL, just about two weeks ago, and had a great turn out.
· Our new MPAS newsletter for summer of 2014 is out and I just checked on our website and it is also there. If you are on our mailing list, you get it in paper format or if you have access to the Internet I encourage you to go look at that.
· I encourage you to go visit our new website. It has a lot of good information on all types of information with regarding people with disabilities including employment, independent living, education, and community access and information on seclusion and abuse and neglect. www.mpas.org
· On September 22nd at the Capitol at 10:00am, we are going to be having a press release regarding our first our Employment First Initiative.
MCRS – Written report attached.
3490 Belle Chase Way Suite 110 Lansing, MI 48911
August 2014 Report to the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (MiSILC)
1 – Vocational Rehabilitation State Plan Special MCRS Meetings – two meetings were held to manage the FY 2015 State Plan for each of the designated state units (DSUs), the first in May (for Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS)) and the second in June 2014 (for the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP)). At each meeting, the MCRS State Plan Work Team presented the draft State Plan as completed by the DSU, along with the MCRS authored Attachment 4.2(c) for member review and approval. The Council’s attachment is comprised of a summary of our accomplished mandated work activities along with recommendations to the DSUs about their service systems identifying issues that could impact the customers being served.
2 - In-service Training Session - During the morning prior to the August 8th business meeting, members reviewed and had discussion about the FY 2013 BSBP and MRS Customer Satisfaction Survey Reports, as well as the 2014 Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA) Report.
3 - Business Meeting - A business meeting took place on August 8, 2014 in Lansing. Members, staff, partners and guests were in attendance. The membership conducted business which included approval of the draft agenda and draft May 2nd, May 21st, and June 20th MCRS business/special meeting minutes. The Council accepted and placed on file the Executive Team final minutes for three meetings, as well as Financial Statements for April, May, and June 2014. Updates were provided from the BSBP Director of Consumer Services Division, a Division Director for MRS, and partners. The Draft MCRS Strategic Plan was approved by the membership, work team updates were discussed, and a presentation took place about the Appeals Process for customers. Public Comment was received from three individuals. The next business meeting will take place on Tuesday November 18, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the MCRS Office in Lansing.
4 - Meeting with MRS State Director - At her request for a meeting with the membership, Suzanne Howell, MRS Director, hosted an in-person meeting with council members and staff on June 17th. S. Howell and MRS Executive Team Members presented the MRS Vision Statements, with opportunities for open interactions with and questions from the Council.
5 - Membership Vacancies - With one reappointed member’s resignation, the Council remains with one vacancy for a Disability Advocate. It is anticipated that this vacancy will be filled within the near future.
6 - MCRS Resource Plan/Budget/Contract with MARO - The Council’s current financial status is solid, with a redress completed for the FY 2014 MRS budget and plans to complete a redress in the near future for the FY 2014 BSBP budget. The MCRS FY 2015 budget has been submitted to MRS, the contract has been signed by David Price at MARO, and it is now in the final stages at the Department of Human Services (DHS).
7 - Partnering with BSBP - The MCRS has been involved with BSBP in the following activities, assuring that the customer voice is represented: CSNA, Consultation with the LARA-BSBP Hearings Manager, and State Plan. The Council drafted, finalized and approved Attachment 4.2(c), including recommendations, for the FY 2015 BSBP State Plan. Members also reviewed and offered input to the updated BSBP Attachments during BSBP State Plan meetings and voted to approve BSBP’s Final State Plan.
8 - Partnering with MRS - The MCRS has been involved with the following MRS activities, assuring that the customer voice is represented: CSNA, Consultation with the DHS-MRS Administrative Hearings Coordinator, Idea Stream Team, Idea Stream SharePoint Site Meetings, Marketing Team, and State Plan. The Council drafted, finalized and approved Attachment 4.2(c), including recommendations, for the FY 2015 MRS State Plan. Members also reviewed and offered input to the updated MRS Attachments during MRS State Plan meetings and voted to approve MRS’ Final State Plan.
9 - Partner Activities - The MCRS was represented at the following activities: Michigan Rehabilitation Association (MRA), with the MCRS Executive Director (ED) serving as an MRA Board Member; Member/Staff attendance at the MARO Spring Leadership Conference in Traverse City; and representation at a DHS-hosted Celebration Event for the release of the Better Off Working Report. The Better Off Working Report identifies ways to remove employment barriers, change incentives, improve services and connect Michigan’s more than 700,000 individuals with disabilities to work. The report is the culmination of more than nine months of hard and innovative effort by a work group that included members from the private and public sectors, including disability advocates. The MCRS was also represented at the Visions 2014 Expo, which showcased new and innovative technology and services for the blind and visually impaired.
10 - National Initiatives –The MCRS ED continues to serve as Chair of the National Coalition of State Rehabilitation Councils (NCSRC) Steering Committee (SC) and participates in monthly SC and bimonthly national teleconference calls. The Assistant Director continues to offer expertise and technical support through management of the website and list serv as supported by the MCRS.
Submitted,
Sara Grivetti
SILC Liaison to MCRS
ATTACHMENT B
Joel Cooper: Good morning. Thank you for this opportunity to be with you today. Again, my name is Joel Cooper, Presidency of Disability Network Southwest Michigan and also a board of director of Disability Network Michigan and on their executive committee as well.
What I want to share with you today is some information that I think you will find very interesting and helpful because I'm asking you to share this with others, okay? So when we talk about opportunities for employment, for people with disabilities across our state, we identify many different barriers and one of them is transportation. And one of the barriers that we have been working here this past summer has to do with the driver's license test and the book that you need to study.
So I'm going to read you the front page of our July edition of the link. This is our newsletter that I hope every one of you received. I know Miranda does. She helps put it together.
So the title of this is: Advocacy Makes a Difference. What Every Driver Must Know In Audio Format. So what started out as an advocacy to help one person access the study guide to take the Michigan driver's license test became a project to ensure access for people with reading disabilities across the State of Michigan.
A customer, Andre, who wanted to study to get his driver's license was given the booklet What Every Driver Must Know from a local Secretary of State Office. Andre has a learning disability and makes reading printed material difficult.
Andre asked for the document in an audio format so that he could listen to it. He was told it was only available in print. They suggested that he find someone to read it to him.
Now, you have to realize this booklet is 148 pages long.
You told staff at Disability Network Southwest Michigan about this. We found out this same situation had been happening to other people with learning disabilities who need to study the driver's license exam.
So Disability Network staff knew that under the American's With Disabilities Act, which celebrated, by the way, its 24th anniversary this July 26th, in the State of Michigan is held to a very high standard of accessibility for all citizens; yet the staff at the Secretary of State's Office did not understand their ADA responsibility to provide this essential booklet in a way that was accessible to people with learning disabilities.
So with the work of the State of Michigan's ADA coordinator and the staff in the Office of Communications, to get What Every Driver Must Know recorded in audio format. Happy to announce in this newsletter edition that the audio recording is now available thanks to our advocacy, available free through the Braille and talking book library, part of the National Library For Blind and Physically Handicapped.
So, again, we, you here have the opportunity to share this information with many of your colleagues as well as customers across the state. We want everyone to know how this accessibility opportunity can be made available for more.
If you know of transition coordinators working with youth in transition, what an important thing for them to know. And I can guaranty you that most of them probably do not know. So we are looking at avenues of outreach so that this information can be provided to more than just what is in our 3,000 mailing of the link. So thank you for this opportunity.
Joel Harcz, National Federation of the Blind and member of Michigan Adapt.
There is a whole lot going on in compared to what Joel just commented on. In fact, the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons is not accessible to yours truly and many of you have seen this in accordance with Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act in Section 504.
And, as a matter of fact, you have heard the director and you have in your minutes, from last meeting minutes, from the last meeting where he said that FOIA trumps these Federal Civil Rights Laws.
I can't get my own records nor can other people.
And the consumer satisfaction surveys that were put out, most of the people, most of the people, clients of this program or customers, or whatever they call us nowadays, don't get any information in accessible format. None. I repeat, none. Not even a basic application for services.
In the 70B report that was put out, there were no answers, there were no answers, and many of you have seen this, to the very fact that BSBP received in this last fiscal year and have more than $200,000 more for its independent living program and older blind program and serve less than 60% of the people. It's an outrage, ladies and gentlemen. It's an outrage that the very system is not accessible and that openly discriminates against us.
I want to go into something else here briefly. We lost a good executive director. And Valarie and I have clashed on principles and ideas; but she is a consensus builder and always worked to be accessible.
My roots go back to major advocacy. I've been arrested and convicted 15 times in direct actions over the years to liberate our people. And to not -- to not have us paternalistically controlled and have the principles of empowerment for all people with disabilities.
And I think we need to go back to our roots, ladies and gentlemen, back to our roots of Justin Darden of Wade Buy and the other founders and Ed Roberts and the other founders of the Independent Living Movement who fought against the charitable model, the medical model and now all I hear is the business model. They fought for the civil rights model and the independent living, involved people with disabilities. And all I hear, you know, are agencies and walks and other people taking the money that was dedicated, you know, for us and I see less and less fundamental access.
Joel pointed out the ADA is going to be 25 years old. 504 is more than 40 years old. And yet we openly have discrimination, which I've documented, you know, to many of your members and to MPAS and DOJ, and you name it, where we have major discrimination going on within some of our centers for independent living and within some of our agencies that are -- wouldn't exist without the Rehab Act including BSBP and including MRS.
By the way, DHS is still not accessible to people who are blind. Their website is not accessible. Their energy fields are not accessible and they don't send yours truly in alternate format and upon continued request, in spite of the fact I have to have a lawyer, all my information in my most effective format.
It's a disgrace, ladies and gentlemen. And we need to rededicate ourselves to getting back to fundamental principles and the mission statement that is in this very agenda, for the full inclusion of all people with disabilities throughout all segments of our society.
That was a little bit of an interruption. I will reserve the rest of my comments until this afternoon.
>> Rodney: This was received via the SILC website from Darma Cantor, so I will go ahead and read this into public comment. It's also available up on the website.
The public comment starts as: The IL movement was comprised of people who experienced discrimination and dependency and who demanded independence and quality. America's IL centers embody the philosophy and strategy for change. People with disabilities who understand the problem and were committed to self-determination brought that vision into reality.
25 years later Michigan has dismantled the dream of peer support, advocacy, disability equality and integration. Michigan no longer honors the movement's founding principles which are literally, legally, specifically meant to be consumer controlled.
Point one. Michigan CILs are no longer consumer controlled. CILs are currently led by people who see their peers as directors of other agencies. They are no longer part of the movement. They have become agencies directly controlled by professionals. They have become providers.
My movement has been turned into a business. Those who staff Michigan CILs have not experienced the problems, do not identify with them and have no need for a solution to them.
I understand that sounds harsh but the entire nation is noticing.
Point two, who is a consumer should lead and staff the CIL. People have personal experience with discrimination, exclusion and justice based upon living with a disability in an outless society. They are individuals who belong to a community and a culture based on shared experiences. They may have degrees, they may have a professional role in the agency, but first and foremost they are peers of other individuals with disabilities.
In the beginning the IL movement was intended to be cross disability. Diagnosis is not as important as personal experience. I know that my brother's suffering could easily be mine. If they send my sister to a group home because she needs in-home support, I know that could be my future.
That brings me to the expression used in the law, quote, significant disability, end quote. CILs should be staffed by people who have a very significant experience with disability and discrimination. CIL staff, as peers, should understand the enormity of being forced into a dependent ultimately and that expertise cannot be substituted for any amount of, quote, compassion.
Having participated in three NICIL conferences over the past five years, I believe Michigan is far removed from the CIL, SILC experience and other states specifically in terms of consumer control. At the conferences I have attended, Michigan was not represented in any significant way. Michigan CILs seem to be averse to joining the movement nationally.
When one looks at local centers' websites, it's very difficult to find people with significant disabilities leading the movement. Very few staff descriptions say, quote, I'm a person with disability and I believe, end quote.
You can hire capable people but it seems CIL hire people with no disabilities or minor disabilities and recruit people with significant disabilities to volunteer for free. I don't think that is either the letter or the spirit of the law.
I hope to be present here to present my concerns to you in person; however, I fell and broke my leg on August 4th and had major surgery on August 5th, so I'm not able to join you at this time.
I claim the IL movement as my own and cannot abandon the purpose and principles for the CILs and SILC become agencies, businesses and service providers, pushing none of its original mission.
Disability community, disability culture, disability pride is a message that is important in Michigan in 2014 as it was in the '70s, '80s and '90s.
I look forward to continuing conversations about how we can redirect our efforts and reclaim our heritage.
Joe Harcz: Okay, first order of business is the Open Meetings Act and what the requirements are on that. One, is while there are legitimate reasons for meeting in closed session, all final decisions must be made in public. A better example would be if there is a severance package with an executive director that the details might be hashed out in closed session. But the decision must be made by a motion in the public and the details of that are public record. That is point of the information that is the law.
Second, and this dovetails with a few other things; but with some of the stuff mentioned this morning, someone can control and consumer driven is by nature following the law. We do not follow the law about the ADA in Section 504 throughout this State. And I want to go into a few basics on that, not to be condescending.
One, the Americans with Disabilities Act is a Civil Rights Law. And, like all Civil Rights Law, it has as the core mission that no person with disabilities shall be denied access solely on the basis of their disability; in other words, illegal discrimination.
Part of that goes to CIL operations. Part of that is inclusion in meetings, advisory committee, et cetera, et cetera.
I have been denied access to the full meetings of TDN, full meetings, and I've made these complaints. Don't tell me, Brian, that you haven't heard about complaints, about a Center for Independent Living that is core discrimination. I've been denied access to the meeting minutes, period. End of story. Documented. It's a fact. It's an act of discrimination against a person with disabilities.
Three, what I want to go into, and this dovetails on this morning, and this goes to all Title 2 entities, Title 2 entities are public entities. They are all entities that are with our State Government, the MRS, they are DHS, BSBP they are their parents.
Four, I want to go in the basics of effective communications requirements. All public entities, and that is all of them, were required to have in place the means, methods and protocols for effectively communicating with people with disabilities. And those specifically go to people with visual impairments, people with hearing impairments, people with speech impairments people with reading disorders such as what was discussed in this day. Those were supposed to have been in place, the means, methods and protocols, for effective communication, January 26, 1992.
Now, this is not to dump on the good advocacy that Mr. Cooper brought up this morning. We had a person with a reading disorder and nobody knew at the Secretary of State's Office. You know how to accommodate them, that has affected communications. And, ladies and gentlemen, this is quite a few years later than the drop dead deadline.
Joe Hartz on a daily basis gets discriminated against in these regards and against and by, by very agencies that were supposed to have those means, methods and protocols in place.
Which the other thing that is supposed to have been done is that these were supposed to have been in place affirmatively, not having Joe Hartz ask for each piece of paper relative to the activities of his Government on a case by case, ad hoc basis. And I'll cite the law that is Tyler v. Manhattan that is the Court case. And these go into fundamental principles of inclusion.
When Amy was talking about today, you know, that the problems of people navigating DHS and their delivery to service and the reams of paperwork that are involved with that, imagine if that paperwork isn't made accessible. And that must be made accessible based upon what is called primary consideration, the most effective means of communication for that person with disabilities.
If you are a newly-deaf person and you don't know ASL, supplying an interpreter doesn't work. If you are a newly-blinded person and you don't know Braille, of course, nobody would give out Braille because they don't even give out e-mail without $8 gazillion-FOIA charge.
