Disability Rights of West Virginia Meeting of the Board of Directors Charleston Office, Charleston, WV September 22, 2017, 12:05 PM Members Present: Manuel Compos, Ardella Cottrill, Joyce Floyd, Robert Hardesty, Ted Johnson, Cathy Reed, Cara Romanowski, Christopher Ross, Kevin Smith, Melissa Southall and Debra Ward Members by Telephone: Christopher Ross (later in person) Members Absent: Denise Campbell and Sheila Radochio Guests: Peggy Johnson Staff Present: Susan Given, Jeremiah Underhill, Stephanie Thorn and Barbara Criner Mr. Hardesty called the meeting to order at 12:05 PM. He asked for any addition or deletions to the Agenda. Motion: Mr. Smith moved that the July 18, 2017 minutes be approved as presented. Seconded by Ms. Cottrill. Motion carried; none opposed; no abstentions. Ms. Given provided a brief review of this afternoon s viewing of Bottom Dollars and the dinner for the DRWV 40 th Year Celebration. She reported that we had not received the anticipated $2,000 in gifts cards for a drawing this evening. She noted that approximately $615 in gift cards had been received and are available to be raffled off. Motion: Ms. Reed moved that the Board continue in its efforts to sell tickets for a raffle of the gift certificates and a drawing be held November 13, 2017. Seconded Ms. Southall. Motion carried; none opposed; no abstentions. Ms. Given distributed the forms to be used in the sale of tickets. Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 1
Ms. Hardesty introduced the new directors, Debra Ward from Greenbrier County and Cathy Reed from Marion County. A brief discussion was held concerning the DHHR matter regarding salaries at the state hospitals. Mr. Underhill stated that no decision has been made concerning the fines. As yet, nothing has happened with the contempt order. Unless DRWV objects, the judge will not enforce the fines. Legal Directors Report Mr. Underhill reported that the two summer legal interns had completed their 10-week internship and had provided WVU with favorable reviews for their experience at DRWV. Agency staff are scheduled to do a presentation on disability rights at a WVU Law Symposium. WVU will hold the webinar and will handle the outreach and CLES. The hope is that this may be an annual event. Mr. Underhill stated that he and Ms. Given had met with Secretary Crouch of DHHR concerning a resolution of Hartley and other issues. Mr. Underhill reported that the legal staff have received good training opportunities. He reported that that the staff attorneys have started to specialize in their areas of work. Ms. Erin Snyder in Special Ed; Ms. Delcie Gorum in Medicaid and Fair Hearings and Ms. Shawna White in CAP/PABSS work. He added there will be extensive outreach in the CAP/PABSS programs. Mr. Underhill reported that he had been in conversations with NDRN concerning a Veteran s program. Both he and Ms. Given will meet with NDRN staff and various congressional staff members in Washington on October 4. Program Director s Report Ms. Thorn asked for any specific questions regarding her report. She reported that FY 17 had been a busy and productive year. She stated that all the P&Os had been met, monitoring had been done at the hospitals and staff had completed accessibility issues with Amtrak. She added that there had been additional outreach this year and additional invitations for staff to present at new locations. Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 2
Ms. Thorn noted that with our name change we had invested in new program and agency publications. Mr. Hardesty requested that copies be mailed to the Board so that they were aware of agency activities. Mr. Hardesty asked for an update on DRWV access to voting locations and our relationship with the new Secretary of State s Office (SOS). Ms. Thorn stated that Advocate Gina Desmond is the assigned point person with the SOS. She had a good relationship with the former administration and had been invited to speak at the annual conference. Ms. Thorn reported that we continue to look at accessibility at voting sites and also at absenteeism voting. She noted that we have not experienced any barriers. Ms. Thorn distributed information on the grievances filed during the past year. She reported 7 grievances had been filed this year and all resolved prior to step 4 with exception of one. Ms. Thorn and Mr. Underhill discussed ABLE accounts. They noted that individuals on SSI are required to have an annual spend down of SSI funds in order that balances do not exceed $2,000. ABLE accounts allow individuals on SSI to save for the future and not lose their benefits. Quality Assurance Reports Ms. Cottrill presented the report. She noted there was one unfavorable satisfaction survey. Ms. Thorn stated that the survey was from an inmate. The inmate had not been responsive to DRWV staff and was non-compliant with medical staff at the prison. DRWV had accomplished what we were required to do. Executive Committee Mr. Hardesty noted that the committee had not met but had discussions by email relative to membership and other matters. Finance Committee Mr. Hardesty reported that the committee had met to discuss the budget. He reported that the budget included level funding for the programs with the Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 3
