1:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. (EDT) Allison Cruz-Mitchell, Deputy Dir. Programs. Chip Koval Gayle Miller

Transcription

1 Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc. Community Living & Service Coordination Task Force Task Force Meeting Minutes April 23, 2009 April 24, :00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. (EDT) Members Present: Phil Stevens, CL/SC Chair Steve Howells (via conference call) Shirley Kervin Mac McCoy (for Jim DeBeaugrine) Casey Stewart Marc Tasse Ernest Smith Staff: Latarsha Williams, Program Manager Vanda Bowman, Staff Assistant Allison Cruz-Mitchell, Deputy Dir. Programs Debra Dowds, Executive Director Absent: Michael Smith Chip Koval Gayle Miller Guests: Doreen Stewart AJ Hill I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1:15 p.m. by the task force chair, Phil Stevens. Quorum was established. Introductions were made by all present. II. Review of Minutes: The task force members reviewed the minutes from all task force meetings and conference calls conducted during the last quarter. It was moved (Shirley Kervin) and seconded (Steve Howells) to approve the task force minutes for the January 29-30, 2009 meeting with edits. The motion carried unanimously. It was moved (Shirley Kervin) and seconded (Steve Howells) to approve the minutes for the March 18, 2009 conference call as presented. The motion carried unanimously. III. Budget Review Latarsha Williams provided a verbal report on the status of the current budget to the task force members. She passed out a copy of the updated budget to the members along with a budget forecast developed by staff. To date, the task force is in compliance of meeting internal guidelines for the obligation and liquidation of task force funds

2 IV. Program Manager s Report: Your Life, Your Way Guide & Disaster Guide Update: Ms. Williams provided a verbal report on the status of the distribution of each guide. To date, approximately two hundred ninety-four (294) copies of the Your Life, Your Way guide have been distributed. Approximately, one thousand eighty (1,080) copies of the Disaster Ready guides have been distributed. She further indicated that the Council plans to partner with Volunteer Florida to release a press conference announcing the availability of the disaster guide in time for the beginning of the 2009 Hurricane Season. CDC Plus Guide Update: Ms. Williams reported that the CDC Plus guide has been printed and all copies sent to sent to the Agency for Persons w/ Disabilities (APD). In addition, the invoice for the printing job has been paid and this project can now be considered successfully completed. Standardized Marketing/Distribution Plan: Mr. Phil Stevens indicated that he would like to have some type of standardized marketing or distribution plan developed for all Council publications. A discussion was held regarding the need to develop a standard plan. It was decided that the task force would ask the Council s Communication Committee to develop a standard distribution list and plan. The followings is a list of questions of that the task force would like for the Committee to address. What media do we send things to? Who do we send items to (target items)? How should we distribute hard copies, electronic copies? What are the standard state/federal/local agencies that we send materials to? Are there any special groups that we should add to our distribution list? Transportation Guide Update: Ms. Williams provided a verbal overview of the status of this project to the task force. The provider is close to completing the final draft and it is anticipated that hard copies of the guide will be sent to the Council by the middle of June Doreen Stewart indicated that she would like to have the document on the Council s website in a manner that would allow users to be able to only download information about their area of the state. It was suggested that each section be placed on the web for easy access by county. Self Advocacy Grassroots Project Update: A discussion was held by the task force members regarding the funding source of the self advocacy project. The issue was whether or not the CL/SC Task Force should ask the Council s other task forces to contribute funds to this project. Although a formal vote wasn t taken, it was decided that the task force would continue the responsibility of funding the Council s self advocacy project

3 Ms. Williams then reported that during the last quarter, the self advocacy deliverable #2 was received on Feb 20, 2009 and was reviewed and approved. She conducted the required Contract Midterm Review with the provider on April 7, Deliverable #3 was received on April 17, 2009 and review is pending. The Project Staff attended the March Council Meeting and presented the project to the full Council. In addition, staff facilitated a Self Advocacy Training Institute and two new groups were trained (West Palm & Sarasota). Lastly, staff then traveled to Tallahassee and presented the project during the Council s DD Day Dinner and also assisted self advocates to advocate/educate legislators during DD Day. Update on the Transportation Feasibility Study: Ms. Williams provided a brief overview of the status of the project to the members. The first advisory committee meeting was held on March 5, 2009 in Tallahassee. The first deliverable was received on March 25, 2009 and final approval is pending. The second deliverable is due on May 29, Mr. Steve Howells, project monitor, provided additional comments regarding the review of the first deliverable and the make up of the advisory committee. He expressed concerns on making sure that the providers remain unbiased in their research approach. Update on the Guardianship Training Project: Ms. Williams gave a verbal report to the task force members regarding the status of the project. She indicated that she conducted the required Contract Midterm Review with the provider on March 9 th, 10 th & 18 th. Online Registrations for the training workshops went live on March 15 th and family members have already begun registering to attend. Deliverable #4 was received on April 3 rd and review is pending. The Advisory Committee held its first meeting on April 6 th. Lastly, she indicated that the provider has submitted a continuation application for the task force to consider. Note: Debra Dowds, the Council s Executive Director joined the task force meeting at 2:20 p.m. and the Task Force Chair, Mr. Phil Stevens paused the meeting in order to introduce her to all in attendance. The members took a stretch break at 2:35 p.m. Mr. Steve Howells left the conference call/meeting for the day at this time. The meeting reconvened at 3:00 p.m. with the members reviewing the Continuation Application for the Guardianship Training project. After much discussion, it was decided that the members would ask the provider to revise the Continuation Application to provide more information on the budget (breakout the costs of technology component and all line items over $10,000). The members will reconsider the application on a subsequent taskforce conference call (before the June Council meeting)