SILC MEETING MINUTES CLOSED SESSION – SEPTEMBER 12, 2014
SILC Voting Members Present: Robin Bennett, Kellie Boyd, Gabriella Burman, Lisa Cook-Gordon, Dominic Dennis, Sara Grivetti, Miranda Grunwell, Constance Kiggins (by phone), Steven Locke, Rebecca Parten, Dawn Reamer, Mia Smith, Michael Hamm
SILC Voting Members Absent: None
SILC Voting Members Excused: None
SILC Ex-Officio Members Present: Denise Stork-Phillips (DHS), Collette Bauman (DOE), Sue Howell (MRS)
SILC Staff: Rodney Craig, Tracy Brown
The SILC Chair called for a closed meeting session at 11:20 a.m.
The purpose of the closed session was to inform SILC council members, Ex-officio appointees and staff of the circumstances surrounding the recent resignation of Valarie Barnum-Yarger.
Sara Grivetti provided a verbal report of the circumstances. Discussion occurred.
The closed meeting session ended at 12:00 p.m.
Executive Committee Presentation & Recommendations
CIL/SILC Strategic Visioning
On November 20th and 21st, 2014 members of the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and the Directors of Michigan’s CILs engaged in a strategic visioning process.
The process included the use of FutureScaping™ along with the creation of Dream Statements. The group engaged in preliminary design discussion about the strategies needed to turn the Dream Statements into reality.
The overarching themes that emerged from our strategic visioning process were:
· Creating a common vision for Independent Living (IL) in Michigan;
· Developing joint strategies for resource development to enhance IL services and advocacy efforts;
· Create an enhanced communication strategy for SILC & Disability Network/Michigan
· Strengthen the relationship between SILC & the CIL Network to facilitate the accomplishment of our joint efforts.
The below table (Table 1) summarizes the work that was developed during the Strategic Visioning process, incorporates action steps and recommendations for consideration. To enhance the fulfillment of the strategic vision timelines and measurable outcomes may be added at a later date. The action steps and recommendations are short-term outputs designed to jump-start the process, while additional strategic visioning work is evolving. Additional details for the recommendations are found in Table 2.
Table 1:
Topic
Vision Statement
Action Steps
Recommendations
Common Vision
SILC and the CIL Network creates a common vision for consumer control & involvement
· Create opportunities to explore current practices
· Brainstorm strategies for enhancing consumer control/involvement
· Incorporate strategies into future SPIL
· Revitalize Michigan Youth Leadership Forum (MYLF)
· At a next Committee of the Whole meeting (COW) facilitate a dialogue with CILs/SILC and other partners and councils about enhancing consumer control and involvement (Think Tank)
· Invite SILC representatives to join the DN/M Youth Transition Leadership Team (Planning Group members for MYLF Revitalization)
SILC and the CIL Network promotes accessibility for all
· CIL Network communicate with SILC exchanging current and future strategies for promoting accessibility for all
· Consider these strategies for future SPIL
Invite a CIL Director (i.e. Jim Moore) to present Accessibility for All concept at the February 2015 SILC meeting
Resources
Michigan’s CILs are the hub for all information relating to disability
· Enhance web presence and social media utilization for SILC and DN/M
· Utilize search engine marketing and search engine optimization for the SILC and/or DN/M websites to drive more people to local CILs for information
Incorporate into a comprehensive communications strategy for SILC & DN/M
SILC and the CIL Network jointly develop strategies to leverage resources to fill unmet needs at the state level
Explore opportunities to fill the gaps in state-level systems advocacy and communication needs
Explore the possibility of using SILC resources for the hiring of a Systems Advocacy Coordinator to support the joint efforts of the SILC/CILs (see details below)
SILC and the CIL Network jointly promote increased resources with the Michigan Legislature
· DN/M will share strategy for legislative ask with SILC members
· DN/M will seek support from SILC members to meet with their legislators to share CIL outcomes and consumer impact stories
· DN/M will include SILC in Public Policy Leadership team and DN/M Legislative Day
Seek support from CIL directors on action steps
Communication
Increased opportunities for people with disabilities who engaged in telling their story and that SILC and CILs provide opportunities to educate communities and work to remove the barriers, structural, attitudinal and communication, that keep people with disabilities from fully participating in life
SILC and DN/M will develop a comprehensive communications strategy
Explore the possibility of utilizing SILC resources to hire a Communications Coordinator to support the state-level communications needs of SILC & DN/M (see details below)
SILC and DN/M develop a cohesive communication strategy to the legislators filled with data driven outcomes and impact stories;
See above
See above
Relationships
SILC and CIL are thinking and planning together to achieve a shared vision to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in Michigan.
Create more opportunities for SILC and CIL staff to interact. This may include SILC meetings, including SILC members in local CIL meetings, think tanks, SPIL writing teams, consumer forums, DN/M Leadership Teams, etc.
· Invite SILC members to join the DN/M Public Policy Leadership Team
· Include SILC ED, or other relevant staff, in monthly CIL director meetings
· Create a SPIL writing team by February 2015 with representation from SILC and CIL network. (see details below)
· Invite CIL Directors or relevant staff to present at every SILC meeting. Topics to be determined.
· Jointly develop strategies with an emphasis on increasing use of social media to elicit increased consumer feedback into next SPIL (SPIL writing team subcommittee)
SILC and CIL have a common message to all statewide partners
Common message is developed through the SPIL
Create a process for the common message to be developed and shared with SILC and CIL Directors
SILC and the CIL Network develop a Common Disability Agenda with other partners to create a unified policy message
SILC and DN/M create a joint plan on how to accomplish the development of the Common Disability Agenda
Utilize the proposed Systems Advocacy Coordinator position to facilitate this process
SILC/CIL relationships support fully accessible communities for everyone
· CIL Network communicate with SILC current and future strategies for promoting accessibility for all
· Consider these strategies for future SPIL
· Gain a deeper understanding through data collection/analysis where the significant barriers are rooted
· Utilize the data to guide systems advocacy efforts, both locally and at the state-level.
· Incorporate the goals for systems change into future SPILs
Table 2:
Below are recommendations for consideration and adoption that support the attainment of the joint SILC/CIL Vision:
Recommendations for SILC Action
Recommendations for SILC Executive Committee
Recommendations for CIL Action
Explore the possibility of using SILC resources for the hiring of a Systems Advocacy Manager to support the joint efforts of the SILC/CILs (see details below)
At the May Committee of the Whole meeting (COW) facilitate a dialogue with CILs/SILC and other partners and councils about enhancing consumer control and involvement (Think Tank)
Invite SILC representatives to join the DN/M Youth Transition Leadership Team (planning group for MYLF)
Review, discuss and support concept of utilizing SILC resources to hire a Communications Coordinator to support the communications needs of SILC & DN/M
Invite a CIL Director (i.e. Jim Moore) to present Accessibility for All concept at the February SILC meeting
Explore the possibility of using SILC resources for the hiring of a Systems Advocacy Coordinator to support the joint efforts of the SILC/CILs
Discuss and support the recommendation for the formation of a SPIL writing team at the February 2015 with representation from SILC and CIL network.
Explore the possibility of using SILC resources for the hiring of a Systems Advocacy Manager to support the joint efforts of the SILC/CILs
Include SILC members in CIL Network legislative ask strategies
Create a process for the common message to be developed and shared with SILC and CIL Directors
Explore the possibility of utilizing SILC resources to hire a Communications Coordinator to support the communications needs of SILC & DN/M. Review and make recommendations to SILC in February 2015
Assuming SILC supports the resource allocation and concept, explore the possibility of utilizing SILC resources to hire a Communications Coordinator to support the communications needs of SILC & DN/M
Discuss and recommend the formation of a SPIL writing team at the February 2015 with representation from SILC and CIL network.
Support the concept of inviting SILC members to join the DN/M Public Policy Leadership Team
Invite CIL Directors to present at every SILC meeting. Topics to be determined
Support concept of including the CIL Directors or other relevant staff, in monthly SILC director meetings
Create a process for the common message to be developed and shared with SILC and CIL Directors
Support the creation of a process for Common Message(s) shared between SILC Members and CIL Directors
Supporting Details
Systems Advocacy Coordinator Position Description- In general, this proposed position would be responsible for moving forward the jointly developed public policy and system advocacy priorities of the IL Network (SILC/CILs). Also, this role would have an integral part of researching, education and recommending required actions to advance state and Federal public policy/system change priorities. In addition, this individual would take the lead for developing the Common Disability Agenda (as outlined in the FY 14-16 SPIL) by coordinating forums where agenda items are identified and then researched and organized to reflect the top issues impacting Michigan's residents with disabilities and the creation of “A Call to Action: Toward Our Common Future”. This individual would take an active role with both the CIL Network (DN/M) and SILC, and be responsible for the federal and state-level needs of both entities to advance the SPIL. (FTE)
Communications Coordinator Position Description-In general, this proposed position would be responsible for facilitating and implementing a jointly developed, comprehensive communications strategy for the IL Network in Michigan. This individual would need to possess extensive communication and public relations experience, as well as experience with multiple modes of communication to a variety of target audiences. This individual would take an active role with both the CIL Network (DN/M) and SILC, and be responsible for the state-level needs of both entities to advance the SPIL. (.5 FTE)
Joint SPIL Writing Team- This team would be responsible for developing the framework and timeline for the next SPIL (final submission due 6/30/16), including recommendations for joint development, soliciting consumer feedback and implementing changes to the process, as stated in WIOA. This team would include SILC appointees, SILC staff and CIL Directors, and other CIL staff, as designated. Once the process is developed, and agreed upon, this team would be responsible for writing the draft SPIL and soliciting feedback from all signatories as the SPIL is developed.
Notes from Strategic Visioning Session
Common Vision
Ø Customer control and involvement is the standard of excellence for all collaborations;
Ø I dream of a world where the IL movement is absorbed into society and is no longer an issue or thought;
Ø Total and complete accessibility for all;
Design:
If you adopt this dream statement what do you think will be the biggest impact on IL?
a.. People with disabilities will be future leaders, self-advocate, develop personally and professionally and have opportunities and choice (self-employed and self-determined).
What will IL look like if this dream came true?
a.. People with disabilities will have equal opportunity, ability to participate, live independently and move towards economic self-sufficiency.
What kind of things would you need to do to make this dream come true? What steps would you need to take?
a.. Leadership training, eliminating the stigma, increase awareness, celebrate differences, education, remove the DIS from disability, support groups for people with disabilities and their support systems – Educate, Amplify the Voice of People with Disabilities; Deliver the same message as a Network (DNM/SILC, all partners in the IL Movement in Michigan) – a communication plan!
Resources
Ø I dream of the CILs being the hub for disability concerns in the state;
Ø I dream that SILC and DN/M strategize how we can leverage resources to fill unmet needs at the state level;
Ø I dream that legislators support consumer choice through resource allocation that creates barriers free communities;
Design:
If you adopt this dream statement what do you think will be the biggest impact on IL?
a.. We would reach consumers all over the state- as a well-known, widely-used and user-friendly resource for IL services in Michigan:
· Provide services through IL Lens – more empowering & person-centered;
· Want to be best kept secret – consumer satisfaction increase;
· Create more advocates for IL; Change more lives, change more communities where all people are embraced;
· Government office can leverage CIL/SILC and State Policymakers to accomplish “their” vision.
· DNM Lobbyist attending relevant joint meetings
· Universally-designed communities – CILS/SILC will not have to assist because the attitude of acceptance is embraced.
What will IL look like if this dream came true?
a.. Increase knowledge of/& access to IL
b.. Greater volume of people with disabilities directing their own lives (1.3 million residents have disability and we touch 36,000 – We want to triple this!!!
What kind of things would you need to do to make this dream come true? What steps would you need to take?
a.. Take same name across the State – helps us brand as an industry.
b.. Connect with Medical Community.
c.. SILC and DNM as one, solving the issues, speaking with the same voice, same language, joint interactions, resource sharing; All will result in well-funded IL Network to execute State-level needs.
d.. Legislators support resource allocation (SILC spends $5,000 to educate Legislators); More education results in more services provided, Legislators becoming advocates and CILS are more positioned to accomplish government’s goals.
e.. Continuing to train IL Specialist – Every CIL has a dedicated staff to do communications, marketing, publications, social media;
· Identify all ACCESS Points
· Understand the Psychology of our Consumers
· Brand Unifications sustainability
· State/National IL Promotion Campaign –want American Red Cross status
a.. Leverage Asset in Community
· State-level branding/awareness increases which can lead to more resources;
· Focus, unified action plan that is consumer driven;
· Big Happy Family – between SILC and CILs to resolve issues – NO SILOS;
· We all speak with same voice to become the well-funded IL Network that can meet all needs;
· Increase knowledge about each other with the expectation that every SILC Council Member can explain what a CIL does and vice versa with IL staff;
· More Joint interaction – meetings, opportunities for networking, common communication opportunities, planning;
· Jointly review the State level needs assessment and create a shared vision and how to resource it.
a.. Allow other agencies to focus on their expertise
b.. Quality Control (Consumer satisfaction increase)
c.. Brand as a singular entity – social media, digital advertising;
Communication
Ø I dream that people with disabilities are engaged in telling their story and that SILC and CILs provide opportunities to educate communities and work to remove the barriers, structural, attitudinal and communication, that keep people with disabilities from fully participating in life;
Ø I dream that we have a cohesive communication strategy to the legislators filled with data driven outcomes and impact stories;
Design:
If you adopt this dream statement what do you think will be the biggest impact on IL?
a.. HUB for Disability Concerns in the State.
What will IL look like if this dream came true?
o Reach more people – no longer the best kept secret. We are a recognized HUB!
What kind of things would you need to do to make this dream come true? What steps would you need to take?
a.. Single contact, user-friendly, navigates systems more efficiently.
b.. Collective services provided through IL lens.
Relationships
Ø I dream SILC and CIL are thinking together, planning together to achieve a shared vision to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in Michigan;
Ø SILC and CIL have a common message to all statewide partners;
Ø Disability Agenda with partners serving from birth through 26;
Ø I dream that relationships support fully accessible communities for everyone;
Design:
If you adopt this dream statement what do you think will be the biggest impact on IL?
a.. Planning would be stronger
b.. Increased awareness about persons with disabilities and thus a greater level of IL achieved.
c.. External relationships (MRS, DHS, DOE, DCH, et. al) would be enhanced to the level where IL is valued.
d.. It will demand new relationships to capture an age demographic that represents a gap for IL.
What will IL look like if this dream came true?
a.. IL interwoven in to all aspects of policy making/ implementation environment.
b.. We (SILC & DNM) are gone because we are no longer needed.
What kind of things would you need to do to make this dream come true? What steps would you need to take?
a.. IL will be part of every IEP, i.e. an IL Coordinator in every school system
b.. IL curriculum at Universities.
c.. Influence Curriculum writers/ implementers to include Disability Rights Movement/ History.
d.. Concerted/ Joint Advocacy efforts. i.e. Advocacy Academy in every region. Awareness and Advocacy through social media and current communication channels
Watermelon
Fiscal Report
Michigan SILC Statement of Financial Activity
Fiscal Year
10/01/14 to 9/30/15
FY2014-2015 Compiled Financial Report
1st Quarter: 10/01/2014 - 9/30/2015
Budget Category Descriptions:
PERSONNEL: This category currently includes salary for 3 full time employees.
FRINGE BENEFITS: Are in accordance with the MiSILC Personal Handbook. Fringe benefits include employer taxes, workers compensation insurance, employee health, life, dental, long and short term disability and PTO which can be accrued. Longevity payments (retirement) is included in these calculations and are paid dependent upon availability of resources.