amount of the carryovers slightly less that FY 16. The financials were also reviewed and no issues were noted. He asked Ms. Given to present a summary of the requests to spend down carryover funds. Ms. Given reported that the PAIMI program is projected to have approximately $400,000 in FY 17 carryover funds. The preliminary budget includes an additional staff attorney, budgeted at 90% PAIMI and 10% PADD. This position includes follow-up work in jails and children s mental health issues. Motion: Ms. Reed moved to approve the additional staff attorney position for the PAIMI and PADD programs. Seconded by Mr. Campos. Discussion followed. Ms. Given noted that the individual would monitor children s facilities, including Highland in Clarksburg, and provide a systematic look at medical care in the jails. A public report would be completed at the conclusion of the review. Mr. Campos volunteered to help in any way. Motion carried, none opposed; no abstentions. Ms. Given reported that PAVA still has remaining funds from FY 16 and FY 17. She stated that the preliminary budget includes the addition of another PAVA advocate position. There will be travel associated with this position as the advocate will view accessibility at the different voting sites in the counties. Motion: Ms. Cottrill moved to approve the additional PAVA advocate position in order to view accessibility at the different voting sites in the counties. Seconded by Mr. Johnson. Motion carried, none opposed; no abstentions. Ms. Given reported that the P&A in Kansas has been working with other P&As and one state Department of Education on a transition application (I-Transition App) that allows transition age students to write their own plans. The app would let schools know what the students plans are after graduation. The webbased app would be customized for DRWV at a one-time cost of $15,000 to be funded by the Special Ed programs. Carryover funds in both the CAP and PABSS programs would pay their share of the cost. Motion: Ms. Reed moved to approve the $15,000 purchase of the transition app (I-Transition App) from the Kansas P&A customized for DRWV to provide transition age students the ability to write their plans after graduation. Seconded by Ms. Cottrill. Discussion followed. Ms. Given stated that we would advertise on our website for parents and schools to use. Ms. Romanowski noted Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 4
that this app would be similar to an IEP. Motion carried, none opposed; no abstentions. Ms. Given reported that she has contacted WV Radio for information concerning radio ads packages for the CAP program. The sports packages for the WVU games and high school games in the Charleston and Clarksburg areas would cost approximately $15,500. She added that she had contacted WCHS-TV for information concerning TV ads to run from October-December 2017 for the PABSS program. She noted that SSA has approved the script. The ads will be through WCHS-TV, which covers a large portion of the state, and will also be available on their website. Motion: Mr. Smith moved to approve the WV Radio ads for the CAP program at an approximate cost of $15,500 and the WCHS-TV ads for the PABSS program at an approximate cost of $20,000. Seconded by Mr. Campos. Discussion followed. Mr. Campos asked what we hope to achieve. Ms. Given noted that the purpose is to provide outreach to the various communities in an attempt to obtain intake calls from clients seeking our assistance in obtaining program services. Motion carried, none opposed; no abstentions. Membership Committee Mr. Hardesty reported that Jonathan Chaffin, President-Elect has resigned from the Board. Mr. Hardesty noted that he will continue to serve as President during FY 18 and that the office of President-Elect needs to be filled. Motion: Ms. Reed nominated Manual Campos to serve as President-Elect. Seconded by Mr. Johnson. Motion carried, none opposed; no abstentions. A discussion was held concerning committee assignments for the upcoming year. Additional assignments include: Finance Committee Cathy Reed, Chair, and Manual Campos. Membership Committee- Ardella Cottrill Legislative Committee Ted Johnson, Chair Resource Development Committee Debra Ward, Chair, and Joyce Floyd (continue as a member) Quality Assurance Committee Cathy Reed Public Relations Christopher Ross Personnel Committee Christopher Ross Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 5
Ms. Given noted that the committees could meet by conference calls on the months that the Board doesn t meet. She distributed forms to the committee chairs to record activity for each meeting. Ms. Given also suggested that the Membership Committee consider the recruitment of an individual with financial background and an individual from the eastern panhandle, taking into consideration we need more diversity on the Board. Motion: Ms. Reed voted to approve the Draft Preliminary Agency-Wide Budget for FY 18. Seconded by Mr. Smith. Motion carried, none opposed; Ms. Southall abstained. (Ms. Southall abstained due to a conflict of interest. The agency she works for receives a budgeted DRWV sponsorship for the People First Conference). PAIMI COUNCIL Ms. Cottrill reported that the Council met last evening and heard a presentation on Fair Housing. She reported that the PAIMI By-Laws will soon be finalized and then presented to the full Board. Ms. Cottrill reported that Ms. Reed is a new member of the Council. Resource Development Committee Ms. Given reported that we currently have gift cards totaling approximately $615. Chances are to be sold at $5 each or 5 for $20. Legislative Committee Nothing to report. Executive Director Ms. Given referred to her report. She stated that the CAP/PAIR monitoring visit had went well. She noted that the large carryovers had been discussed. The federal funders were informed of the new direction for DRWV along with the implementation processes. The funders noted that they hope to generate a report by the end of October. Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 6
Ms. Given reported that the numbers are extremely low in the PABSS program. She added that PABSS numbers are low nationally. Bank signature cards were distributed for officer signatures and the annual affirmation of service and conflict of interest received from the Board members. Due to the Thanksgiving Day holidays, the next meeting has been moved to November 14 th at 5:00 PM. No further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:20 PM. Transcribed by Barbara Criner. Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 7
Approved at the Nov14, 2017 meeting of the Board of Directors 8