4 DD Systems Strategic Plan Update: Ms. Williams provided a brief verbal update (due dates, deliverable status, and amendments. Mr. Marc Tasse then provided additional comments about the status of the project. Ms. Debra Dowds discussed the history about the project (response to the tiers; need to address and present a collective solution). She indicated that the final product report was originally intended to be presented to the state legislature at the beginning of session. The input from the stakeholders was more than was originally anticipated which resulted in the need for a contract amendment. Lastly, she discussed next steps for this project. Ms. Dowds indicated that she would like for the project report to be taken to the larger DD Community. The Council may want to facilitate a series of town hall meetings to do this. The strategic plan is being considered a ten year plan for all stakeholders in Florida. A discussion was held regarding the best way to build sustainability into the project (in the event of more drastic budget cuts, changes in leadership and other variables). Developing Community Coalitions Project: Ms. Dowds presented a new project concept to the task force for consideration of funding (Developing Community Coalitions project). Council staff members have been meeting with APD staff and Volunteer Florida staff to identify ways to continue to address the needs of people with developmental disabilities who are on the waiver waitlist. The Developing Community Coalition s project concept is the result of these discussions. A discussion was held about the overall project description. Members of the task force were given the opportunity to ask questions and to provide feedback on the Request for Funding Form which Ms. Dowds presented. It was moved (Marc Tasse) and seconded (Mac McCoy) to allocate $50,000 of 2010 task force funds for the Developing Community Coalitions project. Ms. Shirley Kervin abstained from voting. The motion passed. The task force members took a brief stretch break at 4:30 p.m. and the meeting reconvened at 4:45 p.m. V. State Plan Discussion: Ms. Allison Cruz Mitchell spoke to the members of the task force regarding the history of the Council s state plan analysis. A summary of her presentation is below. Every five (5) years all DD Councils are required to develop and submit a new state plan to the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Our Council s current plan was developed and completed in 2005 & Each year the Council sets aside time to review the plan and gets a chance to amend it. The time is now upon us to review and possibly provide recommendation for amendment. As the Deputy Director of Programs, Ms. Cruz Mitchell has provided the following directions to all task forces for this year s review. Determine: What have we already addressed? What do we have left to accomplish? Are there any Gaps? - 4 -

5 A discussion was held by the members of the task force regarding the State Plan (use of reporting of performance, etc.). Ms. Williams passed out a copy of her analysis of the status of CL/SC s State Plan goals/objectives for the members to review. Mr. Stevens then asked all members to review Ms. Williams analysis that evening in preparation for the second day of the meeting. The task force meeting adjourned for the day at 5:25 p.m

6 Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc. Community Living & Service Coordination Task Force Task Force Meeting Minutes April 23, 2009 April 24, :30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. (EDT) Members Present: Phil Stevens, CL/SC Chair Steve Howells Shirley Kervin Mac McCoy (for Jim DeBeaugrine) Marc Tasse Staff: Latarsha Williams, Program Manager Vanda Bowman, Staff Assistant Allison Cruz-Mitchell, Deputy Dir. Programs Absent: Ernest Smith Michael Smith Chip Koval Gayle Miller Guest: Doreen Stewart I. Reconvene Meeting The meeting reconvened at 8:32 a.m. by the Task Force Chair, Phil Stevens. II. State Plan Discussion The members of the task force continued their discussion regarding the annual review of the State Plan. Mr. Stevens lead the discussion by reviewing the program manager s recommendations. The members of the task force reviewed each recommendation provided by the program manager. Discussion was held about the best way to proceed with recommendations. Recommendation for Amendments to the State Plan: It was moved (Marc Tasse) and seconded (Casey Stewart) to recommend that the Council make the following changes: 1) Delete Quality Assurance Goal 2 and add verbiage to objective 3.1 (from QA Goal 3) that states supporting the reduction of the number of individual who are in institutions 2) Delete Transportation Goal 2 in its entirety 3) Delete Cross Cutting Goal 3 in its entirety The motion was passed unanimously. Note: CL/SC will continue to review state plan goals and objectives during the remaining CL/SC TF meetings this year and the above items will be added to a list that the task force will consider for the development of the next State Plan