CONTRACTUAL: Costs associated with financial operations, Facilitation, any professional/legal costs, the annual SILC financial review and pass thru funding to Ed2.
OCCUPANCY: Includes office rent, insurance(s), and telephone.
GENERAL EXPENSES: Travel for staff and council members; Equipment (over $5,000), Office supplies.
Travel expenses using grant funds will not be reimbursed at rates grater the State Standard Premium/IRS rates, without the prior written consent of the grant administrator. Meals and overnight accommodations are covered as needed in accordance with state travel regulations. Reimbursement is for actual and necessary expenses and accommodations. Miscellaneous expenses (taxi, parking, bus shuttle toll charges etc) are reimbursable with submitted receipts.
EQUIPMENT: No tangible personal property with a useful life of one plus years and an accusation cost of $5,000 or more is planned.
PRINTED COMMUNICATIONS: Postage, Printing, Copier, Newsletter, Notices, etc.
3rd PARTY INFORMATION: Conferences/Seminars, Subscriptions, Dues (for staff and council members).
MISCELLANEOUS: Costs contained in this area include accommodations, alternative formats, partnership activities/meetings, Quarterly Council meeting and Semi Annual Committee of the Whole meeting (including council travel, hotel costs, meals, etc.
Green
Consent Agenda
Pink
Executive
Committee
MICHIGAN STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL
Meeting: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TELECONFERENCE MEETING
Date: January 13, 2015
Time: 5:33 p.m. - 7:33 p.m.
Present: Sara Grivetti, Rodney Craig (staff), Kellie Boyd, Lisa, Cook-Gordon, Michael Hamm, Gabriella Burman, Steven Locke, Tracy Brown (staff)
Excused:
Absent:
AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSSION ACTION
1. Approval of Agenda
· Call to Order.
· Roll Call.
· Agenda was reviewed.
· 12/18/14 notes were reviewed.
· Quorum determined.
· Motion by Lisa, 2nd by Michael to approve agenda as presented. Motion carried.
· Motion by Steven, 2nd by Michael to approve 12/18/14 notes as presented. Motion carried.
2. Finances
· December Statement of Financial Activity was reviewed.
· FY2015 Forecast was reviewed.
3. Corporation Status
· On-site audit was conducted has been completed.
· Rodney contacted the auditor to find out if the audit report would be finalized and presented to the MiSILC Board and at the Feb. 13th Council Meeting. He was not given a definitive completion date.
· MiSILC Board Status hasn’t changed. Michael emailed J. Victory was told at the current time he would remain on the board until the audit is complete.
·
4. Succession Planning
· Slate of officer nominations for Feb. 13th, 2015 Council meeting to be Sara ~ Chair, Lisa ~ Vice Chair, Gabriella ~ Secretary, Michael ~ Treasurer, Dominic ~ Member @ Large, Kellie ~ CIL Representative.
· Motion by Gabriella, 2nd by Steven to approve the slate of officer nominations to be presented to the Council on February 13, 2015. Motion carried.
5. Recruitment of new members
· Recruitment letter was sent out last month.
· SILC received five individuals that are interested in serving on the Council.
· Rodney spoke with the Governor’s office and we are on target to receive two new members and three re-appointed members at the Feb. 13, 2015 Council meeting.
· The Governor’s Office prefers the SILC Council identify potential new members and send recommendations to the Appointment’s Office for the vetting process.
· Action- It was requested that Gabriella work with the Recruitment Workgroup on establishing a draft process for recruitment.
6. CIL Representative voting status on Executive Committee
· Currently Kellie Boyd is a non-voting ex-officio member on the Executive Committee but is a voting member on the SILC Council.
· Rodney spoke with the Ohio SILC Executive Director and their CIL Representative is a full voting member of their Executive Committee and has been for a long time.
· Rodney posed the question of the CIL Rep as a voting member on the Executive Committee being out of compliance to Tim Beatty @ RSA.
· Tim forwarded the email to Kimball Gray who is our regional contact. Mr. Gray has not responded.
· Sara and Rodney will connect with Tim Beatty at the SILC Congress next week.
·
7. Agenda for February 13th SILC Council Meeting
· Rodney contacted the DD/Autism Council to present at Feb. Council Meeting, currently awaiting a response.
· Leamon Jones to present on the BSBP Older Blind IL Program.
· Audit presentation, if completed.
· Standard business.
· Staff to present programs that CACIL provides.
· Provide a recap of SILC Congress.
· Provide a recap of January webinar Transition to IL Administration.
· Present the Succession Planning recommendations.
· Tracy to prepare an Executive Committee recommendation Slate of Officers document for Council packet.
· Tracy to prepare draft agenda and send out to Executive Committee.
8. Review of DHS FOIA Policy
· DHS FOIA Policy is very straight forward.
· Rodney to write a draft SILC FOIA Policy and send it to the Executive Committee for approval prior to including it in the Feb. Council packet.
9. Staffing Discussion
· The Executive Committee met without SILC Staff the discussing future staffing of SILC, including information gained from the SILC/CIL strategic visioning session.
· The Executive Committee scheduled an in-person meeting for February 6th. Sara will obtain further information from Rodney regarding current staff positons and draft proposed job descriptions for review on the 6th.
10. Adjourn
Recorded by: Tracy Brown
Date: January 13, 2015
MICHIGAN STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL
Meeting: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TELECONFERENCE MEETING
Date: December 18, 2014
Time: 5:34 p.m. - 7:33 p.m.
Present: Sara Grivetti, Rodney Craig (staff), Kellie Boyd, Lisa, Cook-Gordon, Michael Hamm, Gabriella Burman, Tracy Brown (staff)
Excused: Steven Locke
Absent:
AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSSION ACTION
11. Approval of Agenda
· Call to Order.
· Roll Call.
· Agenda was reviewed, add FOIA Policy & CIL Representative as a voting member on the Executive Committee.
· 11/5/14 notes were previously reviewed, approved electronically and disseminated at 11/21/14 SILC Council Meeting.
· Quorum determined.
· Motion by Michael, 2nd by Gabriella to approve agenda. Motion carried.
12. Finances
· BSBP contract was signed last week. Will begin drawing down funds.
· Statement of Financial Activity was reviewed.
13. Corporation Status
· On-site audit was conducted 2 weeks ago.
· MiSILC Board Status hasn’t changed. Rodney was told J.Victory will remain until the Audit report is complete.
· Michael to contact J. Victory to discuss the status of his resignation.
14. Succession Planning & Executive Committee Terms & Election at February Council Meeting
· Officer positions on the Executive Committee change every 2 years.
· Next election will be held at the February 2015 SILC Council Quarterly Business Meeting.
· By May 2015 put together a nominating committee for future successors.
· Possible officer nominations – Sara ~ Chair, Lisa ~ Vice Chair, Gabriella ~ Secretary, Mike ~ Treasurer, Dominic ~ Member @ Large, CIL Rep ~ CIL Directors to vote on.
· Sara will contact Steve Locke about resigning from Vice Chair position.
15. Recruitment of new members
· Need to identify 3 new SILC members ASAP for Governor’s Office. Disability advocate, person with a disability and a Service Provider.
· Recruitment Committee developed an invitation letter.
·
· Tracy will send out the letter to the SILC Council and CIL Network Directors for dissemination to interested individuals.
16. Planning on inviting additional Councils to February Council Meeting
· Council’s to invite to future SILC Council meetings are DD Council, Inner-Agency Coordination Council and Autism Council.
·
· Rodney will contact the Autism Council for a presentation at the February 2015 SILC Council Quarterly Business Meeting.
17. SILC/CIL Strategic Visioning
· CIL/SILC Strategic Visioning document was reviewed.
· Recommendations from Nov. 20 & Nov. 21 SILC/CIL Strategic Visioning sessions. – Explore hiring a Systems Advocacy Manager to support joint efforts of the SILC/CILs (FTE), hire a Communications Coordinator to support the communications needs of SILC & DN/M (.5 FTE), forming a SPIL Writing Team at the February Council Meeting with representation from SILC and the CIL Network, create a process for the common message to be developed and shared with SILC and CIL Directors.
· Discussion.
· Proposed SPIL Writing Team members: Sara Grivetti, Steven Locke, Jim Moore, Joel Cooper, Wanda Travis, Lisa Cook-Gordon, Mia Smith or Dominic Dennis, Jim Whalen, Robin Bennett, Michael Hamm, and Rodney Craig.
· Need to have diversity around the state.
· Have a small group of SILC members and CIL Directors meet to discuss details, budget, along with job descriptions for Rodney, Tracy and proposed new positions to adjust and maximize everything we are trying to accomplish.
· Rodney and Sara will figure out the time commitment.
· Kellie to discuss with the CIL Network at their 12/19/14 meeting.
18. FOIA Policy – Next Steps
· It was suggested that SILC contact the Governor’s Office for their review of our draft FOIA Policy.
· DHS has a FOIA Policy that we could review.
· Rodney will review the DHS FOIA Policy. To discuss at the next Executive Committee Meeting.
19. CIL Representative to become a voting member of the SILC Executive Committee – Next Steps
· Currently Kellie Boyd is a non-voting ex-officio member on the Executive Committee but is a voting member on the SILC Council.
· It was suggested at the last Council meeting to contact the Governor’s Office on this matter but we fell that Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) would be a better resource as they would have jurisdiction on this matter.
· Rodney to contact Tim Beatty at RSA to discuss adding the CIL Rep as a voting member on the SILC Executive Committee.
20. Adjourn
Recorded by: Tracy Brown
Date: December 18, 2014
Ivory
Staff Operations
SILC QUARTERLY NARRATIVE REPORT
FY 14-16 Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC)
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES – Michigan Rehabilitation Services, MRS -14-99001
DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS – Bureau of Services for Blind Persons BSBP SILC 2014
The grants between the Department of Human Services/MRS, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs/ BSBP and Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) are to provide funds to support the resource plan prepared by the SILC in conjunction with MRS and BSBP to carry out the SILC’s requirements and purposes. The activities included with these grants constitute the core operations of the SILC in accord with Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act and Michigan Executive Order No. 2007-49. Funding supports a wide range of community and development services helping assure citizens with disabilities are contributors to Michigan’s society and allows for opportunities to develop additional joint projects.
Work Plan Commitments: 1st Quarter (10/1/2014 – 12/31/2014)
Section 1 - SILC will carry out the full array of Title VII statutory responsibilities for developing and implementing the state’s IL/CIL program:
PART 1 - SILC will monitor, review and evaluate the implementation of the State Plan for Independent Living in accordance with Section 7 of the SPIL.
1. Conduct two Committee of the Whole (COW) meetings each year in November & May to review and evaluate the current status of the SPIL, and make recommendations to the full Council at quarterly meeting.
o Performance indicators:
§ A committee of the whole meeting was held in November of 2014. Members of MRS, BSBP and the CIL Network participated in a facilitated FutureScape process to look at where Independent Living in Michigan is currently at and where it is headed in the future. Results of the meeting will be discussed at the February SILC Council meeting for purposes of SPIL planning and future SILC organization.
§ The Semi-Annual SPIL Report was complied and is available on the SILC Webs site at: http://misilc.org/state-plan-for-independent-living-progress-reports/ This report included service numbers and outcome data from the Michigan Statewide Database system.
§ All Meeting minutes were released within 8 working days of the SILC Council business meeting and are available on the SILC Web site at: http://misilc.org/council-meeting-materials/
2. SILC Staff will compile and submit required reports and necessary information for SILC Council meetings.
o Performance indicators:
§ The Part I 704 report was completed and submitted to RSA on December 30th.
§ SILC Meeting Packets and agenda were prepared and disseminated 10 days prior to the November meeting.
§ Draft minutes of the November meeting were released within eight working days.
§ All public comment received was maintained via on-line tracking system and is available for viewing at: http://misilc.org/state-plan-for-independent-living-public-input/
2. SILC will participate in and receive reports on formal reviews of Michigan's CILs conducted by RSA. The reports will be summarized upon receipt and provided to the next "committee of the whole" meeting. SILC will also participate, as an invited observer, of any MRS on-site reviews of CILs.
o Performance indicators:
§ There were no formal reviews conducted by RSA during the 1st quarter.
3. Participation in review of MRS grant proposals and annual grant evaluations.
o Performance Indicators:
§ SILC Staff provided data support as requested by MRS during the first quarter.
4. Input derived from various SILC Council work groups on the effectiveness of the SPIL and determination of necessary amendments along with engagement in a continual SPIL development process.
o Performance Indicators:
§ All public comment received was maintained via on-line tracking system and is available for viewing at: http://misilc.org/state-plan-for-independent-living-public-input/
§ The Council continues to engage in SPIL development though input from the November FutureScape event.
5. SILC will compile and submit the annual “State of Independent Living” Report for the Michigan Governor’s Office, Legislative branch, Designated Service Units (DSUs) and partners. SILC will ensure MRS is provided a copy for review no less than 10 working days prior to the report due date. (Feb. 28th, 2015)
o Performance indicator:
§ SILC is in collaboration with Disability Network Michigan on production of an annual report. This includes data numbers and necessary technical support.
6.Compile annual Statewide Consumer Satisfaction survey by producing a combined satisfaction rate via submitted survey results to the SILC. The Consumer Satisfaction survey rate will be shared with the Council and DSUs, placed into relevant Section 704 and utilized in SILC reports. Target reporting date will be the first Council meeting of the fiscal year (November).
o Performance indicator:
§ SILC Staff will be compiling the Consumer Satisfaction information during the 2nd quarter of FY 2015. It was not competed for the November council report in order to focus on the FutureScape process and compilation of results of the event. Draft satisfaction results well be presented during the May SPIL Review Council Meeting.
Part 2 - SILC will compile and submit the Annual 704 Performance Report
SILC will compile and submit the Annual 704 Performance Report and any other joint signatory reports.
1. SILC will ensure MRS is provided a final signature copy no less than five business days prior to the report due date.
o Performance indicator:
§ Coordinated submission of the 704 report including getting approval from DHS Director Corrigan, MRS Director, BSBP Director and SILC Chair
§ Report was submitted on December 29th.
Part 4 - SILC will conduct quarterly council meetings
SILC will conduct quarterly council meetings. (November, February, May, September) The meetings will be conducted with the following standards.
1. All meetings are open to the public and that sufficient advance notice is provided.
o Performance Indicators:
§ SILC conducted it’s November council meeting and ensured it was open to the public including the following:
· Provision of Call-In Number
· Posting of Time/Date of the meeting at the SILC office and web site
· Live Stream of CART was available via the Internet
2. Conduct all council business in compliance with the Open Meetings Act 1976 PA 267.
o Performance Indicator:
§ All Council business was conducted in compliance as applicable during the 1st quarter.
3. Minutes are available on-line at www.misilc.org
o Performance Indicator:
§ Draft minutes were on www.misilc.org within fourteen working days of the meeting.
4. Draft Agendas will be posted 8 days prior to the meeting
o Performance Indicator:
§ Agenda was posted 8 days prior to meeting
Part 5 - SILC will coordinate meetings as requested by DSUs.
SILC will host meetings as requested by the DSUs, Disability Network, CILs or Statewide Independent Living Services (SILS) partners.
5. SILC will coordinate and host meetings as requested regarding IL Services.
o Performance indicator:
§ SILC staff and Chair continued to have productive collaborative meetings with both DSU’s during the 1st quarter. Topics included:
· SILC Budget
· Independent Living guide program compliance
· Requested data support and analysis.
Section 2 - SILC will carry out its lead organization role in the 2014-2016 State Plan for Independent Living goals
SPIL Objective 3: Strong collaboration between VR and CILs to promote quality employment outcomes and independence for persons with disabilities.
1.SILC Responsibility:
a. Provide BSBP data by county to SILC to establish a baseline & increased referrals to CIL’s by BSBP staff.
· Performance indicator:
o SILC will incorporate 7-OB report data into the Statewide database system.
SPIL Objective 7: Unified statewide voice is built to educate State and Federal legislators, program officials, and the general public regarding disability issues.
1. SILC Responsibility:
a. Provide a variety of educational and informational opportunities annually to legislators, program officials, and the general public associated with programs and the needs assessment including documentation within the Statewide Database System.
· Performance Indicator:
o Silc staff continues to work with Disability Network Michigan on data collection and reporting. This included completion of a service dashboard for use by CIL Directors in determining current trends, data quality and monitoring of return on investment.
o SILC staff is working with a sub-group of the Disability Network Michigan Program Evaluation Leadership team to develop new ways to report the impact of Community Systems Advocacy efforts. SILC staff are incorporating necessary technical changes to the NetCil database in order record this information. This will allow for better communication with legislators and involved parties on the impact of those activites.
SPIL Objective 9: The Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council members will engage in activities to promote integration and full inclusion of children, youth and adults with disabilities in Michigan.
1. SILC Responsibility and Performance Indicators:
· The Transportation Workgroup will engage in discussions about how to improve transportation as a vehicle for providing access to employment and community. The workgroup will produce an annual report, including suggested improvements, presented on improving transportation.
o The Transportation Workgroup released it’s annual report and suggested improvements paper. Council member Robin Bennett will present it to the Michigan Transportation Council during March.
· The Children, Youth and Family Services Workgroup will identify issues affecting this population that need to be addressed to support full inclusion, assure needs are being met (health, education, employment, recreation, housing, transportation ) and develop linkages with statewide entities, state departments and the Council to discuss services that impact families, children, and youth and young adults. This workgroup will produce an annual report to the Council, including suggested improvements.
o The workgroup continues to meet and submitted changes to the SILC website to staff during the 1st quarter. Changes were made to the site to add additional links to information.
o The workgroup is also composing an electronic informational document.
· Convene a Michigan Disability Think Tank to engage in dialogue around current issues and future trends in the field of disabilities including but not limited to the following:
1. Identification and prioritization of topics for analysis starting with emergency preparedness.
2. Identification of Organizations and/or membership.
3. Production of white paper(s) on identified topic(s).
4. Maintain Common Disability Agenda.
a. The SILC Executive committee continues to meet on ways to ensure SILC has the capacity to complete these four requirements. The capacity needs will be a point of discussion at the February Council Meeting.
5. SILC website and social media presence is routinely updated. SILC Website traffic increases 10% and Bi-Monthly postings to SILC Facebook page.
a. SILC Continues to post three to four articles and relevant information to the SILC Facebook page with an increase in traffic during the quarter.
Section 3 - SILC will comply with additional responsibilities in the 2014-2016 State Plan for Independent Living
Part 1 - Specific SILC responsibilities in the SPIL
SPIL Section 1.5
SILC will host quarterly DSU meetings. (SPIL Section 1.5, Section 4)
o Performance Indicators:
§ Convene four DSU meetings during FY 2015 (SPIL Section 4).
· SILC Staff and Chair meet with both DSU’s individually during the 1st Quarter.
§ Development of a yearly meeting calendar by January 01, 2015.
· Calendar will be completed during the 2nd quarter.
§ Dissemination of meeting notes within ten working days of the meeting.
· There was no joint DSU meeting held during the 1st quarter.
§ Report on CFAL upload and SPIL implementation for presentation at each scheduled meeting.
· All contracted uploads were received
SPIL Section 5
SILC will ensure that all provisions of SPIL Section 5 are completed. These include.
1. Review with DSU and Council by May 30, 2015, the development of a SILC resource plan.
o Performance Indicator
§ Completion of SILC Resource plan review by June 30, 2015.
· No activity on FY 2016 resource plan during the 1st quarter.
§ Signed and implemented SILC resource plan for FY 2015/16 by August 30, 2015.
· No activity on FY 2016 resource plan during the 1st quarter.
2. Proper expenditure of funds and resources which are received under the resource plan.
o Performance Indicators:
§ Completion of quarterly report on fund expenditure to the Council at each meeting.
· Report completed and presented to the council. Material is available in the SILC Meeting Packet located at: http://misilc.org/council-meeting-materials/
§ Completion of monthly report on fund expenditure to MRS within 30 days of each month ending.
· Completed for each month of the 1st Quarter
§ Monthly fiscal reports provided to SILC Executive Committee members.
· Completed, reports provided to the Executive Committee via the SILC Treasurer
§ Provide an independent financial review within 180 day of year-end.
· In Process. The MiSILC Corporation undertook the process of an audit during the 1st quarter. Results of this audit are scheduled to be available during the 2nd quarter and presented during the February SILC Council Business Meeting.
3. Insure no agreements may compromise the independence of the Council.
o Performance Indicator:
§ Completion of annual review to ensure no agreements compromises the independence of the council by November 30, 2015.
· Review completed. Conflict of Interest statement updates are scheduled to be completed for each council member during the February Council Meeting.
4. Maintenance of an accurate Term Chart for SILC Council Members.
o Performance Indicator:
§ Annual review of the Term Chart in January 2015.
· The annual term chart was completed and is available. Communication with the Governor’s appointment office to fill the two vacant Council seats and ensure reappointment of three council members who’s terms expired December 31st. These appointments are scheduled to be in place prior to the February SILC Council Business meeting.
5. Proper supervision and evaluation of staff.
o Performance Indicators:
§ Annual Executive Director evaluation finalized by executive committee in November 2015 with evaluation summary reported to full council during the November business meeting.
· SILC is in the process of fact-finding and discussion on the best method to administratively staff the SILC office. Currently the SILC Executive Director is an Interim position.
§ Annual staff evaluation completed by Executive Director and reported during the February business meeting.
· On Target
Respectfully Submitted on behalf of the SILC Council by SILC Staff
Rodney Craig
Interim Executive Director
Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council
Rodney at misilc.org
SILC Staff Report Summary
The following is a brief overview of staff activates during the 1st Quarter of FY 2015. The information contained below is related to actions taken which are not parts of the quarterly grant reports submitted to Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP). The intent of this report is to give a more precise view of the travel, meeting and administrative work schedule of SILC staff.
· Conference Attendance:
o SILC Staff and Council Chair attended the Maro Recon Conference in September and staffed the SILC Display booth in the exhibitor’s hall.
o SILC Staff attended NCIL Webinar’s on Statewide Planning and Changes in SILCs due to the WOIA Act
o Informed a proposed presentation at the SILC Conference on the Michigan Outcome Model was accepted and will be presented at the January Conference in San Diego.
· Visits to Centers for Independent Living
o SILC Interim Executive Director visited six centers
§ Blue Water Center for Independent Living
§ Disability Network Wayne County/Detroit
§ Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living
§ Disability Network Mid-Michigan
§ Capital Area Center for Independent Living
· Committee Membership:
o SILC Interim Executive Director was involved with the following committee’s during the quarter.
§ Disability Network Program Evaluation
§ One MiSILC Corporation Meetings
§ Program Evaluation Sub-Committee on Community Activity data measurement
· Collaborative Efforts:
o SILC Staff attended public meetings
§ SILC Staff did not attend the BSBP advisory council meeting or the MCRS quarterly business meeting.
· The SILC Chair represents SILC with membership on the MCRS Council. Staff time and focus are better spent on other tasks since the Council is already represented.
o SILC Staff coordinated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide information on funds available due to flooding in Oakland and Wayne Counties. Information was posted on the MISILC Web site as well as representatives referred to Disability Network Wayne County/Detroit and Disability Network Oakland and Macomb.
· SILC Administration
o Submission of quarterly reports
o Planning process of cloud based IT Infrastructure improvement
o Completed budget forecast for FY 2015
o Received contract from BSBP
o Staff completed planning of booth coverage for the ReCon Conference in November
· Statewide Database Support
o Provided data support to MRS regarding data questions and verifications
o Completed six builds of the Statewide Database
o Assisted Disability Connections Capital Area Center for Independent Living to move over to a cloud based database.
o Provided data support to the Disability Network Independent Living Guide Program
o Started the process of automating the service dashboard in order to implement in the web based NetCil Enterprise reporting system.
The information provided is beyond the standard daily administrative needs of office operations.
Additional details related to the SILC work plan can be found in the 1st Quarter reports.
Peach
State Plan Information
SPIL Objective
Measurable Indicator
Year One Final Status:
Objective 1: Michigan’s CILs will operate in accordance with federal standards and assurances in section 725(b) and (c) of the Act; subparts F and G of 34 CFR 366; SPIL requirements; and state grant requirements.
1. Annual 704 reports accepted by RSA.
2. Quarterly grant reports accepted by MRS.
3. Monitoring Activities conducted by RSA and/or the DSU.
1. On Target - All Part I and Part II 704 Reports Completed
2. On Target - All quarterly grant reports accepted by MRS
3. There are no RSA monitoring activities during the transition of the IL program from RSA to the Administration on Community Living (ACL). SILC Staff, Chair and Vice Chair participated in SILC Congress and obtained information on WIOA Changes directly from RSA
Objective 2: Include the independent living and community-based needs of individuals with disabilities in the Michigan Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA) and develop a plan to address the needs identified.
1. The CSNA planning committee will include representation by MRS, BSBP, and SILC.
2. The CSNA will be designed to include the independent living and community-based needs of individuals with disabilities.
3. The CSNA will be conducted during FY 2014 by MRS contract with MI SU PE.
1. Completed
2. Completed
3. Completed – CSNA released
Objective 3: Strong collaboration between VR and CILs to promote quality employment outcomes and independence for persons with disabilities.
1. Increased referrals for MRS services from CILs, resulting in more rehabilitation closures.
2. Increased referrals for CIL core services provided to MRS and BSBP customers, resulting in improved coordination of services and increased employment and employment retention for MRS and BSBP customers. DN/M and BSBP will create, sign and implement mutually developed Memorandum of Understanding to outline coordination of services.
3. Develop education and awareness training with local CIL staff & BSBP staff at minimum annually. Provide BSBP data by county to SILC to establish a baseline & increased referrals to CIL’s by BSBP staff.
4. Create parameters in BSBP data collection system for tracking.
5. Annually determine and evaluate methods to maximize participation in the Personal Assistance Services for Employment Program (PASREP)
1. Baseline being established in FY 2015. 1st Quarter referrals data prepared for Disability Network Program Evaluation team for analysis.
2. Implemented data collection protocol.
3. MOU Signed
4. No Action
5. Data Available in full Quarterly reports Filed with MRS
Objective 4: Continue to develop relationships with the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) and the state Office of Services to the Aging to identify future needs & develop a formal referral process.
1. Annually, BSBP will coordinate informational meetings at the local AAA’s.
2. BSBP staff will follow through with the technology investment (Software: Zoomtext & JAWS; including set-up and initial training, large screen monitor, headphones, low vision keyboard) at the identified AAAs that have accessible technology on site.
3. Quarterly, BSBP Consumer Services Division will increase collaboration with the Office of Services to the Aging Michigan Association of AAAs both informally and formally.
1. BSBP Conducted Regional meetings with local AAA’s. Complete breakdown available in narrative report.
2. On the AAA’s where assistive technology is present, BSBP staff are checking on the equipment and documenting usage levels.
3. Bi-Annually BSBP is meeting with OSA and Quarterly meting with AAA Association.
Objective 5: Statewide outreach activities to blind or VI Native Americans are enhanced in order to provide IL services to the population.
1. In following the signed MOU with the Hannahville Indian Community VR program agreement, BSBP will collaborate with the tribal coordinator to identify and provide outreach to the various statewide local tribes.
2. Provide data to SILC regarding the number of Native Americans served by BSBP annually.
3. Affirm data collection is accurate in BSBP data system for IL program.
1. BSBP East/Central/West Regions all conducted activities with Native American Communities.
2. BSBP will provide data to SILC in it’s annual Federal RSA-7-0B Report
3. Completed
Objective 6: Finalize approved Policies & Procedures by BSBP
1. BSBP is working toward ensuring that all Bureau materials & website are accessible to the disability community including persons who are legally blind. BSBP is currently in the process of revising our policy and procedure manual with an anticipated 1st draft date of December 2013
BSBP continues to work to making all material accessible.
Objective 7: Unified statewide voice is built to educate State and Federal legislators, program officials, and the general public regarding disability issues.
Provide a variety of educational and informational opportunities annually to legislators, program officials, and the general public associated with programs and the needs assessment including documentation within the Statewide Database System.
On Target – Information received from NCIL at the SILC Congress on upcoming legislative activities.
DSU and SILC attended a January Webinar on WIOA implementation and conducted a strategic planning session after the webinar.
DN/M is developing their public policy position statements on Employment, Long-term Services and Supports and Transportation. They will be shared with legislators at the annual legislative day in May 2015.
SILCs transportation position paper is being shared with the Michigan Transportation Commission.
Objective 8: Michigan’s CILs, in collaboration with Michigan’s disability and aging service providers, will build a stronger partnership to enhance streamlined services that promotes access to quality health care and community living.
1. MDRC, MDCH, Medicaid MI Choice Waiver Agents, integrated Care Organizations and CILs will meet twice annually to discuss topics of mutual interest to enhance partnership. MDCH will host regional forums annually for CILs, integrated Care Organizations, and Medicaid MI Choice Waiver Agents to discuss enhancements to Michigan’s Nursing Facility Transition program.
2. Michigan’s CILs, Integrated Care Organizations, and Medicaid MI Choice Waiver Agents will transition 1,200 people out of nursing homes each year.
3.Michigan’s CIL staff will participate in monthly Nursing Facility Transition meetings done in collaboration with DN/M, MDRC and MDCH.
4.Michigan CILs are engaged in the development of local Aging and Disability Resource Collaboration partnerships.
5. Michigan SILS/CILs in coordination with Michigan Family Voices will continue to discuss issues impacting families of children and youth needing assistance in obtaining services.
1. On-Target – Bi Annual meetings are occurring and regional forums are occurring throughout the year. Also the CILS, MDCH and Medicaid Waiver Agents have developed a Quality Improvement Committee
2. On Target –In FY 2014 1,585 people transitioned from nursing homes and 150 people were diverted from nursing home placement. YTD FY 2015 reflect 417 transitions and 29 nursing home diversions since Oct. 1st, 2014.
3. Monthly meetings continue to occur.
4. On Target – ADRC Leadership meeting have been occurring Each CIL continues to be engaged in ADRC Program. As of November 2014, 15 of 16 ADRC’s are fully-functioning.
5. A joint brochure is being developed by SILC and DN/M to provide resources for families of children needing assistance in Michigan.
Objective 9: The Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council members will engage in activities to promote integration and full inclusion of children, youth and adults with disabilities in Michigan.
1. Service Delivery Workgroup
2. Transportation Workgroup
3. Children and Family Services Work Group
4. Convene a Michigan Disability think tank to engage in dialogue around current issues and future trends in the field of disabilities.
5. SILC website and social media presence is redeveloped and updated to increase accessibility and ease in securing Independent Living information by the redesign of SILC Website to improve traffic by 10% and Bi-Monthly postings to SILC Facebook page.