7 III. Program Manager s Report Continued: The Developing Community Coalitions project was revisited by request from the task force. A discussion was held about the over all project concept. It was suggested that the task force form a Work Group to help staff develop the Request for Applications for this project. Ms. Allison Cruz-Mitchell suggested that the Work Group invite Ms. Steve Dunaway from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to its conference call in order to get additional information about the LENs project. The members of the Work Group will include: 1) Shirley Kervin 2) Phil Stevens Home Ownership Feasibility Study Update: Ms. Williams provided a verbal report to the task force regarding this project. The contract was awarded to University of Miami (pending successful contract negotiations). A Conflict of Interest was identified and the full Council is scheduled to discuss and vote on this via conference call on April 27 th at 10:00 a.m. Ms. Williams reported that contract negotiations have not started- as she hasn t been able to speak with UM Staff. A discussion was held regarding the need for task force members periodically review the Council s RFP Review process information. It was suggested that CL/SC should have on going discussion /education regarding review of proposals (as well as tips for successfully evaluating projects). A task force member pointed out to Ms. Cruz Mitchell that the Council s Request for Funding Forms for Council projects is hard for individuals with developmental disabilities to understand. Although a formal vote was not taken, it was decided that CL/SC will add time to the next two task force meeting agendas to discuss review process for proposals. It was further recommended to Ms. Cruz Mitchell that the Council should consider asking the other task forces to also add time to their agendas to discuss the review process for proposals. Update on Next Chapter Book Blub Project: Ms. Williams proved a verbal report to the task force regarding the status of this project. The Letter of Agreement for technical assistance from the Project Staff (Ohio State University) is written and almost through internal review. The Request for Applications was published in Florida Admin Weekly on April 24, A scoring committee is needed to review proposals once they are received It was decided that the Scoring Committee will consist of: Shirley Kervin, Phil Stevens, Mac McCoy, Casey Stewart and a representative from the Ohio State Nisonger Center (Jillian Ober)

8 IV. Legislative Update: Ms. Margaret Hooper joined the meeting at 10:00 a.m. in order to provide her quarterly legislative update to the task force members. She reported that Florida may have to have a Special Session because of differences in House/Senate versions of the budgets. The biggest issues center on a proposed cigarette tax, proposed cuts in education, and suggested uses of the Transportation Disadvantage funds. Ms. Hopper then provided a verbal update on proposed legislation relative to the disabilities communities. Members of the task force were given the opportunity to ask questions. She also passed out proposed amendments that the Council is considering supporting. The task force members took a stretch break at 10:45 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 11:05 a.m. Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) Update: Ms. Shirley Kervin provided a verbal report to the task force on behalf of the Department of Elder Affairs. She indicated that DOEA has received $7.2 million from the Recovery Act stimulus money. The funds will be used to cover congregate and home delivered meals for seniors. Her department also received money for senior employment to assist one hundred forty-eight (148) seniors to have supported employment services. Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) update: Mr. Mac McCoy provided a verbal report to the task force on behalf of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. A summary of his report is below. Currently there are 29,800 people with d.d. assigned to the Tiers Approximately, 4,600 people have challenged their tier placement (last month) There are 163 people with d.d. who were put on the Waiver due to crisis (March) Approximately, 1,000 people have been added overall this year to the Waiver Approximately, 805 people with d.d. are in institutions There are 203 people with d.d. in forensics (in jail) Approximately 30,000 QSI evaluations have been completed, which includes all people on the Waiver. APD is now starting to address 15% of people on the waitlist with the QSI Evaluation. APD anticipates being able to complete these evaluations by June of APD received several Davis Productivity Awards. One award was for the CDC Plus program (becoming the fiscal agent)

9 V. Working Lunch: Informational Items Discussion: The Program Manager, Latarsha Williams led the members through the list of informational items. The current list of project monitor assignments was briefly reviewed. The Council Leadership Development Funds policy was briefly reviewed by the program manager. Ms. Williams reminded the members that Leadership Development Funds were available and provided them with a copy of the policy. She also reminded the members about the Council s travel policy and encouraged members to submit travel reimbursement forms as soon as possible for processing. The next CL/SC Task Force meeting (location and date) were announced as well as the next Council meeting (location and date). The members of the task force then briefly discussed the Planned Communities Issue. Mr. Stevens indicated that this issue was highly debated at the last Council Meeting. He suggested that members of the task force might want to consider allocating funds for the development of some type of white paper that would provide the Council with tangible data and research on this issue. Ms. Williams was asked to find out about how much the Council typically spends on white paper projects for the task force. Task Force To Do List Reviewed: The task force To Do list from the January 29-30, 2009 task force meeting was reviewed by the members. Items which were not completed were assigned a due date. The meeting was adjourned by the task force chair at 12:30 p.m