1. Report
2. Issued report, forwarded to DHS for inclusion in Legislative activities. Scheduled for presentation at the March Transportation Committee
3. Report
4. No Activity
5. On Target – Web Site updated. SILC Staff researches and completes Facebook posts several times per week.
Total amount of Objectives: 27
Year One Objectives that are on Target: 24
Year One SPIL Objectives with no action: 2
Year One SPIL Objectives with a baseline establishment: 1
Issue Brief: New Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities to Expect Better Quality Services and Outcomes
The Home and Community-Based Settings Rule Attempts to Usher In Long Overdue Higher Standards
Introduction
For nearly 35 years, the federal Medicaid program has given states the opportunity to provide services and supports outside of institutions to individuals with disabilities who would otherwise be eligible for institutional care. Despite the fact that entitlement to institutional care remains a feature of the modern-day Medicaid program, many state Medicaid agencies have reached a point where they serve far more people with disabilities in non-institutional services (called “home and community services” or “HCBS”) than are served in institutional settings[1]. Spending patterns have followed, despite the fact that the per-person cost of institutional care rises exponentially as states reduce the numbers of people served in these settings[2]. There is irrefutable and long-standing evidence demonstrating that, on the whole, serving individuals with disabilities in home and community based services and settings costs less than serving those same individuals in institutional settings.
While we know that most individuals with disabilities and those who care about them prefer services to be delivered in home and community-based settings, the development of this Medicaid-funded institutional alternative has not been without its problems. First, not all states have embraced this opportunity to serve people outside of institutions. Many research studies have shown the benefits for individuals with disabilities and cost savings for states, while federal law has also prohibited unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities in institutions since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. Unfortunately, home and community-based services continue to be optional for states to provide, and states that do establish these options are permitted to limit the programs and make otherwise eligible individuals wait for access to home and community-based services. As a result, some states still either rely heavily on institutional services or leave hundreds, sometimes thousands of individuals with disabilities waiting for home and community-based services.
For many years, disability advocates focused their energies on ending states’ reliance on institutional settings and ending waiting lists for home and community-based services. Access to home and community-based services was, and to some extent still is, viewed as the Holy Grail for people with significant disabilities who need support to live, work and participate in the world like the rest of us. As we have gotten closer to achieving this Holy Grail in many (although certainly not all) states, expectations are changing. The disconnect between the intent and reality within home and community-based services is becoming more stark. The lines between institutional and non-institutional supports are increasingly blurring. As a result, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began nearly five years ago to attempt to define acceptable settings where Medicaid home and community-based service funding should be used. After two public “Notices of Proposed Rule-Making” and receipt of more than 2,000 comments on the subject from external stakeholders around the country, CMS published its final rules outlining standards and expectations for home and community based service settings in January, 2014. These rules took effect March 17, 2014. States have five years to bring their HCBS programs for frail elders and people with disabilities into compliance with the new rules.
An Unprecedented Opportunity
The transition-to-compliance process that states are required to undertake represents an unprecedented opportunity for individuals with disabilities, their families and allies, to influence the way home and community-based services are provided – not just where they are provided but how they are provided, including what opportunities and experiences are consistently made available to individuals receiving the services. For the first time, federal regulations require states to seek and utilize public comments on their home and community-based services programs. This means that states must now make their applications to start, renew or change a Medicaid funded home and community-based services program, and their transition plans to come into compliance with the new home and community-based settings rule, available for public review before these are submitted to CMS for approval, and they will need to create a method for organizations, associations and individuals within the state to comment on each application and transition plan. Federal regulations now require states to review and incorporate public comment into the final applications and transition plans they submit to CMS for approval. The applications, once approved, typically govern the state’s operation of its home and community based services program for a period of five years.
Why the Rule Defining Acceptable Home and Community-Based Settings?
As HCBS programs have evolved across the country, the service options being paid for by these programs have come under criticism for not facilitating the primary goals of the programs: namely, true community inclusion, equality of opportunity, and participation in the mainstream of community life, including gainful employment in the mainstream workforce for people who are working-age. Unfortunately, many individuals with disabilities and their families have endured first-hand, or heard about, years or even decades-long waiting lists and institutional experiences. As a result, they are often relieved just to get enrollment in an HCBS program, and their expectations are not as high as they might otherwise be. Any service offered is likely viewed as something not to be turned down out of fear that no other options may be available. Consequently, service options that are immediately available and historically typical are the ones that many individuals with disabilities and their families come to expect and even sometimes ask for, generally out of a belief that there is probably nothing else available. Sometimes, case managers charged with writing service plans for people in HCBS programs tell individuals with disabilities and their families that the options are limited, and they recommend accepting the most common, readily available options simply because they are readily available. As a result, demand reflects supply, which only results in greater supply of what is traditionally available. The system struggles to innovate beyond the status quo. To a large extent, the “status quo” options are now coming under much greater scrutiny through CMS’s new home and community-based settings rule.
How Did HCBS Programs Get Off-Track?
While HCBS programs in many states may have left behind some of the characteristics of institutional models, one fundamental principle appears to have been carried over across the country. In the development of HCBS programs nationally, and in the most prevalent service delivery models used, the presumption has been that home and community-based services, like institutional services, need to substitute for community. Here are a few examples of how this principle has been put into practice in HCBS programs:
· Instead of supporting individuals with disabilities rent housing from ordinary landlords, we have created housing rented to individuals with disabilities by their HCBS service providers.
· Instead of supporting individuals with disabilities to secure employment with ordinary businesses, we have funded HCBS service providers to employ people in separate business locations owned and operated by these service providers.
· Instead of supporting individuals with disabilities to use typical community venues and programs for activities in which they wish to participate, we have funded service providers to establish separate locations where these activities are provided just for individuals with disabilities. A few examples include:
o Fitness rooms in separate day service facilities rather than supporting people to participate in the local Y, fitness club, or fitness classes held at a community venue.
o Art rooms in separate day service facilities rather than supporting people to participate in local art opportunities available to other community members.
o Bowling leagues established specifically for people with disabilities and held at times that other leagues are not scheduled, rather than supporting people to join existing bowling leagues.
· Instead of supporting individuals with disabilities to utilize public transportation or adopt other ways of travel typically used by people without disabilities living in the same area, we have funded HCBS service providers to purchase and operate separate transportation specifically for people with disabilities and specifically transporting people from their provider-owned homes to their jobs or daytime “activity programs” at provider-owned businesses or facilities.
In fact, as we examine the nature of home and community-based services at this time, we see the most common service models (to which most of HCBS funding is dedicated) are all based on an assumption that service providers will substitute for the community and will offer simulated community experiences that do not result in real community inclusion and involvement. Most notably, we routinely expect that service providers will be landlords and employers for the people they serve, rather than acting as facilitators and supporters of individuals with disabilities to rent from ordinary landlords and work for regular employers. While three or four decades ago, when we first began creating home and community-based services, this may have seemed like the only viable approach to deinstitutionalization; in retrospect, HCBS programs across the country have made this virtually their only approach. Consequently, we now see federal regulations, explicitly defining what HCBS programs are supposed to offer to people with disabilities, appearing over thirty years after the federal government created the Medicaid HCBS program.
Unfortunately, the greatest threat to positive progress that might otherwise result from these new regulations is the inertia within existing HCBS programs in our country. Inertia is indeed a fitting term, defined as the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion, including changes to its speed and direction. It is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity. While our home and community-based services systems are not “physical objects,” they are certainly pre-established systems that are now expected to change, evolve or at minimum adjust to the expectations outlined in the new regulations. Yet inertia may cause many states, and the service providers they utilize, to focus on the smallest degree of change that can meet the requirements: a sideways move; a minor adjustment in course; a slight deviation from what has been standard practice up to this point, or even more concerning – a simple redefinition or relabeling of the status quo with no actual meaningful positive change that will benefit the people with disabilities served.
In the face of this reality, it seems critically important to define the policy and practice that should underpin HCBS programs in this country. Regardless of whether we “get there” through the implementation of the new HCBS regulations, it’s vitally important we know what “there” is supposed to look like so we can avoid repeating the past and letting HCBS continue to develop in ways that are fundamentally in contradiction with its purpose.
Vision Is Needed: Innovative Service Models that Avoid Substitution for Community Need to be Highlighted
Starting with the basic premise that home and community-based services must substitute for community in the lives of people with disabilities, we have created what we have today: segregation and separation in people’s home and community-based experiences which has led to isolation of people with disabilities receiving HCBS services, despite their geographic and physical proximity to a community, its businesses, resources and people. By using publicly funded HCBS supports to substitute for community, our country gets no closer to mainstream employers, community groups, churches and neighbors embracing people with disabilities; we simply continue to engage the wider community for charity, often in the form of contributions to service provider organizations so they can:
· Build, buy or renovate more buildings that ultimately separate people with disabilities from the rest of their communities;
· Open more separate “programs,” further increasing the likelihood that “the community” will rarely encounter or engage with people with disabilities in any meaningful and on-going way;
· Maintain separate employment situations which preclude the need for meaningful efforts to assist individuals with disabilities to join the mainstream workforce; and
· Expand separate transportation systems, which eliminate the need to make mainstream public and private transportation accessible and available to people with disabilities.
What results is a society where people with disabilities are among us but still largely invisible and distinctly separate from the rest of the community. The vast majority of community members notice people with disabilities; but they do not know them.
How Could HCBS Reform Create a New Reality?
Many of the answers to this profoundly important question are already in front of us. In every state, without exception, there are HCBS providers who are acting as facilitators of community rather than substitutes for community. These support providers are builders - not of buildings or programs or transportation fleets - but of relationships, community access and community involvement. They do not talk about whether a person with a disability is a ‘good candidate’ for a community connected life; they do not create alternative programs for those who aren’t ‘good candidates’. They focus all of their energy and expertise on facilitating community for everyone they serve.
These providers rely on the same HCBS funding streams and administrative structures as other providers, and while we can and should still do much to improve the extent to which the existing HCBS funding streams and administrative structures truly support providers who approach their work in this way, the reality is that it can be done. Systems have typically labeled these service models as follows:
· Supported Living
· Supported Employment
· Integrated Community Supports
More recently, some states have also adopted labels like “Community Connector,” “Community Navigator” and “Community Access” for some service models that are exclusively focused on facilitating HCBS participants’ access to and use of generic community resources rather than creating separate, disability-specific programs that substitute for community resources in the lives of people with disabilities.
A sample of the provider agencies doing this work was profiled in a recent article[3] that demonstrated taking this approach is both possible and sustainable, while it does not end up costing more than the community substitution models that are most common today. Few would argue that the greatest single reason for the perpetuation and continued expansion of community substitution models, other than inertia, is the presumption of those administering HCBS funding that community connection models will inevitably cost more than community substitution models. As a partial result of that widely held belief, despite research to the contrary, is the strong culture in the current system which continues to encourage individuals, families and guardians to want and expect service models that are focused on community substitution rather than community connection.
If HCBS reform is going to occur, the new, federal settings regulations will likely be one impetus. Another impetus is clearly the US Department of Justice and its recent clarification of requirements for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Olmstead US Supreme Court decision.[4] Perhaps the greatest impetus for states will likely be the fact that the system cannot financially sustain itself for much longer while demand from eligible individuals with disabilities continues to grow. Perhaps the number one reason for seeking and expecting HCBS models that are focused on connecting people to their communities, rather than creating separate programs that substitute for community, is that natural supports can be sustained and expanded when people are supported to access, use, and participate in their communities. Separate housing, separate employment, separate activity programs and separate transportation eliminate the possibility of natural supports in people’s lives because people are surrounded only by paid staff and other recipients of these separate services. This is a profound reality that cannot be ignored.
For those administering public HCBS funding, the key question is this: What do you want to buy – what is your best investment of limited public dollars? Is it those services that leverage and maximize natural supports, supports from other generic community resources and programs, and other publicly funded systems? Or is it those services that envelop HCBS participants in HCBS services, creating no need for, and no pathway to, people utilizing and relying on other types of supports? When states recognize their best investment is HCBS models that promote community connections rather than create a substitute community experience for the individuals with disabilities served, they will begin to tackle the culture that so strongly encourages individuals, families and guardians to want and expect service models that are focused on community substitution. A critical first step in HCBS reform must be a redefinition and realignment of case management within HCBS programs, and a commitment to ensuring the ready availability of service models that focus on community connection rather than community substitution. While this is no small challenge for most states, it is increasingly becoming a lesser challenge than sustaining the status quo.
Yellow
Action Required Items
Old Business
New Business
CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
This policy is provided in support of Article IV of Section F of the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council Bylaws.
The Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) represents a wide diversity in disability characteristics. As a result, this Conflict of Interests policy has been created to facilitate successful discussion and decisions by Council members during Council and Committee proceedings.
SILC Council members have a duty to subordinate personal interests to the welfare of the SILC and those we represent. Conflicting interests can be financial, personal relationships, status or power.
Council members and employees are prohibited from receiving gifts, fees, loans, or favors from suppliers, contractors, consultants, or financial agencies, which obligate or induce the member or employee to compromise responsibilities to negotiate, inspect or audit, purchase or award contracts, with the best interest of the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council in mind.
Council members and employees are prohibited from knowingly disclosing information about SILC to those who do not have a need to know or whose interest may be adverse to SILC, either inside or outside SILC. Nor may Council members or employees in any way use such information to the detriment of SILC.
Council members or employees may not have a significant financial interest in any property which SILC purchases, or a direct or indirect interest in a supplier, contractor, consultant or other entity with which SILC does business.
Since it is not possible to write a policy that covers all potential conflicts, Council members and employees are expected to be alert for and voice situations which might be construed as conflicts of interests.
Any possible conflict of interests on the part of any Council member should be disclosed to the other Council members and made a matter of record, either through an annual procedure or when the interest becomes a matter of Council action.
Any Council member having a conflict of interest, possible conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest shall not vote or use his/her personal influence on the matter, and he/she shall not be counted as part of a quorum for that portion of the meeting. The minutes of the meeting will reflect that a disclosure was made, the abstention from voting and the quorum situation.
These restrictions should not be construed as preventing the Council member from briefly stating his/her position in the matter, nor from answering pertinent question of other Council members, since his or her knowledge could be of assistance to the deliberations.
This policy will be reviewed by the Council regularly and given to each new member for signature during orientation.
Re-affirmed 9/9/11
Re-affirmed 9/14/12
I have read the policy, and declare that I have no conflict/duality of interest.
Print Name:______________________________________________________________
Signature:_______________________________________________________________
I have read the policy and declare the following conflict(s) /duality(ies) of interest.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Print Name: __________________________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________________________________
Date:________________________________________________________________________
Executive Committee Recommendation
Slate of Officers
Chair Sara Grivetti
Vice Chair Lisa Cook-Gordon
Secretary Gabriella Burman
Treasurer Michael Hamm
Member @ Large Dominic Dennis
CIL Representative Kellie Boyd
Process by which the SILC sends applicants to the Governor’s Office for recruitment of new members:
1. Our letter of December 19, 2014 circulates (please find it attached). Rodney/Tracy/SILC members receive letters of inquiry. Those resumes are forwarded to the nominating committee (Gabriella, Dawn, Robin and Miranda). We as a committee review the resumes and determine whether or not to go forward with an interview. We send the following questions via email to each candidate:
Thank you for your interest in the Statewide Independent Living Council. We have received your letter of inquiry. As you know, an appointment by the governor to this council is an opportunity to help develop policy making and program implementation decisions around independent living with a group of like-minded concerned citizens from around the state.
As part of our information gathering process, we have a few questions for you!
Please tell me about your work or involvement in the disability sphere.
What does the concept of independent living mean to you?
How would you describe or envision an inclusive community?
What skill set would you bring to the SILC?
If you are familiar with the current Statewide Plan for Independent Living, what are your thoughts on it? Any goals or ideas or areas of improvement for the next SPIL?
Have you ever served on a Governor’s Council? If so, which one and describe your experience.
Why do you think you would be a good fit for the SILC Council?
· We review the answers, and determine as a group if it’s worth it to send this person’s information to the full council for a vote. We do this electronically between meetings so that we do not delay the process of sending applicants to the Governor’s office.
· Based on the vote of the full council, we either send the person’s name to the Governor’s office or we do not. The person either joins or does not join the SILC when we have vacancies.
INVITATION TO APPLY FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO THE
MICHIGAN STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL
We invite you to apply for an appointment by the Governor to the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC). SILC works across the state to promote a philosophy of independent living. This includes consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access, and individual and systems advocacy to maximize the leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity of people with disabilities. The Council promotes integration and full inclusion of people with disabilities into the mainstream of American society.
The SILC is charged with developing and monitoring the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). The SPIL establishes a blueprint for present and future independent living programs and services in Michigan.
SILC has an ambitious vision, reflected in our Mission Statement, “To create inclusive communities throughout the state for all Michigan citizens.” An appointment to this council is an opportunity to help develop policy making and program implementation decisions around independent living with a group of like-minded concerned citizens from around the state.
We believe that your passion as an advocate for people living with a disability, as well as your experience and skill set, would be valuable assets to the SILC. Council members attend approximately four (2-day) meetings per year. The appointment lasts for approximately three (3) years.
If interested, please contact Rodney Craig or Tracy Brown at #517-371-4872.
Thank you for your commitment to improving lives of persons with disabilities within the State of Michigan.
Regards,
The SILC Nominating Committee
417 Seymour, Suite 10 · Lansing, MI 48933 · 517-371-4872 · 517-371-4875 fax
http://www.misilc.org
DRAFT Freedom of Information Policy for Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council:
Proposed Effective Date: March 2015
Purpose:
To ensure Freedom of Information requests presented to the SILC Office are processed in a timely fashion under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
Procedure:
1. SILC will designate a Freedom of Information Officer to assist the public with requests for official records of the SILC. It is the responsibility of this officer to follow the Michigan Freedom of Information Act regarding time frames of the request, reasons for denial and any necessary costs.
2. Requests for SILC records pursuant to the Freedom of Information act must designate the record(s) with reasonable specificity.
3. SILC staff will maintain a written record of the date of all FOIA requests, the date they were completed and if they were not completed the reasons why.
Charges:
1. When minimum search time is required, there will be no charge for production of a requested document.
2. When extensive search time is required to provide the documents, charges are based upon the cost of lowed compensated employee.
3. SILC may require partial payment in advance. If such advance payment is required, the time allowed for response stops running until the requestor responds.
\
Lavender
Reports
February 2015 – SILC Meeting Update
Project Visions: Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation at the Hannahville Indian Community
Our 121 project’s annual report for FY2014 was submitted to RSA in January 2015. Hannahville’s Project Visions 2014 statistical outcomes are:
100 Total number of people served with an IPE
61 Number of people with IPEs developed in 2014
29 Successful employment closures – 17 full-time, 11 part-time, 1 self-employed
150% of our goal!
$309 Average wage per week at closure
20 People participating in 2 year post-secondary education
1 Person participating in a 4 year post-secondary degree program
23 People participating in a training program
15 People who were closed without an employment outcome
Two Project Visions client Success Stories are attached.
Project Visions and Three Fires Supportive Housing Partnership in 2014
Hannahville’s Three Fires Supportive Housing Program is a new and exciting initiative available to 121-TVR clients and others. This 13 one-bedroom apartment facility opened on April 17, 2014. Our 121-TVR staff, in conjunction with Behavior Health (substance abuse and mental health services), developed policies and procedures and operate this program for participants in this clean and sober living residential apartment building. Three Fires is a collaborative effort to assist people, who are in need of additional supports in their recovery and quest for social and economic independence. A key vehicle for change is the Individual Plan for Independence (IPI) for those who are currently homeless, ‘couch surfing’, returning from treatment or jail/prison, or otherwise without a home of their own. The IPI is designed similar to the VR – IPE. We anticipate that with the needed supports, provided in wraparound services, many participants will live substance free, gain skills, and become confident in their ability to live independently within approximately 1-2 years of move-in. Education and employment are two key components.
A more detailed description of the Three Fires Program is attached, as well as the progress of Joe, one of our TVR Clients and Three Fires participants.
Success Story 2014 – Joe
Joe is a 47 year old Native American man. He is a chronic alcoholic with an extensive criminal history due to substance abuse, resulting in a lifetime of incarcerations for mostly alcohol related crimes. When not incarcerated, Joe lives on our reservation. He has survived over the years, by doing seasonal odd jobs, such as working in the woods cutting firewood and brush.
Due to his patterns of chronic substance abuse, incarceration and unemployment, Joe was homeless. He belongs to a large family on the reservation, with several siblings, and children and grandchildren of his own. When not using, Joe is an engaging and likeable fellow. With no permanent home of his own, Joe survived homeless by “couch surfing” in the houses of family and friends. When he wore out his welcome, he would move on.
Last January, Joe made an amazing change in his life – deciding “on his own” to begin his journey toward sobriety. “On his own” Joe described as doing his treatment plan by his own volition, without the threat of criminal prosecution or prison if he were not successful. Throughout the past months, Joe slowly took the initiative to reach out to a variety of community services, and tribal providers responded by working together through wraparound to assist Joe achieve sobriety. For the first time, Joe successfully participated in Behavioral Health programs, including sessions with a Psychiatrist to target his substance abuse treatment and underlying mental health issues.
Although he was an unsuccessful TVR client in the past, having little follow through due to relapsing and returning to jail or prison, he again applied to Project Visions and began regular contact with me, his VR counselor. Together we worked on appropriate employment goals and Joe chose self-employment. He wanted to work with his hands in an outdoor setting. Additionally, his many legal background issues, lack of education and training, no drivers’ license, and poor work history, precluded his employment across most tribal departments and entities. Being his own boss and the ability to adjust his own work schedule to meet his treatment needs, were also advantages. Joe had been out of the “world of work” for quite some time.
Since Joe enjoys manual labor, is physically able, as does not want to be confined, he decided to begin a small business doing outdoor tasks such as lawn care and snow removal, and basic outdoor repair jobs, that would not be handled by our tribal Housing Department. Since he has no vehicle or license, Joe’s business would begin small and target tribal homes and buildings. A local market study showed a need for these services, at least to the extent that would meet Joe’s immediate and still minimal financial needs. Importantly, many tribal people are willing to give others a chance, especially when they are sober.
In April, Hannahville opened Three Fires Supportive Housing apartments (13 units) for clean and sober living. Joe was one of the first applicants and was accepted into the Three Fires Support Program. Three Fires is a new initiative developed by Project Visions TVR staff and Behavior Health (substance abuse and mental health) counselors. Three Fires is described in a separate and attached Success Story.
By moving into Three Fires, Joe had his own 1-bedroom apartment in a clean and sober facility, with additional supports for sobriety and independence. As a key component of the Three Fires Program, Joe developed an Individual Plan for Independence (IPI) with his counselors and Recovery Coach that provided for self- identified goals, such as participating in cultural activities and money management, and objectives and timelines to guide his quest for independence over the next several months.
Once living at Three Fires, Joe asked if he might assume responsibility for the grounds surrounding the building. Left in disarray by the construction and overgrown with brush and weeds, Joe had a project on his hands. He requested some basic lawn equipment and then organized other residents to provide manual labor. They tackled the yard work and landscape. This was a total self-motivated volunteer effort by the participants. Once the weeds were under control and the grounds presentable, Joe built a fire pit with benches, for use for both cultural ceremonies and enjoyment purposes. Four of the men assembled picnic tables, others cooked food and counselors and residents all celebrated with a well-earned picnic supper.
Joe is very appreciative for the collaborative efforts of the Tribal Behavioral Health and Vocational Rehabilitation Programs and our hard work to make this opportunity for clean and sober living a reality for himself and 12 other tribal members.
As the fall season approached, Joe and I worked to identify how to market his snow shoveling business, clearing walkways around tribal buildings and individual homes were his market. Since Joe had been now been sober for almost 10 months, his prospects for work were looking better, because everyone in our tribal community knew that Joe had been sober for the longest non-incarcerated period of his life, and that he is walking the walk and “looking good”. Joe’s future is very positive, although he daily struggles with his recovery. In this counselor’s opinion, Joe is a remarkable man with a TVR story of success, which is absolutely priceless.
Success Story 2014 – Paul
Paul’s Story
Paul is a 58-year old man with chronic low back pain who came to Project Visions after being terminated from his last job. Determined to regain employment, Paul loyally searched for openings, and discovered one at Marinette Marine as a Helper.
To pass the screening process at Marinette Marine, Paul had to pass a comprehensive exam involving college-level math. It had been years since Paul had a college-level math class, so Paul had to study for this exam, and had less than two weeks until the test. Driven to succeed, Paul came to the Visions Center everyday for the next two weeks. Staff members took time out of their day to assist Paul in his studying, which often took most of the day.
When the day for the exam came, Paul passed! His hard work and dedication had paid off. However, it had been quite a while since Paul had lost his previous job, and he had bills to pay. Unemployment had not come through yet, but we assisted Paul as much as possible. We were able to help Paul with gas, as his round trip to work was about two hours and 85 miles a day, five days a week. To his credit, Paul also found a carpool to work, which significantly helped him financially and ensured reliable transportation to and from work. Since Paul had his own vehicle, we helped with his insurance bill so Paul was able to legally drive to work when it was his turn to transport the carpool.
We were also able to assist Paul with needed safety equipment and supplies. Being a Helper at Marinette Marine, Paul was responsible for preventing fires caused by sparks from welding. As a result, Paul needed fire-proof clothes, safety glasses, and steel-toed boots. We aided Paul in purchasing these needed items, as well as prescription safety glasses to make Paul’s vision the best it could be at work.
Five months after applying to Visions, Paul is still employed at Marinette Marine and loves his job. He is able to have a sit/stand option to relieve his back pain. He will soon be over his 90 day probation period and will officially be a full-time employee with health care and other benefits.
Three Fires Supportive Housing Progarm:
A Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Partnership – September 2015
Many years ago, Hannahville owned and operated a halfway house/treatment center for substance abuse. It was named Three Fires, to honor the three tribes in the area. The program had many successes, but eventually the residential piece of the program was discontinued because it had become a financial liability to the tribe. A portion of the building remained home to our Behavioral Health Program for substance abuse and mental health treatment services. Eventually, our Behavioral Health Program also moved out of the building to a more centrally located space at our Health Center, and the Three Fires building sat empty for several years.
The Hannahville reservation has a housing shortage. Hannahville Housing Department rents homes to many families on the reservation, but there are more families than there are homes. Although more are built each year, it is never enough. Over time, we’ve seen an upward trend in the population of homeless people, particularly those who are struggling with substance abuse dependence. Often times, it is hard for people to sober up, get clean, and become employed because they are not living in a sober home and they do not have the proper support and stability in their life. They have been living with friends and family, surfing from one couch to the next. With the housing shortage, it also makes it difficult because if the person does want to move out on their own, there is no place to move to, especially for single people.
In 2013, Project Visions (Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation – TVR) staff took on the initiative to turn our Three Fires building into a 13-unit Supportive Housing apartment for one-bedroom, singly occupied and sober living program. Our plan was that participants in the Supportive Housing program would work toward a goal of independent living and employment, with the help of the Supportive Housing Team which included members from Project Visions, Behavioral Health Services, and Social Services. Each participant would have an Individual Plan for Independence (IPI) that would outline the services and programs they would participate in, much like a vocational rehabilitation (VR) Individual Plan for Employment (IPE). Many, if not all, of the participants would be clients of Project Visions, if eligible and interested, as employment is a main factor in gaining independence.
The tribe was very fortunate to have written for and received a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant for the remodeling of Three Fires building into 13 one bedroom apartments. The tribe’s good fortune continued with a grant from Enterprise Community Partners, Inc, (Columbia, MD), for services of a Supportive Housing expert to assist with policies and procedure development, and Team travel to visit current programs in MN. .The Supportive Housing Team (Project Visions and Behavioral Health staff) worked with the contracted expert on policies and procedures, house rules, operational guidelines, and a rent structure to ensure the successful programming for all of the participants.
The doors opened to Three Fires in April 2014. Our first seven participants moved in and six were already clients of Project Visions.
It has been an intense 6 months; exhilarating, exciting, disappointing and sometimes heartbreaking. In these first six months, 14 people entered the Three Fires Support Program and moved into the Three Fires apartments at various times, accepting residence into clean and sober living. There were 4 women and 10 men. Of these 14, all were eligible for Project Visions services. Thirteen of the 14 were served by Project Visions (Vocational Rehabilitation) and Behavior Health (Substance Abuse and/or Mental Health Services). Participants developed an Individual Plan for Independence (IPI) with goals, objectives and timelines. They subsequently participated in a variety of support services, targeted at their individual needs and circumstances.
In terms of outcomes related to their living in Supportive Housing, these are the results for our first 14 residents as of September 30, 2014. At this time the maximum time in residence was 5.5 months. Of the 14:
· 2 women made sufficient progress to become eligible for reunification with their children who were in out of home placement. Both women moved to residences with space for their children.
· 1 woman became hospitalized, was transferred to a hospital and then to hospice. Sadly, she passed.
· 1 woman relapsed, violated “House Rules”, failed to keep appointments and “work her IPI”. She was asked to leave the residence.
· 1 man moved in then chose to move out, then reapplied and returned.
· 9 men had continuous participation in the Three Fires Support Program.
Project Visons and Behavioral Health staff have worked extremely hard in their partnership to serve shared clients participating in the Three Fires Support Program and residing at the Three Fires clean and sober facility. We believe that the Supportive Housing model holds much promise to meet the substantial needs of tribal members with disabilities especially those experiencing significant substance abuse dependence, who choose to live a clean and sober life and accept the necessary supports. We hope to present our model to other TVR programs at CANAR in 2015.
For more information, contact:
Carol Bergquist, Ph.D.
906-723-2580, Carol.Bergquist at HICVisions.org
Or
Mia Smith, M.S.
906-723-2582
Mia.Smith at HICVisions.org
3490 Belle Chase Way Suite 110 Lansing, MI 48911
January 2015 Report to the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (MiSILC)
1 – Business Meeting - The Council conducted a business meeting at our office in Lansing on January 20, 2015. Members, staff, and partners were in attendance. The Agenda included the normal business activities of the Council as action items (i.e. business meeting minutes, financial statements, work team minutes, etc.). In addition, updates were provided from the BSBP Deputy Director and Training Center Director, as well as the State Director and a Division Director for MRS. There was no one present to make public comment. The following partner reports were highlighted: Client Assistance Program; MRS Hearings Officer; SILC; Michigan Alliance-Parent and Training Information; and the Hannahville Indian Community.
In the Fall of 2014, the MRS State Director requested the Council to conduct MRS customer focus groups around the state. In response, both members and BSBP and MRS staff engaged in a productive discussion about the planning for focus groups. The membership supports this project and the Chair created a short-term ad hoc work team to design a plan for implementation of some pilot groups within one community. The next business meeting takes place on Tuesday, March 17th, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at our office in Lansing.
2 - Work Teams - The Council’s advisory work teams continue their monthly meeting schedule and for January they met in-person just prior to the business meeting. The Customer Experience Work Team has continued to revise their Draft Dashboards containing data from both Designated State Units (DSUs - the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) and Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS)). The Executive Team has continued to manage the business of the Council, which included drafting comments on behalf of the membership and submitting them in response to MRS’ Promulgation of Rules. Regulatory Guidance Work Team Members have finalized the majority of content for the Council’s Annual Report. Once final data from both DSUs is received and reviewed, the Team will complete the draft Annual Report and submit it to the Governor and Rehabilitation Services Administration.
3 - Membership Vacancies - As of mid-December 2014, 3 members were reappointed and 2 new members, Edgar Benning of Clio and Zach Tomlinson of Clio were appointed by the Governor, resulting in the Council’s full constitution of its membership.
4 - MCRS Resource Plan/Budget/Contract with MARO - The Council’s FY 2015 budgets have been successfully implemented, with the end of the first quarter spending report in line with expectations.
5 - Partnering with BSBP - The MCRS has been involved with BSBP in the following activities, assuring that the customer voice is represented: scheduling in-progress for meetings with BSBP Administration to determine a partnership work plan and meetings to educate field managers and staff about the Council.
6 - Partnering with MRS - The MCRS has been involved with the following MRS activities, assuring that the customer voice is represented: Consultation with the DHS-MRS Administrative Hearings Coordinator, Consultation with the State Director, Idea Stream Team, Marketing Team, Meetings to discuss Customer Focus Groups, MRS Programs and Partners, and Public Hearing for Promulgation of Rules.
7 - Partner Activities - The MCRS was represented at the following activities: Michigan Rehabilitation Association (MRA), with the MCRS Executive Director (ED) serving as an MRA Board Member.
8 - National Initiatives –The MCRS Executive Director continues to serve as Chair of the National Coalition of State Rehabilitation Councils (NCSRC) Steering Committee (SC) and participates in monthly SC and bimonthly national teleconference calls. The Assistant Director continues to offer expertise and technical support through management of the website and list servs as supported by the MCRS.
9 - Office Suite Renovation - Staff wrapped up final details related to renovations of the office/meeting room spaces at the Lansing office location, including management of independent/commercial contractors, IT system support, signage vendors, and others who provided services for suite updates. The expanded meeting space continues to be available to DSU staff for meeting purposes.
Submitted,
Sara Grivetti
SILC Liaison to MCRS
Michigan Protection &Advocacy Service, Inc.
Employment Team Report
First Quarter
(October 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014)
The Employment Team at Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. (MPAS) provides information, referral and advocacy services to applicants, clients and others eligible for vocational rehabilitation programs funded under the Rehabilitation Act. We also provide training on our services and information to clients on their rights under the Rehabilitation Act and Title I of the ADA. Our funding streams to provide these services include the following grants: Client Assistance Program (CAP), Protection & Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT), and Protection & Advocacy for Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI).
Employment Team Staff: Brian Sabourin, Director of Employment Services, Elham Jahshan, Advocate; Charlie Rose, Advocate; and Leslie Mundt, Program Assistant.
Case Statistics:
Information & Referral Only
Closed Service Requests = 25
Case Level Services
Closed Service Requests = 20
Related to Michigan Rehabilitation Service (MRS) 19
Related to Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) 1
Related to Centers for Independent Living (CIL) 0
Problems Identified (MRS/BSBP/CIL):
Communication problems between counselor and individual
10
Related to IPE development and/or implementation.
1
Conflicts about services to be provided.
2
Related to application and/or eligibility process
7
Other issues related to Rehab. Act
0
Michigan Protection &Advocacy Service, Inc.
Employment Team Report
First Quarter FY 2014/15
Page 2
Primary Disability Reported by Individual (MRS/BSBP/CIL):
Hard of Hearing
1
Neurological Disorders/Impairments
Deafness
Ortho/Physical Impairments
4
Heart/Circulatory
Specific Learning Disabilities
Mental Illness
9
Substance Abuse
2
Mental Retardation
1
Brain Injury
1
Blindness
1
Auto Immune/HIV
Visual Impairment
Emotional Impairments
1
Autism
Respiratory
Speech Impairment
Genitourinary
Below is a breakdown, by office, of the case level calls we received during this quarter. Case level services would mean that someone from the Employment Team called MRS/BSBP/CIL to try to resolve a complaint. The numbers reported are only those that were closed during that quarter.
Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS)
Adrian
Detroit Porter
1
Mt. Pleasant
Alpena
Flint
Muskegon
1
Ann Arbor
Gaylord
Oak Park
2
Battle Creek
1
Grand Rapids
1
Pontiac
2
Bay City
Hamtramck
1
Port Huron
1
Benton Harbor
1
Holland
Roseville
Big Rapids
Jackson
Saginaw
Caro
Kalamazoo
Taylor
1
Clinton Township
2
Lansing
Traverse City
Detroit Fort
1
Livonia
Wayne
1
Detroit Grand River
2
Marquette
1
MCTI
Detroit Mack
Midland
Port Huron
Detroit Milwaukee
Monroe
Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP): 1 (Detroit)
Centers for Independent Living (CILs): 0
CAP Program Data from Fiscal Year 2014
Age
1. 21 and under 3
2. 22 – 40 26
3. 41 – 64 53
4. 65 and over 5
B. Gender
1. Females 38
2. Males 49
Race/ethnicity
1. Hispanic/Latino of any race 1
2. American Indian or Alaskan Native 1
3. Black or African American 48
5. White 33
6. Race/ethnicity unknown 4
Primary disabling condition of individuals served
1. Blindness (both eyes) 6
2. Other visual impairments 4
3. Hard of hearing 1
4. Orthopedic impairments 20
6. Mental illness 36
7. Substance abuse (alcohol or drugs) 3
8. Specific learning disabilities (SLD) 9
Types of individuals served (Multiple responses permitted.)
1. Applicants of VR Program 11
2. Clients of VR Program 74
3. Applicants or clients of IL Program 1
4. Applicants or clients of other programs and projects funded under the Act 1
Problem areas
1. Communication problems between individual and counselor 33
2. Conflict about services to be provided 39
3. Related to application/eligibility process 17
4. Related to IPE development/implementation 6
Results achieved for individuals
1. Controlling law/policy explained to individual 26
2. Application for services completed 3
3. Individual participated in evaluation 4
4. IPE developed/implemented 12
5. Communication re-established between individual and other party 15
6. Individual assigned to new counselor/office 1
7. Alternative resources identified for individual 2
Types of CAP services provided
1. Information/referral 4
2. Advisory/interpretational 28
3. Negotiation 27
4. Administrative/informal review 2
5. Alternative dispute resolution 2
Blue
For Your Information
SILC Council Roster Blue
ROBIN L. BENNETT (2017)
2105 N. Sheldon Street
Canton, MI 48187
PH: (734) 716-3122
Email: robynlynn86 at gmail.com
KELLIE BOYD (2015)
16645 15 Mile Road
Clinton Township, MI 48035
PH: (800) 284-2457
Email: kellie.boyd at misilccouncil.org
GABRIELLA N. BURMAN (2016)
13151 Winchester Avenue
Huntington Woods, MI 48070
PH: (248) 932-2930
Email: gnburman at gmail.com
LISA COOK-GORDON (2015)
225 W. Burns Line Road
Melvin, MI 48454
PH: (313) 408-3867
Email: lisacg at airadvantage.net
DOMINIC C. DENNIS (2016)
665 Brookton Road
Marquette, MI 49855
PH: (906) 273-0054
Email: ndennis at upsail.com
SARA GRIVETTI (2017)
3939 E. Old Pine Trail
Midland, MI 48642
PH: (989) 835-4041
Email: sara at dnmichigan.org
MIRANDA GRUNWELL (2015)
704 Idaho Ave.
Portage, MI 49024
PH: (269) 903-2089
Email: grunwellm at dnswm.org
MICHAEL J. HAMM (2016) Blue
3467 N. Walnut Avenue
Newaygo, MI 49349
PH: (231) 689-6750
Email: mhamm at ncats.net
STEVEN LOCKE (2016)
5691 Garfield Road
Auburn, MI 48611
PH: (989)835-4041
Email: locke at dnmm.org
REBECCA W. PARTEN (2017)
25316 Fairway Drive
Dearborn, MI 48124
PH: (313) 673-3508
Email: rparten at umich.edu
DAWN A. REAMER (2015)
23275 Merriman Road
New Boston, MI 48164
PH: (734) 624-7628
Email: dreamer23275 at yahoo.com
MIA L. SMITH (2016)
N15805 B-1 Road
Wilson, MI 49896
PH: (906) 280-8503
Email: mia.smith at hicvisions.org
STAFF:
RODNEY CRAIG, Acting Director
417 Seymour, Suite 10
Lansing, MI 48933
PH: (517) 371-4872
FAX: (517) 371-4875
Email: rodney at misilc.org
TRACY BROWN, Director of Operations
417 Seymour, Suite 10
Lansing, MI 48933
PH: (517) 371-4872
FAX: (517) 371-4875
Email: tracy at misilc.org
Blue
DISABILITY NETWORK/MICHIGAN
Last Updated: 12-26-14
ANN ARBOR CIL (AACIL)
DISABILITY CONNECTION WEST MICHIGAN (DCWM)
DN/OAKLAND & MACOMB (DNOM)
Caryolyn Grawi, President & CEO
Susan Cloutier-Myers, Executive Director
Kellie Boyd, Executive Director
3941 Research Park Drive
27 E. Clay Avenue
16645 15 Mile Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Muskegon, MI 49442
Clinton Township, MI 48035
(734) 971-0277 (Voice)
(231) 722-0088 (Voice)
(586) 268-4160 (Voice)
(734) 971-0310 (TDD)
(231) 722-0066 (Fax)
(800) 284-2457 (TTY)
(734) 971-0826 (Fax)
susanc at dcilmi.org
(586) 285-9942 (Fax)
carolyn at aacil.org
www.dcilmi.org
(800) 284-2457 (Toll Free)
www.aacil.org
kboyd at dnom.org
disABILITY CONNECTIONS (dC)
www.dnom.org
BLUE WATER CIL (BWCIL)
Lesia Pikaart , Executive Director
Jim Whalen, Executive Director
409 Linden Ave.
DN / WAYNE COUNTY-DETROIT (DN/WCD)
1042 Griswold St. Suite 2
Jackson, MI 49203
Rick Sides, Executive Director
Port Huron, MI 48060
(517) 782-6054 (Voice)
5555 Conner, Ste. 2224
(810) 987-9337 (Voice/TDD)
(517) 782-3118 (Fax)
Detroit, MI 48213
(810) 987-9548 (Fax)
lesia at disabilityconnect.org
313-923-1655 (Voice)
(800) 527-2167 (Toll Free)
www.disabilityconnect.org
313-923-1404 FAX
Jim.whalen at bwcil.org
rick at dnwayne.org
www.bwcil.org
DN / LAKESHORE (DN/L)
www.dnwayne.org
Todd Whiteman, Executive Director
CAPITAL AREA CIL (CACIL)
426 Century Lane
DISABILITY NETWORK/SOUTHWEST MI
Mark Pierce, Executive Director
Holland, MI 49423
Joel Cooper, President & CEO
2812 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
(616) 396-5326 (Voice)
517 E. Crosstown Parkway
Lansing, MI 48906
(616) 396-3220 (Fax)
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
(517) 999-2760 (Voice)
todd at dnlakeshore.org
(269) 345-1516 (Voice)
(517) 999-2727 (Fax)
www.dnlakeshore.org
(269) 345-0229 (FAX)
mpierce at cacil.org
(877) 674-5209 (Toll Free)
www.cacil.org
DN / MID-MICHIGAN (DN/MM)
cooperj at dnswm.org
David Emmel, Executive Director
www.dnswm.org
DISABILITY ADVOCATES
1705 S. Saginaw Road
OF KENT COUNTY (DAKC)
Midland, MI 48640
Dave Bulkowski, Executive Director
(989) 835-4041 (Voice)
SUPERIOR ALLIANCE FOR IL (SAIL)
3600 Camelot Dr., SE
(989) 835 8121 (Fax)
Sarah Peura, Interim Director
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
(989) 835-2295 (VM Direct)
1200 Wright St, Suite 3
(616) 949-1100 (Voice/TDD)
(800) 782-4160 (Toll Free)
Marquette, MI 49855
(616) 949-7865 (Fax)
emmel at dnmm.org
(906) 228-5744 (Voice)
Dave.b at dakc.us
www.dnmm.org
(906) 228-5573 (Fax)
www.dakc.us
(800) 379-7245 (Toll Free)
DN / NORTHERN MICHIGAN (DN/NM)
sarahp at upsail.com
Jim Moore, Executive Director
www.upsail.com
415 East Eighth Street
DISABILITY NETWORK/SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN (DNSM)
Traverse City, MI 49686
THE DISABILITY NETWORK (TDN)
Berrien/Cass
(231)922-2359 (Voice)
Michael Zelley, President & CEO
2900 Lakeview Ave
(231)922-2597 (Fax)
3600 S. Dort Highway, Suite 54
St Joseph, MI 49085
(866) 869-8600 (Toll Free)
Flint, MI 48507-2054
(269)985-0111 (voice)
jim at disabilitynetwork.net
(810) 742-1800 (Voice)
(269) 927-1821 (fax)
www.disabilitynetwork-nmi.org
(810) 742-7647 (TDD)
(810) 742-2400 (Fax)
(800) 232-6040 (Toll Free)
mikezelley at aol.com
www.disnetwork.org
PARTNERS
MI STATEWIDE IL COUNCIL
Michigan Department of Human Services
MI DISABILITY RIGHTS COALITION
Rodney Craig, Acting Director
MICHIGAN REHABILITATION SERVICES
Norman DeLisle, Jr., Executive Director
417 Seymour St, Suite 10
Tom Jones
3498 E. Lake Lansing Rd., Suite 100
Lansing, MI 48933
201 N. Washington Sq. 4th Floor
East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 371-4872 (Voice)
P.O. Box 30010
(517) 333-2477 (Voice)
(517) 371-4875 (Fax)
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 333-2677 (Fax)
(800) 808-7452 (Toll Free)
(517) 373-2398 (Direct)
1-800-760-4600 (Toll Free)
rodney at misilc.org
(517) 373-0565 (Fax)
norm.delisle at gmail.com
www.misilc.org
1-800-605-6722 (Customer Service)
www.copower.org
1-888-605-6722 (TTY)
Bureau of Services for Blind Persons
jonest at michigan.gov
Disability Network Michigan
Leamon Jones
Sara Grivetti, CEO
Director of Consumer Services
517 E. Crosstown Parkway
201 N. Washington, PO Box 30652
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
Lansing, MI 48909
(517)339-0539 (voice)
(517) 373-0579 (Voice)
www.dnmichigan.org
(517)335-5140 (Fax)
(800) 292-4200 (Toll Free)
JonesL2 at michigan.gov
http://www.michigan.gov.mcb
CIL SATELLITE OFFICES
BWCIL Huron County Branch Office
BWCIL Tuscola Branch Office
BWCIL Satellite Office
BWCIL Satellite Office
610 Woodworth
1184 Cleaver, Ste. 1000
Bad Axe, MI 48413
Caro, MI 48723
(989) 269-5421 (Voice)
(517) 673-3678 (Voice)
(989) 772-0442 (TF/TDD)
(888) 673-8006 (TF/TDD)
(989) 269-5422 (FAX)
tuscola at bwcil.org
huron at bwcil.org
Monroe Center for Independent Living
BWCIL Veteran Affairs
AACIL Satellite Office
BWCIL Lapeer County Branch Office
BWCIL Satellite Office
40 N. Roessler St.
BWCIL Satellite Office
2770 Park
Monroe, MI 48161
392 Nepessing
Detroit, MI 48201
(734) 242-5919 (Phone)
Lapeer, MI 48446
(313) 833-1866 (Voice)
(734) 242-7129 (Fax)
(810) 664-9098 (Voice)
(313) 833-4296 (FAX)
lindam at aacil.org
(810) 401-4448 (TF/TDD)
ray at dnwayne.org
(810) 664-0937 (FAX)
lapeer at bwcil.org
DCCIL Newaygo Satellite Office
Newaygo County Office
BWCIL Sanilac County Office
4424 W. 48th Street, P.O. Box B
BWCIL Satellite Office
Fremont, MI 48412
103 E. Sanilac, Ste. 3
(231) 924-7618 (Voice)
Sandusky, MI 48471
AdaL at dcilmi.org
(810) 648-2555 (Voice/TDD)
(800) 877-7522 (Toll Free)
(810) 6642583 (FAX)
sanilac at bwcil.org
ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS Blue
The disabilities arena is a literal “alphabet soup” of acronyms and abbreviations. Since not everyone commonly uses these shorthand references, the acronyms used in the State Plan for Independent Living are given below:
AAA Area Agencies on Aging
AACIL Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living
AAPD American Association of People with Disabilities
ACMI Advisory Council on Mental Illness
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
ALD Assisted Listening Device
APRIL Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living
ARC The Arc of Michigan
ASILC Association of Statewide Independent Living Councils
AT Assistive Technology
BIA Brain Injury Association
BSBP Bureau of Services for Blind Persons
BWCIL Blue Water Center for Independent Living (Port Huron)
CACIL Capital Area Center for Independent Living (Lansing)
CAP Client Assistance Program
Blue
CAUSE Citizens Alliance to Uphold Special Education
CCL Connections for Community Leadership
CDA Common Disability Agenda
CFAL CFAL (CIL statewide database program)
CIC Consumer Involvement Council
CIL Center for Independent Living
CMH Community Mental Health
COLA Cost-of-Living Allowance
CONNECT College Organizations Networking Now Each Creating Ties
CSAVR Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation
DAKC Disability Advocates of Kent County (Grand Rapids)
dC or dAC disAbility Connections (Jackson)
DC Disability Connection CIL (Muskegon)
DCH Department of Community Health
DDC Developmental Disabilities Council
DHS Department of Human Services
DN/L Disability Network/Lakeshore (Holland)
Blue
DN/M Disability Network/Michigan
DN/MM Disability Network/Mid-Michigan (Midland)
DN/NM Disability Network/Northern Michigan (formerly Northern Michigan Alliance for Independent Living - NMAIL) (Traverse City)
DN/OM Disability Network/Oakland & Macomb (Clinton Township)
DN/WC-D Disability Network/Wayne County-Detroit (Detroit)
DOC Department of Corrections
DOD Division of Deafness (federal)
DODHH Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Michigan)
DRC DISABILITY Resource Center Southwest Michigan (Kalamazoo)
DSU Designated State Unit (MRS & BSBP)
DV Disability Voice
EAG Educational Advisory Group
FTW Freedom to Work for Individuals with Disabilities Act
FY Fiscal Year
GREEN Grassroots Education and Empowerment Network
HAVA Help America Vote Act
HOH Hard of Hearing
Blue
I & E Grants Innovation & Expansion Grants
I & R Information and Referral
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IEP Individualized Education Plan
IEPC Individualized Educational Planning Committee
IL Independent Living
IPE Individualized Plan for Employment
ISD Intermediate School District
LTC Long-Term Care
MARO MARO Employment and Training Association
MCDC Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns
MCRS Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services
MCTI Michigan Career & Technical Institute
MDCH Michigan Department of Community Health
MDE Michigan Department of Education
MDELEG Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth
MDOT Michigan Department of Transportation
Blue
MDRC Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
MHIA Michigan Head Injury Alliance
MIG Michigan Infrastructure Grant
MiSILC Michigan Statewide Independent Living Corporation
MPAS Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc.
MRS Michigan Rehabilitation Services
MSHDA Michigan State Housing Development Authority
MWA Michigan Works! Association
NCD National Council on Disability
NCIL National Council on Independent Living
NFBM National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
NIDRR National Institute of Disability & Rehabilitation Research
NOD National Organization on Disability
OIB Older Individuals who are Blind
OSA Office of Services to the Aging
OSEP Office of Special Education Programs
OSERS Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services
Blue
P&A Protection & Advocacy Services
PAS Personal Assistance Services
PASREP Personal Assistance Services Reimbursement for Employment Program
PSA Public Service Announcements
QIT Quality Improvement Team
RFP Request for Proposals
RICC Regional Interagency Coordination Council
RSA Rehabilitation Services Administration
SAIL Superior Alliance for Independent Living (Marquette)
SEAC Special Education Advisory Council
SDA Service Delivery Areas
SILC Statewide Independent Living Council
SILS State Independent Living Services
SPIL State Plan for Independent Living
SRC State Rehabilitation Council
TA Technical Assistance
TDN The Disability Network (Flint)
Blue
UCP United Cerebral Palsy
VIVA Visually Impaired Volunteer Assistants
WIA Workforce Investment Act
YES Youth Employment Summit
YLF Youth Leadership Forum
Grey
Public
Comment
Joe Harts, advocate.
There is a whole lot to go over in five minutes.
One, I notice that the Americans with Disabilities Act is on the agenda and in celebration there isn't a single, a single state entity federally funded for a single Center for Independent Living and I found that policy let alone includes people.
Everybody knows I've got issues with access to information and so do all blind people throughout the entire system.
This goes to SPIL as well, when I see comments, you know, that cap information is supplied, in accessible formats and the four accessible formats are Braille, audio, large print and electronic and that is accomplished and yet from my Center for Independent Living or from the Bureau of Blind Services or from capit self, we do not get that information.
This should be in every office, every one.
Period.
That's the law.
That's a civil right.
Then I see the executive 2014-1 and they talk about it at the end or we are working on making all information accessible throughout all state entities including BSBP, including DHS, including all these state entities.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was supposed to be accomplished 25 years ago under the ADA and 40 years ago under section 504.
People particularly my population are barred from access to everything.
That is documented.
I've sent this out to the chair.
I've sent this out to the SILC; I sent this out to everybody.
First order of business is thou shall not discriminate against people with disabilities and yet we see that happening all the time, including on a management and information related to our systems.
I've written and I've requested from DHS the board certification of the disability network and other accompanied information here up front.
That has not been provided.
I get on a merry go around about public operations and expenditures and the Federal funds.
I -- we have 150,000 people who are legally blind in this state, alone.
They do not have access to these very important independent living and other services.
I don't get them.
The elephants in the room, ladies and gentlemen.
And it's documented, it's system wide.
What the first order of business about the SILC and of each CIL and everything else is to provide systems and individual advocacy.
And that is to garner our civil rights.
We are supposed to be at the table, we are supposed to be included, we don't even get in the front door.
I can't repeat the mantra any more except for that is a mass scale violation of civil rights of an entire population.
Civil rights that are hard fought for.
Civil rights, ladies and gentlemen, are not chopped liver.
We are not agencies.
We are people with disabilities speaking for ourselves and being empowered for ourselves and we are not allowed through the front door.
That's insidious and goes against everything Holy in an independent living movement and I think you will see some comments from Darma Canter related to that and I hope they are read into the public record.
The other thing related to the open meetings act, madam chair and what not is that a final agency determination must be held on a vote of what people did.
I thank you for trying to address that issue and I thank you personally for trying to give me some information and accessible form.
But, and there is a but and you probably knew it was coming, we need to hold everybody accountable for the civil rights of people with disabilities across the board and we need to hold ourselves and our individual office accountable.
The other thing that has not been addressed and I have written a gazillion times.
>> Rodney: Time is up.
>> Joe: 704 B saying through the record we have 200,000 more last year and we served 60% less roughly.
No explanation of that.
Joe Harcz, anybody saw the movie it's a mad, mad, mad world where seizure is in bed with his mistress and the wife are staying in the motel room and Sid goes hey who are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?
And this goes to public comment made earlier in the responses, A, BSBP does not remit information proforma and upon request to clients in accessible format all the way through the process.
It is a lie.
It's a documented lie, ladies and gentlemen.
They even admit to it in their so-called consumer satisfaction report.
B, as regards to Mr. Sabourin question I Joe Hartz of the National Federation of the Blind to distribute all of these cap documents from related to cap activity and the four ultimate formats at our state convection in October and I have yet to receive those.
C look at your own centers for independent living, do you have all this information in accessible format, period?
Let alone upon request, do you have it there in your offices?
D, you're going to be holding an event at the state capitol to celebrate the ADA, do you know the state capitol is in substantial violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act like most facilities in the state are?
And on one account alone it does not have raised character and signage on every permanent room according to ADAX or new uniform accessibilities or the new standards that have come out.
That's a fact, ladies and gentlemen and as a matter of fact it's not in most MRS offices and throughout the building and I mean every room the sight of people have access to low vision and blind people are supposed to have access to.
Something as simple as a room number plus there are major compliance issues and every one of these state facilities that were supposedly taken care of years ago.
Years ago.
That is still accessible to wheelchair users.
My God, people, we talk about the accessibility and we talk about having that as a goal and in these very institutions are not accessible.
Fooling 100%, totally, we also have heard again you know about this new Governor's directive, where does it say at the bottom?
It talks about we are going to work on a long-term strategy for things that are supposed to have been done years ago.
We say our websites are accessible.
Oh, really, I can tell you, you know, that there are tens of thousands of patients upon State of Michigan websites including related to people with disabilities that are not accessible, one case in point I went up yesterday to the LARA barrier free compliance design board, you know, and their public meeting package everything were image based filed and not accessible and say call this number XYZ you know to get things accessible.
You call them up, they don't know what you're talking about and get around the merry go round.
Then we go to the provision of due process and what not and information and referral from clients systems program and we don't get any complaints against centers for independent living but wait a minute when people like Joe Hartz call up or other people call up or they give you information and referral and they refer you right back to the person that is perpetrating.
That is madness, my ladies and gentlemen.
There is no due process here.
And there is no, no and I repeat no compliance with Federal civil rights laws.
And by the way every agency here is not simply being represented, all the CILs, everybody else, their recipients are copious Federal funds and 504 is at play, we are private nonprofit, no, you would not exist without the Federal funding.
>> Your time is up.
>> 504 are civil rights laws.
>> Joe your time is up.
>> Thank you.
Since the last MiSILC meeting, I read the Rehab Act and accompanying Federal Regs, the MI SPIL, the State survey, the 2013 SPIL Report, the SILC by-laws, and reviewed in detail some of the local CILs' 704 Reports. As a citizen and taxpayer, I am stunned by the hundreds of thousands of public dollars spent locally with so little actual change in the lives of people with disabilities, and as a member of the disability community I am offended on behalf of the founders of the IL movement about the lack of passion or commitment to change. I am sorry to be so blunt.
In the first twenty years of the IL movement, an empowered disability community re-envisioned the Rehab Act, passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and disability rights laws in many states, including Michigan. This was twenty years before funding for a national Center for Independent Living program.
Impressive as that is; it's not the most important accomplishment. The IL movement was to revolutionize the way people with disabilities are viewed in society and the way people with disabilities view themselves.
How did that happen? They changed the language we use to describe the disability experience.
Naming, describing yourself and your community with respect and pride is the first act of empowerment.
My review of CIL web sites looks like the language of the IL movement has been largely abandoned. People First terms; Americans with disabilities, students with disabilities, employees with disabilities, was the language that replaced handicapped, feeble-minded, wheelchair bound, victim, and sufferer. I know “access for all” is supposed include me but historically it hasn't. IL is for and about the power of disability identity.
Let's think through some other words that are disappearing from CIL public image. Do you really want to disconnect from your history?
Consumer: Decision maker, an individual with a disability who makes decisions about the products and services he/she uses. Consumer implies a paradigm shift; it is a word of power.
Disability Community: An identifiable political entity, individuals with disabilities, often segregated, actually belong to a community of power and dignity with a history and culture that empowers them.
The first principle of IL is Consumer Control: 1. The inherent human right to make one's own life choices, 2. The right to represent one's own interest, to be self-determined, 3. Services are delivered by and for consumers.
Community-based: (Not a reference to geography) 1. The practice of people with a problem collectively defining the problem and designing the solution as a process they own, 2. Power and authority is vested in the people to set goals, advocate for systems change, and evaluate their strategies.
Peer Support: Interactions of individuals who have a shared experience, 2. Relationship between individuals of equal power, 3. In a peer relationship, the mentor and mentee can switch roles, each contributing to the others wellbeing.
CILs are not simply charitable non-profits. I think the founders would be offended to have CILs described as charities. Centers for Independent Living were meant to be training camps for proud systems advocacy and, unlike other agencies, Centers and the people they serve are one and the same.
The IL movement was created by young people with disabilities; their role models were the civil rights activist of the time, other young people who didn't feel obligated to follow the government off to war, advocates who wanted to know what was being added to food, and radical women who wanted equal pay for equal work. And just like those other political movements, the Independent Living Movement has changed social context for people with disabilities. Also, like the other movements, the bulk of the work is still ahead of us.
Do I have any right to hold you, the MiSILC, accountable for the status of the IL movement in Michigan? You as individuals are probably not responsible for the half-hearted, ineffectual state of the Michigan CILs, but I'm pretty confident that any significant change in the system will have to start here with you.
In the last business meeting Sara stated the changes in WIOA contain, “more of an emphasis on consumer input through public forums”, Steve addressed “the challenge…. Getting information from a grass roots level” and reminded us “this Council was created for consumer control for Federal funds that flow into this State”. Joel stated “again, the value of the plan… is only there if there is engagement from a larger number of folks across all 83 counties in Michigan”, and Gabrielle suggested “consumers from every market, invite them to the November meeting and let's hear from them, let's have our own forum, community education events that partner agencies or CIL are hosting in the next month or two”. Council members are interested in conversations about broader involvement of disability community, more training on the history and philosophy of IL advocacy, and yet you had a closed strategic planning meeting on Thursday. Who are the decision makers here? Is there Consumer Control at the MiSILC?
I strongly encourage you to create opportunities for cross-disability dialogue across the state. And I'm looking forward to my invitation.
And signed by Dawn Canter.
Michigan SILC receives state and federal funding granted through DHS/Michigan Rehabilitation Services and Bureau of Services for Blind Persons.
No official endorsement of information contained in this publication is intended or should be inferred.
Alternative formats are available on request.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] As of 2012, the UCP Case for Inclusion website reports that 89.3% of people with ID/DD served by states are served in Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). See: http://cfi2014.ucp.org/data/
[2] As of 2012, the UCP Case for Inclusion website reports that 86.1% of spending on people with ID/DD is spending on non-institutional services. See: http://cfi2014.ucp.org/data/
[3] See http://spechome.sharevision.ca/OISD/ParticipantReadings/Agency_Transformation.pdf for article entitled “Some lessons concerning agency transformation toward personalized services” by Michael Kendrick published in the International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 5: Issue 1; March, 2009.
[4] See http://www.ada.gov/olmstead/q&a_olmstead.htm for June, 2011 Statement of the Department of Justice on Enforcement of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C.
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